Recording

M

MarkH

New member
Hey i was wondering if someone could help me out with some advice?
I want to be able to record compositions/songs that i write in my spare time, and the setup i use right now is pretty darn useless (loads of noise, very difficult to get the mic volume high enough). I do have a behringer 10 channel mixer, however, but when i use it i get even more noise than normal. Is this partly due to the fact that the mixer is professional spec and the pc sound card isn't? I'm prepared to buy extra equipment, but I don't want to splash out on something and then realise that i've wasted my money. Can anyone offer me some advice?
 
have you checked your cables?

sounds like you're introducing some noise somewhere before it ever gets to the soundcard... especially if you're noticing more noise when adding a mixer to the sound path. This may be the mic(s), or the mixer itself, or the cables... or something else. Could be that whatever noise you're getting is amplified through the gain settings on the mixer... might just be the mic itself of the cables running things to/from your mixer. Some process of elimination might help before buying a new soundcard/gear to fix the problem. Try testing your connections with/without the mixer using different mics/cables if at all possible, trying to isolate your noise. I work with a guy who used to do studio recording for movie soundtracks in the 70's - he said that a large part of his job at the time was all about 'where's that buzz coming from?'. Substituting 'known good' pieces for 'questionable' pieces one at a time may help isolate where your buzz is coming from. If it's really loud, and it changes based on how your gear is plugged in, it has to do with faulty gear or gear configuration more than the soundcard - the soundcard's quality may be questionable, but there's probably a larger problem to be discovered.
HTH

-The Burden-
 
I agree with the previous post. Also keep in mind that you may not need to use all those external things. I do, because I like them, but then again i don't have noise issues. Mic checks are good, use good cables, don't use cheapo processors that may color your sound in a bad way. If worse comes to worse, grab a small breakout box/soundcard deal and record through those. If you need suggestions, there are loads of reviews on the forum, just do a search.
 
mark. what type of sound card are you using ?
search under my name for hundreds of tips ive posted in the last year for folks like yourself. then if ya got Q's just ask and i'll help.
 
Sound card

The sound card i've got is a CMI8738/C3DX PCI by C-Media. I know that it's probably not made for recording or anything but I want to see how much noise I can reduce. I've noticed if I mute the mic input on the sound card with nothing plugged into it, there's no noise added over the speakers. As soon as I plug a cable in and do the same, the noise is significantly more. What can I do? The cable I'm using is pretty good, but could it be down to the fact that I'm using a converter on the cable to put it into the card? Would it help to buy a cable that has the plugs I need, rather than using a converter?
 
well firstly NEVER USE sound card MIC IN. total garbage.
secondly with respect that CMI is how can i put this politely. terrible.
heres the signal chain.....
mic>>>behr mixer>>>sound card LINE INPUT.
if you want more info just ask .
if you detail your pc confign i'll make further suggestions
for improvement.
peace.
 
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