Which XLR Cable?

N

Nadzilla

New member
Hey all,

Just looking for ways to make sure the best possible signal is reaching my recording rig, so we may as well get the first link in the chain correct, right?

At the moment I am using a Shure cable that came free with my PG58 all those years ago. I don't know how well these things age what with oxidisation, storage conditions etc, but pretty sure I'm not getting the best signal possible with it.

Currently running an SM7b with the larger / thicker wind-shield (pesky plosives!), the only real issue I have at the moment is that my recorded vocals aren't as clear as a mic of that grade should be giving. My chain is SM7b -> (Cable) -> PreSonus Firestudio Mobile -> Cubase 5 Essential

My "s", "t" and other sounds that should come through with the clarity I hear when actually speaking / singing just aren't as good as they could be. Somehow muffled, "blunted" I would say. I've not explored the possibility that my computer could be switching the PreSonus to a lower sample rate, which could possibly affect this, but if there's anything else I should be considering, then I am all ears to suggestions.

I do need to replace this XLR cable anyway, so let's have some suggestions please. :thumbs up:

I'm a "home studio" amateur recorder. I can't call myself a "producer" or "engineer" because I don't feel I have acquired the range of expertise to fit those titles yet. I am looking for a good Mid-Range XLR cable. I've seen cables that cost upwards of £75, which is above my budget, but if it can guarantee brilliant results then it may be worth considering saving up for a few months to get something that little bit more "boutique" or professional.

Any thoughts?
 
Is your room treated at all? Do you use a reflection filter or hang up a duvet behind you? If you're getting any signal through, I would think it unlikely the cable would colour the sound. Decent cables can offer durability, but not an increase in sound quality. Have you noticed an actual degradation in the quality of your recordings? Could this coincide with moving house/room/mic position?

Oh - and how's your mic technique? What sort of pop filter are you using? I used a cheap cloth one for a while, but it seemed to muffle the sound - I moved to a metal one and it improved - you can make your own from a wire coat hangar and nylon tights.
 
No pop filter, just the thicker wind-shield. The reason I use it like this is because I prefer to use my mic hand-held. I give a much better vocal performance when I'm free to move my body around, rather than having to stand in one position in front of a shock-mounted mic. Room is the same as it's always been, even when I used my old recording mic with the shock mount. I haven't treated the room yet, I am in the process of building a sound-proof partition for the room that will have audio foam on the surface too, just to control the room a bit more. I've literally just been doing little mic tests at the moment, no serious recordings. It improves a little if I EQ it, but you can still tell it's not a crisp as it should be.

The room is a little area of our kitchen, the walls are uncovered so there's going to be a lot of sound bouncing around from all the surfaces.

I used the original wind-shield that was already on the mic, the thinner one, and then swapped to the thicker one for plosive control. It works a lot better, but I was still getting the dulled clarity with the old shield too so it's not that. As for my technique, I am holding the mic about an inch or two from my face, aiming the sound directly into it down the middle as I believe the SM7b is directional? I will have to check that info again, but pretty sure it's directional. Seen plenty of people using it in this way and achieving good results. Also as far as I'm aware, the preamp on the PreSonus is pretty decent. I know of many home producers who get great results from them, so I'm thinking it's either the room or maybe just the software or my rig having a mind of its own and playing silly buggers with the sample rates maybe.

I'm a little suspicious of Cubase, too. It's revealed to me a few flaws which I am sure are put there to encourage you to buy a more expensive version. Those guys at Steinberg are sneaky gits like that. For example, not giving you the ability to export in MP3 format in the "Essential" versions of Cubase. Pretty nasty thing to do to people who have spent what is still a considerable amount of money on one of their products, even if it is at the lower end of their scale. -_-
 
[Update]
Just had a look on the Steinberg site, seems that the "Essentials" is only available with the 24-bit/96 kHz Steinberg audio engine, whereas the other two versions come with the 32-bit/192 kHz Steinberg audio engine. That'll probably make a fair bit of difference, and won't take full advantage of the PreSonus sample rates range.
This could be a large factor, but I'm still not convinced it's the full reason. Hmmm...
 
Aye, in fact yesterday I spent quite a while recording a track of each mic setting and wind-shield combo to find the best mix for my voice, heh. Also, those controls on the mic are bloomin' hard to change, heh. I would have thought Shure would put a little key or something in the box, but it turns out you just have to find something in your house that is kind of that size and use that instead. >_<
 
...Oh but thanks guys for the advice so far, glad I don't have to go out and spend a million quid on a spangly "Nitro-cryo treated adamantium-core, diamond filtered, kryptonite-encased uber-cable"! ^_^
 
Nadzilla said:
[Update]
Just had a look on the Steinberg site, seems that the "Essentials" is only available with the 24-bit/96 kHz Steinberg audio engine, whereas the other two versions come with the 32-bit/192 kHz Steinberg audio engine. That'll probably make a fair bit of difference, and won't take full advantage of the PreSonus sample rates range.
This could be a large factor, but I'm still not convinced it's the full reason. Hmmm...
Click to expand...

This won't be it. Even 16bit 44.1 wouldn't make you go "wow that's dull".

Three things to remember.
1: An sm7b will never be as bright and clear as 'that' condenser sound.
2: People sometimes put the big foam filter on to reduce sibilance.
3: Proximity effect.

I use sm7b with firestudio mobile all the time and never have problems (except sibilance!!!lol), but yeah, it's going to be duller sounding stock than many condensers will be.

Re: proximity effect. I pretty much always use a high pass filter quite generously with the sm7b, especially if I'm close up to it.


Did this setup work fine for you before or is it new to you?
 
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Nadzilla said:
Aye, in fact yesterday I spent quite a while recording a track of each mic setting and wind-shield combo to find the best mix for my voice, heh. Also, those controls on the mic are bloomin' hard to change, heh. I would have thought Shure would put a little key or something in the box, but it turns out you just have to find something in your house that is kind of that size and use that instead. >_<
Click to expand...

Stop biting your nails. :p
 
Ah okay, yeah could just be the mic, then, heh. Yeah the Mic is fairly new to me. I have enough gain on the PreSonus to handle it. I have to crank it up about 3/4 of the way but I have more than enough headroom on the Gain to handle the mic, thankfully (that was one of my initial worries when I was thinking about getting it).

Any recommendations on a good HPF to use?

Oh and yeah, I am right up on the mic. Very close proximity, heh.
 
Yeah, the presonus should be fine for it up close enough.
Any stock eq would do rightly.

I (and most people here) often say about getting the source sound right rather than tweak-tweak-tweaking, but I think a HPF in the 200hz region is just one of those things. Often it's gota be done.
 
Also, I don't know if you're using any effects or not, but it's not rare for people to make things worse and not realise.
Reverb is a big offender, especially if the low end isn't tailored or cut.

Quite often I find that the type of reverb or the reverb settings can completely make or break vocals.
 
In the process of knocking something together for y'all this afternoon. Will chuck something up on my soundcloud and post the link here. :)
 
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