Audio is too soft

H

happinesstudios

New member
Hi, im fairly new to recording and recently started using new equipment. Im using pro tools 8 le with the original m box and a shure sm57. I have been trying to record acoustic guitar with a pick and finger picking and i cant seem to get a good sound. when i raise the volumes on the mbox it is distorted somewhat. I also dont have monitors and just use regular computer speakers or samson ch700 headphones. I havent tried recording electric guitar as of yet because i wanted to lay down the acoustic first. Is my setup not able to pick up softer tones or am i doing something wrong? If it is my setup, what would I need to replace? Any advice is appreciated, thank you very much. :)
 
SM57 is not the typical 'go to' mic for acoustic. Two condensers work better IME. I'm not familiar with your DAW or interface, so I will let someone else give 'good' advice. :)
 
You should be able to get a good level without distortion using the 57. What kind of cable are you using? Is it XLR to jack, or XLR to XLR? If you are using XLR to jack, that might explain low levels, because you would be feeding a mike level signal into a line level input.
 
That will definitely help. You will need 10 posts to add links. You are not a bot obviously, so HERE is a thread where you can blatantly get your post count up to 10 quickly. :D
 
both essentially. the volume is so low i can barely hear the guitar and when i raise it it is too distorted to even listen to. Keep in mind this is the only thing I have ever tried to do with pro tools. I am going to try recording an electric guitar and seeing if i get any distortion or anything
 
happinesstudios said:
both essentially. the volume is so low i can barely hear the guitar and when i raise it it is too distorted to even listen to. Keep in mind this is the only thing I have ever tried to do with pro tools. I am going to try recording an electric guitar and seeing if i get any distortion or anything
Click to expand...
Can you tell us what level you're actually getting on your recordings, in numbers, ie: -12db, etc.....Not being able to hear the guitar might be normal if you're expecting it to be as loud as most music you listen to on your PC. It's normal to have to crank up your monitors/headphones while recording.

It will be easier to help you if you can tell us what level the guitar is recording at on the meters.
 
I use an SM57 with no volume issues with an acoustic. How are you micing the guitar? Pont the mic towards the 12th fret, about 9" away. When you say you are getting distortion form cranking it up - distortion on playback through those computer speakers? Or do you mean clipping of the signal?
 
mjbphotos said:
I use an SM57 with no volume issues with an acoustic. How are you micing the guitar? Pont the mic towards the 12th fret, about 9" away. When you say you are getting distortion form cranking it up - distortion on playback through those computer speakers? Or do you mean clipping of the signal?
Click to expand...

How does the SM57 do with recording acoustic guitar? I've never associated that
mic with recording acoustics....
 
Legolas1971 said:
How does the SM57 do with recording acoustic guitar? I've never associated that
mic with recording acoustics....
Click to expand...
doesn't matter ... it's what the OP has and without regard to whether it's the best mic choice ... he should at least be able to get enough volume.
 
I agree. He should be able to get a decent level.
OP...do you have any info on the levels yet? Input level? Output on the meters? Where are you placing the mic?

I think you mentioned you were finger picking. My finger picking tends to be pretty quiet too. I ended up fiddling with mic placement angle and closeness as well as bringing up the gain.
 
Hi, thanks for all the responses. I just recorded some things. It seems like the distortions are not as bad as when I first tried. Anyways, Im right now bouncing the files to a disk to upload (cant seem to find a better way of doing this). Once there done ill upload them.
 
View attachment Audio 1_02.mp3View attachment Audio 1_01.mp3View attachment Audio 2_01.mp3View attachment Audio 2_02.mp3

Idk if I uploaded them correctly. Anyways, 'Audio 1_01' is with nothing done in Pro tools and all the knobs on the mbox at 12 o clock. Its also fingerpicked. The next one, 'Audio 1_02' is the same settings but played with a pick. both of these are very low. The next one, 'Audio 2_01' is fingerpicked with the phantom power button on on the mbox and all the settings on high. 'Audio 2_02' is my attempt at a happy medium, although it isnt:(.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!
 
OK, 1_01 is recorded at a ridiculously low level. 2_01 is pretty low also.

What are you seeing as far as peaks in Pro Tools?

Are you just guessing at the levels, or are you looking at the peaks and stuff on the computer monitor?

Oh, and an SM57 doesn't need phantom power. Won't hurt it, it just doesn't use it or need it.

EDIT: And I'm also hearing some buzzing, crackling and popping. Are you sure your mic cable and mic are good?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top