Members Megadeth7684 Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac what should my peak decibel level be before any processing? i've heard varying reports. thanks I have no idea! Haha! I just record stuff, and convert it. I would probably make better clips if I had any idea what I was doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dmisner6 Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Hey guys, Somewhat along these lines... I have an M-Audio Mobilepre USB preamp and am currently looking for an instrument mic... Is the SM-57 the way to go or what would you recommend in its stead. I don't want to go any more expensive than the 57. I will be using it to mic my amp. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nakedzen Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac what should my peak decibel level be before any processing? i've heard varying reports.thanks You mean when you're recording? I just make sure there's enough headroom by playing heavy palm mutes. (They will have the highest peaks). When you have about 20% headroom, you should be fine. This is how I made my clips 100% better: I did a test, I placed the 57 straight in front of the cone, touching the grill. Recorded a short clip. Moved the mic 1 cm backwards. (0.39370 inch). Recorded a clip. Repeated the procedure about 5 times and listened the clips. I found the sweet spot for the mic to be 3 cm away from the grill. Any closer, and the clips sounded too bass heavy and had the blanket effect. After 3 cm the clips started to sound muddy and thin. Also post processing, especially limiters, are important in making your tone sound more "professional". You should be fine with the 57. Most f the tones you hear on recordings have been miked with it. Also buying a different mic won't solve your problem if your miking technique is wrong. But, if you seriously are set on buying another mic, I'd recommend the md421 or if you want a condenser (which is nice to own anyway, I prefer it for clean guitars) I'd recommend the Rode NT1A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac what should my peak decibel level be before any processing? i've heard varying reports.thanks as long as your peaks (palm mutes,heavy picking) stay below 0db you should be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 19, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 OK so I thought the clips were getting better.... now I dunno. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=563437&songID=4204327 I had the peak at around -18db (tried with more input gain, this sounded "best"), normalized, converted to 128kb mp3, thats it. Mic was 1in behind the cloth, centered on cone. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? or do i just need post processing to get it to sound good? maybe i'm expecting too much?? thanks for the suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth7684 Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac OK so I thought the clips were getting better.... now I dunno. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=563437&songID=4204327I had the peak at around -18db (tried with more input gain, this sounded "best"), normalized, converted to 128kb mp3, thats it. Mic was 1in behind the cloth, centered on cone. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? or do i just need post processing to get it to sound good? maybe i'm expecting too much??thanks for the suggestions That sounds a bit better. I don't do any post EQ'ing or anything to my clips, just record, normalize, and post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 19, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 Originally posted by Megadeth7684 That sounds a bit better. I don't do any post EQ'ing or anything to my clips, just record, normalize, and post! I dont get how it can sound so good in person but so {censored}ty when recorded. I'll play around with mic placement some more but i've already tried so many.... I'm thinking of buying an MXL 603 condenser to try out. Supposedly it's the best in it's price range (cheap).... gotta order it though grrr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth7684 Posted July 19, 2006 Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac I dont get how it can sound so good in person but so {censored}ty when recorded. Welcome to the wonderful world of recording my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 19, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2006 anyone have any in-program screen shots of a really nice recorded clip? even at -18db peak, my clip doesnt have very many large valleys...that's gotta be why it doesnt sound too great...but why is that?do most of the really nice sounding clips use a condenser room mic in addition or what? and i would need 2ch/xlr inputs for this, right? cause my firewire has 2ch but only 1 xlr input...{censored}thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 how much exactly would recording with a condenser room mic in addition to the sm57 help?? gracias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 it sounds like you've got a level mismatch somewhere.if you've got a +4db signal running into a -10db input somewhere or a bad cable it will sound exactly like the clip you posted.go into your m-audio control panel and make sure your input levels are set to the right setting.also try swapping out your mic cable just to rule it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by garfight it sounds like you've got a level mismatch somewhere.if you've got a +4db signal running into a -10db input somewhere or a bad cable it will sound exactly like the clip you posted.go into your m-audio control panel and make sure your input levels are set to the right setting.also try swapping out your mic cable just to rule it out. what should the input levels bet set to? I'm planning on picking up a new cable after work (hopefully) thanks man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 {censored} I just realized that what i thought was the input level pot is actually the mic GAIN pot. shuld I have this set at zero? I had it turned 1/3 up in order to get the signal level to around -18db in Sonar.... ahhhh hopefully this is the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 well i just read the manual for your unit and it has a different control panel than mine.you cant set the input levels on the firewire solo-sorry for the confusion. just to be sure - how are you running the audio into your pc?over firewire or via the line outputs? at any rate looking through your manual as long as your audio connections are right and the sync source in the control panel is set to internal you should be getting a nice sounding signal. i'm gonna say based on your clip that you've got a bad cable or something connected incorrectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vlad Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 that's all I use in my clips... either 1 or 2 SM57's... off-axis a couple inches from the grill cloth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac {censored} I just realized that what i thought was the input level pot is actually the mic GAIN pot. shuld I have this set at zero? I had it turned 1/3 up in order to get the signal level to around -18db in Sonar.... ahhhh hopefully this is the problem the mic gain pot is gonna give you some volume to compensate for low volume mics or signals- just balance it with your output level control to try and get a nice hot undistorted signal.if the clip light comes on you've got it turned up too high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by garfight well i just read the manual for your unit and it has a different control panel than mine.you cant set the input levels on the firewire solo-sorry for the confusion. just to be sure - how are you running the audio into your pc?over firewire or via the line outputs?at any rate looking through your manual as long as your audio connections are right and the sync source in the control panel is set to internal you should be getting a nice sounding signal. i'm gonna say based on your clip that you've got a bad cable or something connected incorrectly. It's connected to the 4pin firewire port on my laptop. To connect the sm57 to the firewire solo, I have a 20ft whirlwind cable (it was like 9 bucks from zzsounds) which i play on replacing. Output = spdif on back of unit to my home theater system (dont have monitors yet), but music and other clips i listen to online sound really nice, even ones where people say they just shove a sm57 dead center and hit record, no post processing sound wayyy better than mine. So you dont think putting the mic gain at 0 will help at all? What should I do if the new cable doesnt help? If the mic or firewire solo were faulty then it just wouldnt record or it would be pretty obvious that they were faulty, right? and I hear that this is VERRRRY Rare. I really appreciate all your help. Thanks!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by garfight the mic gain pot is gonna give you some volume to compensate for low volume mics or signals- just balance it with your output level control to try and get a nice hot undistorted signal.if the clip light comes on you've got it turned up too high. sorry for the ignorance, but what you mean balance the mic gain with the output level? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac It's connected to the 4pin firewire port on my laptop. To connect the sm57 to the firewire solo, I have a 20ft whirlwind cable (it was like 9 bucks from zzsounds) which i play on replacing. Output = spdif on back of unit to my home theater system (dont have monitors yet), but music and other clips i listen to online sound really nice, even ones where people say they just shove a sm57 dead center and hit record, no post processing sound wayyy better than mine. So you dont think putting the mic gain at 0 will help at all? What should I do if the new cable doesnt help? If the mic or firewire solo were faulty then it just wouldnt record or it would be pretty obvious that they were faulty, right? and I hear that this is VERRRRY Rare.I really appreciate all your help. Thanks!!!!!! it really depends on what is faulty - if you've got a bad solder joint somewhere in the unit it is possible that you're only getting a partial signal.replacing the mic cable will tell you if the problem is in the unit or in the cable itself.it sounds like you've got it all connected properly so the problem has to be the mic ,cable or something in the unit itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac sorry for the ignorance, but what you mean balance the mic gain with the output level?thanks i just meant to use both controls to get a nice hot signal without it distorting.the mic gain knob will make the signal distorted if it's set too high and the output level knob should just bump your levels up without adding distortion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by garfight it really depends on what is faulty - if you've got a bad solder joint somewhere in the unit it is possible that you're only getting a partial signal.replacing the mic cable will tell you if the problem is in the unit or in the cable itself.it sounds like you've got it all connected properly so the problem has to be the mic ,cable or something in the unit itself. gotcha...I was planning on purchasing a condenser eventually so I'll just do that if the cable doesnt solve the problem. If the condenser still sounds like {censored} then I think we know what the problem is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by garfight i just meant to use both controls to get a nice hot signal without it distorting.the mic gain knob will make the signal distorted if it's set too high and the output level knob should just bump your levels up without adding distortion. so as long as output and input levels are under 0db then I'm fine, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac so as long as output and input levels are under 0db then I'm fine, right? correctamundo!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by garfight correctamundo!!!!!! I'm really tempted to just order a Firewire 410 and MXL603 right now...somebody stop meis the 410 the best in the price range?? I've always had good luck with m-audios drivers and stuff so unless theres something else out there thats WAY better.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hulston Prickle Posted July 20, 2006 Members Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by ermghoti All you need to record guitar is a SM57 and a preamp. Just follow these simple instructions. This article is awesome-thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.