Microphone Trouble Shooting

M

mattkw80

New member
I was recording with my brother tonight, and setup the usual vocal setup I use -- Rode NT2 into Universal Audio LA-610.

My brother sang a few test tracks, and I could not figure out why I couldn't get enough level. I messed around with the Preamp for a bit, maybe my levels we're wrong. I even told him he was not singing loud enough, and not directly into the mic enough.

So several takes later, I get on the mic myself. Hmm.... still not much level.... and the mic sounds hollow, not to mention, the SSSSing was unbearable. I go to the preamp again, and flip some knobs around.

I arrive at a setting I believe is now acceptable, but I am at this point really doubting my gear, and my ability.

We put down a few really noisey (computer fan) tracks, that sound really wierd.... as if the mic is picking up the room, and not the singer.

1 hour later I discovered I had the mic pointed backwards. :mad:


Man - did I feel stupid..... I mean, the damn Rode logo is on the FRONT of the MIC. :eek:
 
Like I always said

mattkw80,

Like I always said after fixing the perplexing computer problem that ended up surprisingly simple.

Don't think about how stupid we were not to get it right away. Think about how smart we were to finally figure it out.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
mattkw80 said:
I was recording with my brother tonight, and setup the usual vocal setup I use -- Rode NT2 into Universal Audio LA-610.

My brother sang a few test tracks, and I could not figure out why I couldn't get enough level. I messed around with the Preamp for a bit, maybe my levels we're wrong. I even told him he was not singing loud enough, and not directly into the mic enough.

So several takes later, I get on the mic myself. Hmm.... still not much level.... and the mic sounds hollow, not to mention, the SSSSing was unbearable. I go to the preamp again, and flip some knobs around.

I arrive at a setting I believe is now acceptable, but I am at this point really doubting my gear, and my ability.

We put down a few really noisey (computer fan) tracks, that sound really wierd.... as if the mic is picking up the room, and not the singer.

1 hour later I discovered I had the mic pointed backwards. :mad:


Man - did I feel stupid..... I mean, the damn Rode logo is on the FRONT of the MIC. :eek:
Click to expand...

It takes some "stuff" for you to admit that in public. I'll bet you never do that again :)
 
haha - yeah. I couldn't believe it.

The hollow - boomyness was of course because the rest of the room was now being pointed at, and my computer was also being pointed at, which is why I could hear the hum of the computer fan so well.

What I really found strange was the harsh "SSSSing".

I think the word in the lyrics was "try".

The " ch " sounding on the word try was brutal, and that's when I knew something was really wrong.


Anybody know why this would occur when behind the mic ?
 
mattkw80 said:
The " ch " sounding on the word try was brutal, and that's when I knew something was really wrong.


Anybody know why this would occur when behind the mic ?
Click to expand...

Read the big thread at the top of the page about polar patterns and diaphragm size. And also look at the polar pattern for that mic and see if you can figure it out.:)
 
Boingoman....

I am reading that thread. (Awesome, by the way, thanks for telling me about it.....)

Is the answer due to this..... "Cardioids work because they have vents that let sound into the back side of the diaphragm."


???
 
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