Upgrade!

[nathanfunk]

Hey nice people!

I'm a novice looking for some advice on upgrading my recording setup. I mainly record acoustic guitar and vocals both with a single mic. I invested in a decent mic (Shure SM-57) but I'm not happy with the sound yet. The likely reason is my cheap sound card - a Soundblaster Ensoniq (maybe worth $20). Recordings are a little noisy and slightly distorted. From reading up on general mic recording, a good pre-amp is important. Currently I'm using the "Mic-Boost" on the $20 sound card... Typically that doesn't even bring the level up high enough, so I have to do a "normalize" operation on the wave data after recording. I'm sure you're all shuddering by now, so I'll quit there.

So my main questions are:
- What is most likely the main cause of the bad results?
- Will I notice a huge difference when recording through a more professional interface such as the M-Audio devices with built-in preamps?
- How much of a difference will I notice in switching to a better mic (>$300)
- Would it be smarter (in the long run) to invest in a separate mic pre-amp (vs. an interface with built-in preamp)?

I am planning to upgrade bit by bit and would rather buy excellent components that last a long time rather than continuosly replacing components...

Any advice and comments would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Nathan

[Bulls Hit]

Your soundisaster is not doing you any favours.

Your best investment right now is a soundcard. You can get a handsome 2 input card like an M Audio audiophile or E-Mu 0404 for under $100. These cards will let you create better than CD quality music. That E-mu card is a great deal as the it comes with a bunch of dsp chips and onboard effects.

If you think you might need to record 4 tracks, the next step up is the delta 44 for $150.

The 57 is a good mic. I wouldn't worry about upgrading that. Instead of a preamp, consider a small mixer. The Yamaha MG10/2 is less than $100 and comes with 4 not bad preamps. Mixers are very handy for monitoring, phantom power etc. Again if you think you might need more than 2 channels, consider a bigger mixer.

None of the gear above would require replacing until you're ready for a serious step up in price

[chessrock]

Originally Posted by nathanfunk

- What is most likely the main cause of the bad results?

Improper gainstaging.

- Will I notice a huge difference when recording through a more professional interface such as the M-Audio devices with built-in preamps?

If you set it up and use the right way, with proper gain staging, then yes.

- How much of a difference will I notice in switching to a better mic (>$300)

If you use the right kind of mic and you use it properly, then you'll hear a significant difference. For example, if you're recording guitar and vocals at the same time with one mic, then you might want to look at something with an omni-directional pattern. An sm-57 will probably sound like crap. It's a good mic, but not for that application. Wrong tool for the job.

- Would it be smarter (in the long run) to invest in a separate mic pre-amp (vs. an interface with built-in preamp)?

I am planning to upgrade bit by bit and would rather buy excellent components that last a long time rather than continuosly replacing components...

I think you just answered your own question, there.

[Dani Pace]

A better soundcard would be greatly to your advantage, what you have dosen't give you a lot to work with. An assortment of mics is another thing which will improve your recordings, different mics respond to voice/instrument in very different ways, there is no one universal all purpose mic. Assumeing you know a few musicians, you might borrow several different mics and try them, find the ones which work best for you then go buy your own. Cheap mics even have their use, most of them have a limited response, some work surprisingly well for micing cymbals but lack the depth and richness for vocals, so keep in mind, you need mics which are designed for the purpose you intend to use them for. OK I've addressed step #2, step #1 is to upgrade your soundcard, with a better card you will be surprised with what that Sm 57 will do.

[nathanfunk]

Thanks guys! Your answers were very helpful. I'll start looking into a new sound card and possibly a small mixer. My brother says the Behringer mixers have great pre-amps so I'm considering the Eurorack MX602A.

I want to make sure the sound card is Linux compatible since I might switch to Ardour or Rosegarden sometime in the future... I don't think I'll have problems with the MAudio cards, but it might get iffy with other ones.

Thanks again.