Mic/soundcard/mixer info

D

dpatfield

New member
Ok, so I've got a Shure PG58, a realtek HD audiocard, and I've also got a soundblaster card that I haven't installed.

My sound sucks. If I buy a cheap pre-amp only and install the sound card, should I have at least something to work with? And what do I do with this pre-amp once I buy it? Plug mic in and plug pre-amp into ??

Oh, and I have cakewalk Music Creator 3 as well.
 
Interface

When you say interface with preamp, are you talking about an internal computer interface?

I'd do it if it's feasable.

What I want to do is get that damned hissing out of my computer speakers.
I can pillow all day and tweak the windows mixer, but something's not working right.

I can now hear the vocals better, but that hiss is horrible. IF a preamp won't get rid of this, I'm confused.
 
dpatfield said:
When you say interface with preamp, are you talking about an internal computer interface?

I'd do it if it's feasable.

What I want to do is get that damned hissing out of my computer speakers.
I can pillow all day and tweak the windows mixer, but something's not working right.

I can now hear the vocals better, but that hiss is horrible. IF a preamp won't get rid of this, I'm confused.
Click to expand...
Depending on how you set your gain, a preamp (especially a cheap one) will add more hiss.

You need:

1. a quiet audio interface (translation: non consumer-grade soundcard)
2. a decent recording mic.
 
No preamp?

Now, I'm really confused. I was under the impression that the preamp would remove that garbage. So, a preamp just boosts the level of the mic, causing MORE hiss?? I would obvioulsy want to do the gain so that I didn't add more hiss, but...?

Could you translate "interface" even further...I'm not sure I understand what it is. A "non" commercial soundcard? Can I afford that?
 
dpatfield said:
Now, I'm really confused. I was under the impression that the preamp would remove that garbage. So, a preamp just boosts the level of the mic, causing MORE hiss?? I would obvioulsy want to do the gain so that I didn't add more hiss, but...?

Could you translate "interface" even further...I'm not sure I understand what it is. A "non" commercial soundcard? Can I afford that?
Click to expand...

considering your mic, yes, that would be accurate, but that isn't how it has to be.

A preamps job is to boost the mics signal level to something that can be processed by other audio equipment (the mic by istelf puts out a very weak signal), the qaulity of the pre can do this with little noise (high quality) or add noise (low quality) even in the high quality range it can process the signal boost with no significant change to the original signal (described as clean, flat) or by changing the singal a abit (colored) colored pres tend to make it sound smoother or give a bit more presence to be considered good color.

Your soundcard sucks, an interface is a card, or box that plug in via USB or firewire or something and handles audio processing. It has circuitry and software drivers that convert analouge signals to digital, without making it worse (theoretically). The simplest might have 2-4 channnels of inputs that can be recorded at once, and some ofhtese have preamps built into them of variying quality. As a rule the preamps built into an interface will be of a lower quality than a dedicated preamp, but many dedicated preamps are very crappy as well and some interfce preamps are pretty nice.

Daav
 
Oh and then once you get an interface working for you, you will want to think about replacing the computer monitors with audio grade monitors, the difference is significant.
Plus if you get to the point where you are mixing several tracks, the computer monitors (or hi fi speakers as well) will be "hyped" that is to say they will exagerate certain aspects of the signal to make it sound "better" to the average consumer ear. They may be designed to boost the bass for instance, so if you are mixing with them, you will want to turn down the bass since your speakers are comnpensating by boosting. Then you will take your mix toother venues and they will sound weak, with no bass.

Generally you want a flat (no boosting to anything) signal to mox with, that will translate best to various platforms (your stereo, the audiophile's supped up stereo, the car, a boombox, etc).
Daav
 
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