Mic stopped working after 1 month of use

Mocschino

New member
hey
im using
iSK BM-700 - Condenser Microphone
SWAMP X-USB Audio Interface
SWAMP XLR 5m cable
iSK HP-980 - Professional Monitoring Headphones

i recently got this setup a month ago and i was using it untill now fine and gaining alot of experience. then all of a sudden 2 days ago it stoped working. i havent done anything different than i usually do. 2 days ago i tested it in the morning and it was working fine but when i came to recording something happened then it stopped working. the next morning i woke up to it working for 5 minutes and whilst recording having the "robotic/ distortion effect" and then just cut out.

i contacted Swamp industries and they havent replyed to my inquarie just yet, but:
- all lights are on
- all cables are in and in the right place
- all my levels are up in recording devices
- and i have disable enchantments

now i would go away for like an hour and come back then it works for around 3-5 mins still with a robotic/ distortion effect on it then just cuts out.
i tap on my windscreen cover (sorry if i triggerd anyone) and it picks up that noise so i have a feeling that it might have just accidently muted it with a keystroke but i honestly dont know.

if u are able to help me out i am very thankful

Sincerly Noob.
 
I'm not sure anyone will know that hardware you are using (where are you?) But what DAW (software are you using? Make sure your drivers are up-to-date. If you're using WIn10, did you get a recent update that may have mucked things up? Can you hear tracks you recorded before in the headphones?
 
What kind of enchantments were you using? Michrophonous Disisti always causes trouble.

Seriously though - Best guess from the robotic description would be a driver error. The Swamp device is not that popular for recording enthusiasts because it's essentially a one purpose device and not a specific music product. It uses generic USB audio drivers that rarely are optimised for recording and of course has a two way flow so you can hear what returns - so it's recognised by the computer as an audio device, like a sound card. I'd disable the driver, remove the device and replug, which usually forces windows to reinstall the thing from scratch. This is worth giving ago - but thjere are better devices available that have multiple ins, line and mic level and benefit from specific, not generic drivers.
 
My first instinct was "failed microphone" because there is a very cheap capacitor mic called a "BM 800" and although it works surprisingly well for a $20 mic, it and its variously numbered brethren suffer very poor reliability.
But! It seems it ain't that one! So, the problem resolves to the normal tests.

Have you got phantom power at the mic end XLR? How would you know? Test with a volt meter. Don't have a meter? Fekkin' get one!

You can do a "wet finger test" of the interface. Set it up as before and plug in the XLR cable. At the mic end hold the cable by its insulation (not XLR body) and insert a piece of bare wire, paper clip is ideal into pin 2 (should be printed on plug) the AI should show a signal and you should hear a buzz in the cans. Now try pin 3, same result should obtain.

Or, you can beg a dynamic mic off somebody. If that works and you have phantom power, got to be a duff mic. You can also use Audacity as a simple virtually foolproof DAW.

Dave.
 
Cables are relatively cheap (but buy good ones) and you should have a spare or two hanging around. A failure of a connection in the XLR cable could possibly be the problem you are having and a spare cable would allow you to check this. Can't hurt to try another usb cable if you should have one laying around.

Are you using a pop filter with the mic? Pop filter can stop out moisture from your breath from getting on the microphone capsule and if moisture from your breath gets on the capsule, it's possible the moisture could 'short' out the capsules electrical bias voltage after using it a for a short while causing crackle and distortion. You stop using the mic, it dries ou, and then works for a while again.
 
Just looked up that Swamp "interface" (" because it barely qualifies) For $80 you just get one mic input and a headphone feed.

Now I am no lover of Behringer but their UMC 204HD is about the same money and is a properly featured, two channel interfaces. Then there is a Zoom interface about at the moment that gets a lot of good rep for £59, around 75 bucks?

Hopefully the money has been spent on excellent performance and uber reliability rather than (basic!) features. I would NOT bet on that!

Dave.
 
All the audio interfaces I've used have proper drivers that allow gain setting and mic/line settings, perhaps routing and other useful stuff. A generic MIDI driver doesn't have these facilities. I've got a cheap generic XLR to USB device and it's just impractical to use for anything serious.
 
i live in Australia. im using fl studio with a little bit of audacity but rarely. dont worry my drivers are definitally up to date aswell as win10. ive reinstalled my drivers 3-4 times now... yes i do know of the update and my microphone in privacy settings is on
 
i bought this mic just for simple music production didnt really look into anything special. this was a full package and it was relatively cheap so i took the offer. i just tried disabling device and repluging it, it didnt work sadly, i have aslo tried reinstalling drivers but they dont seem to be reinstalling because ive done it like 3 times now
 
yer im using phantom power. most of what you said was a little complicated and i dont feel like being in an electrical current today. i will try switching the mics tho see if that works
 
that is the best explanation of exactly whats happening. i have switched out the XLR cables and used a different one but doesnt seem to change anything, btw i dont have aspare XLR cables just lying around. i am using a pop filter but i took it of for a while and then put it back on then the problem started 30 mins after so maybe ur right
 
i was looking for a whole package and this was the best i could get for a reletavily cheap price i was just look for something that works ok ish that i could make music on, but thanks i will prolly get that one next
 
Mocshino - we're trying to help but you keep confusing us?
[quote[
i have switched out the XLR cables and used a different one but doesnt seem to change anything, btw i dont have aspare XLR cables just lying around[/quote]
You have tried swapping the XLR -XLR cable, or you have not? If you don't have a spare, how can you swap. You also don't quite get the thing we are speaking about with the drivers. If you remove one of Windows own drivers, the ones that are built into windows, the next time you plug the interface in, it re-loads them from the copy it has. If that driver is only a 90% match for the device you have, weird things happen.

If you don't feel like being in an electrical current today, then why are we trying to help. You can Google all sorts of things on Phantom Power, sound interfaces and all kinds of stuff - if you can't be bothered, how can we resolve your problem?


Lets just make sure you understand what is going on.
Phantom power - supplied by the device you plug a microphone into - some microphones need it, some (like dynamics) don't.
Faulty cables - a miswired XLR-XLR cable can work with a dynamic mic, but not work with a condenser.
Cheap - non music designed interfaces. - they convert analogue audio into digital. Often ok for gamers, or people using headsets. Rarely much use for music - because we have very variable input levels and lots of different mic types you plug in, plus another large range of voice types, plus instruments - an ocarina through to a screaming electric guitar.


We're unsure why it worked then stopped. It could be a faulty microphone (rare) or could be faulty cables (common) or a faulty interface (not that common), wrong computer settings in the set-up section (extremely common) and wrong computer settings in the software you are using to record (again, very common).

To fix this, you need to be computer literate, have basic fault finding processes in your head and logical - plus of course the ability to explain EXACTLY what is happening.

That's it.
 
Why not take the mic back where you bought it and see if they can test it there. If so that will prove if its the mic.

Alan.
 
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