[HELP] setting up a recording

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espeelrihm

New member
Hi. I'm new here and will say honestly that I don't know anything regarding recordings. I just want to surprise my wife cause she is the one who likes to sing and do this stuff. I bought a condenser mic it is in XLR cable but it says that I need a phantom power supply to be able to use it. My question now is how can I connect that mic to a laptop for the recording. I did see this behringer u-phoria um2 but not sure if this is the one that I need.

Appreciate your responses.

Thanks
 
You've got the idea - you need an audio interface with phantom power. However, you do get what you pay for, and this $30 option is the low end of the spectrum. For just starting out, it may be all you really need (what mic did you buy?), to determine if its something you want to invest more money in.
Note also that you need a DAW (software to do the recording).
 
espeelrihm said:
Hi. I'm new here and will say honestly that I don't know anything regarding recordings. I just want to surprise my wife cause she is the one who likes to sing and do this stuff. I bought a condenser mic it is in XLR cable but it says that I need a phantom power supply to be able to use it. My question now is how can I connect that mic to a laptop for the recording. I did see this behringer u-phoria um2 but not sure if this is the one that I need.

Appreciate your responses.

Thanks
Click to expand...
The Behringer will do what you need. It looks like a very inexpensive version of something more durable, like a Focusrite Solo. Here's a review from a guy that does podcast equipment reviews, in case you haven't seen it.

YouTube

If you watch it all the way to the end you'll see that he had to figure out for himself how to make it record a mono track. Behringer's documentation and support is spotty IME, but their prices are fairly impossible to beat.
 
I would not personally recommend the Behringer. Not because it will not work, it would* but because..
1) I suspect the long term reliability for such low cost.
2) I do not like the way the company operates. I do understand however that some people have a desperate urge to get into recording but have very little money and in such cases I have no problem with the people themselves.

So, unless you are really strapped look at interfaces from Tascam, Steinberg, the aforementioned Focusrite and others and consider units in the $100-$150 US range. How much did you pay for the capacitor (aka & archaically "condenser") microphone and what is the make and model?

You(she!) are also going to need some headphones. I can definitely recommend the AKG K92s

*I have a deep and abiding loathing for cheap, "one lunged" audio interfaces. Anyone who is even faintly serious about their music WILL regret not having two mic inputs.

Dave.
 
The old hate Behringer thing I really thought had gone. Turbosound, Midas and a few other very respected companies are part of the music group - and in my venue I have had more Behringer than ever before come through the doors and the X32 has got to be the most popular mixer ever! Many of the people coming through have one or the Midas version and have their own show files so they use ours instead of theirs, and just load in their show. We have a pile of their DIs and bits and pieces because they work, but mostly because if people steal them 'accidentally' it's not as bad as losing one worth 5 times the cost, BUT - the Behringers are no more unreliable than anything else. Most also come with longer warranty periods too - and no manufacturer puts extended warranties on unreliable cheap kit.
 
I do not "hate" Behringer Rob and yes, they have made some excellent gear at remarkably low prices. I do however have first hand knowledge of unreliability in the shape of a BCA2000. When the third sample broke I consigned it to the loft. (free for spares)

On the other hand I have a Xenyx 802 in a bedroom that amps up two mics in the garden, Been running 24/7 for over 5 years!

Yes, they have "absorbed" some classy firms but not, AFAIK, Blackstar? Does not however stop them producing practically exact copies (externally at least) of the HT-5 and HT-20.

The crunch came for me when, about the time the X32 came out, Uli was all set to have an interview, Q&A session with Sound on Sound. When he got wind of some of the "awkward questions" he would be asked..He bottled it.

Dave.
 
espeelrihm....

- What mic did you get?
- Do have a particular DAW (recording software) picked out yet? The simpler the better depending on how your wife can grasp technical sort of stuff.
- Does your wife play an instrument? Guitar, keyboard or other?
- Will she be using 'backing tracks' to sing along with? If so, will these be in the computer or played from another device?
- You/she likely will need headphones.
- a 'pop filter' in front of the mic is a something that would be suggested to minimize 'plosives' with the microphone.
 
arcaxis said:
espeelrihm....

- What mic did you get?
- Do have a particular DAW (recording software) picked out yet? The simpler the better depending on how your wife can grasp technical sort of stuff.
- Does your wife play an instrument? Guitar, keyboard or other?
- Will she be using 'backing tracks' to sing along with? If so, will these be in the computer or played from another device?
- You/she likely will need headphones.
- a 'pop filter' in front of the mic is a something that would be suggested to minimize 'plosives' with the microphone.
Click to expand...

A simple DAW? If you know of one Mark do tell! Ok, cheap shot, some are vastly more complex than others. OP can have a go with Audacity. Totally free forever and about as easy as they get (which is to say, not that!) The DAW will give a newb a start and get the basics of recording sorted but it is not suited to track building being "just" and audio editor but a remarkably good one even for free!

Of course, many of the "better" AIs come with a DAW anyway.

Dave.
 
My wife do not play instruments. Probably she will just sing along with some musics and mostly plugging the mic on a computer.
for the DAW she not into technical stuffs but I can teach her (but me myself needs to understand first). Planning to use Audacity since that is the one I can see mostly on the net for recording software.
 
Ah okay. I think for now will just stick with this Behringer and if in the long run she will like doing this kind of stuffs then maybe that's the time that we will be investing in the equipments.
 
Not sure what you plan to sing too, but this may be a good way to start. You can separate/mix the individual instruments/vocals for backing tracks on the cheap side. I have used it in the past for clients more times than I should admit...:)

Go to the 'custom backing track' tab for the individual tracks.

Karaoke Version Link
 
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ecc83 said:
I do not "hate" Behringer Rob and yes, they have made some excellent gear at remarkably low prices. I do however have first hand knowledge of unreliability in the shape of a BCA2000. When the third sample broke I consigned it to the loft. (free for spares)

On the other hand I have a Xenyx 802 in a bedroom that amps up two mics in the garden, Been running 24/7 for over 5 years!

Yes, they have "absorbed" some classy firms but not, AFAIK, Blackstar? Does not however stop them producing practically exact copies (externally at least) of the HT-5 and HT-20.

The crunch came for me when, about the time the X32 came out, Uli was all set to have an interview, Q&A session with Sound on Sound. When he got wind of some of the "awkward questions" he would be asked..He bottled it.

Dave.
Click to expand...

Funny Dave.

The medium sized retailers here are openly advertising with Mackie clones, Shure clones, and, yes, even Behringer clones...

Imagine, cheaper than Behringer!

I can understand your dislike if you had a BCA2000. That's from a period when Ulli hadn't realised yet that you need to keep an eye on these Chinese making your gear. Turn your back and they'll put other caps in there because they are a fraction of a cent cheaper. Today, Behringer has it's own city, including a university. That problem is gone.

I personally avoid the analog mixers. But we're very happy with the two X32's we operate.

And everything is going global. Take JBL as an example. High-End JBL speakers are designed and produced in Denmark. The midrange comes from Mexico and the consumer goodies from China. Nothing is "made in the USA" anymore. And that's true for a lot of brands. Ruined by Harman.

Behringer invested in an new building for Klark when they took over. 1 million UK£. Klark engineers were happy. OTOH, older products from Klark were dropped, even from service. No parts, no schematics. Companies need to make money, even on service and repair. And Klark didn't sell enough to make that economically possible. Today, Klark is selling about five times as much as before. That results in big R&D budgets, something they didn't have before.

Then take a look at Avid...
 
cyrano said:
Funny Dave.

The medium sized retailers here are openly advertising with Mackie clones, Shure clones, and, yes, even Behringer clones...

Imagine, cheaper than Behringer!

I can understand your dislike if you had a BCA2000. That's from a period when Ulli hadn't realised yet that you need to keep an eye on these Chinese making your gear. Turn your back and they'll put other caps in there because they are a fraction of a cent cheaper. Today, Behringer has it's own city, including a university. That problem is gone.

I personally avoid the analog mixers. But we're very happy with the two X32's we operate.

And everything is going global. Take JBL as an example. High-End JBL speakers are designed and produced in Denmark. The midrange comes from Mexico and the consumer goodies from China. Nothing is "made in the USA" anymore. And that's true for a lot of brands. Ruined by Harman.

Behringer invested in an new building for Klark when they took over. 1 million UK£. Klark engineers were happy. OTOH, older products from Klark were dropped, even from service. No parts, no schematics. Companies need to make money, even on service and repair. And Klark didn't sell enough to make that economically possible. Today, Klark is selling about five times as much as before. That results in big R&D budgets, something they didn't have before.

Then take a look at Avid...
Click to expand...

So, "The end justifies the means" ? Just recently there was a BBC tv programme about a company of many years standing that built ICE CREAM VANS!

Based on a Merc' chassis this things sell for £60k up. Some one started "cloning" them and selling them through the internet at 1/2 the price. The BBC team put a car, loaded with ENG kit opposite the criminal's works. A week later the car had gone and was later found on waste ground with all the gear gone.

That is major crime and to ME anyone who makes blatant copies of another product, be it an amp, an ice cream wagon or YOUR mastered music is a criminal.

Behringer might be a massive force in the global market and might have gained reliability but until they PAY for other peoples design brains they are no better to me than those car stealing shites!

Dave.
 
There's NO copyright on schematics. There is, however, copyright on board designs. I've never seen a Behringer board that was a blatant copy of a board made by others. There's fi, the story on the nets that the ADA8000 is a copy of an RME ADI8. If you even take just a glance at it, you can see it's a different board. The some goes for all Behringers that I've seen the inside of.

There are maybe a dozen topologies for (transistor) mic preamps. Who designed them, is often not known. Richard Neve, fi, designed a few mic preamps for Philips, a long time ago. These were manufactured by Philips and appear under the brand names ELA, EELA, Telefunken and Siemens. Who would own the copyright, if there was one for schematics?

Most mixers are somehow "copies" of other mixers with minor variations.

Also, it's a crime when Behringer copies gear, but it isn't when others do it? If you would draw your statement over to other brands, there would be very few brands left to choose from.

And these days, most electronics are just an application of the chip manufacturer's basic application note. The board design and testing takes up 90% of the development time and cost.

The same goes for kitchen recipes. Since the number of ingredients is limited, we wouldn't be allowed to cook without paying licenses pretty fast, since all possible recipes would be copyrighted. Just a neutral example of how ridiculous your take on copyright is.

Music and other works of art are an entirely different matter.
 
There may not be copyright on schematics but there certainly is protection of circuit design, Called a patent and Blackstar hold several (whether they could afford to defend them against the mighty Bellringers is another matter! As it is for many companies.)

Look at this> Bugera G5 Infinium 5W Class-A Tube Amplifier Head at Gear4music.com

Then look at the Blackstar HT-5. Berries have do similar with the HT-20. It is perhaps laughable that the amp is puffed as "Class A" when in fact the original is class AB fixed bias. Buggers use the same 12BH7 OP valve and there is NO WAY that can deliver 5 watts in class A!

The argument that "everybody does it and circuits are derived from data sheets" simply won't wash. Blackstar would be a bit peeved if berries copied their circuits but the big insult is copying the cosmetics.

"Every body steals from their employer" (be it only time or the odd Biro)

"Everybody exceeds speed limits" (whilst texting!)

"Everybody parks WTF they like because "I shall only be a minute"

Just because these things are common does not make them right.

And! Uli still bottled the interview!!

"Music and other works of art are an entirely different matter." WHAT?! So, us "artisans" with the big red hands can have OUR work ripped off ad n but the "Arteeest" (back of hand to forehead) MUST be protected?

Dave.
 
Well, Dave, I'll be the first to admit I don't know about tubes.

But even if Blackstar holds a patent, it doesn't necessarily mean they are the first one to design such a circuit. I don't know. Is there a schematic you could show me?

The patent system is a complete mess. With Google trying to patent an open source codec, fi, it is very much a field where only the big players matter. I don't know about other places, but the EU patent office is a mine zone. It's outside the jurisdiction of the EU, the director is pretty much a dictator, resulting in sloppy reviews with lots of patents granted that aren't original.

Besides Behringer, other brands do exactly the same thing. And they never get any flak for it. That's what annoys me. And Behringer might be a big boy now, they used to be much smaller. And even then, they got flak for it. These old (German made) Behringers are very much wanted these days. So they can't be that bad, can they?

And "class A" or whatever, is pretty much a marketing phrase these days. You and I may understand what it means, in terms of marketing/publicity it doesn't mean anything. And if I understand correctly, you are saying Behringer's copy of the Blackstar amps isn't a direct copy? So the problem is in the name?

It is very, very easy to copy an idea. Or a design principle. And then it's up to the judge to see if it's infringing on copyright. Often enough, even the smallest change in values is enough to have a different design, in copyright terms. And that's what you were talking about.

All this talk about copyright just holds back innovation and competition. And that's what the big boys like a lot, since they have the lawyers to suppress anything they don't like. Like graphene, for instance. Even when the inventors placed it in the public domain, some corporate entities threatened to sue them. Humanity almost lost that invention, because of it.

That's what I think. I'm outta here.
 
Before you quit...I really am talking about the MORALITY of copying, almost verbatim, the outward appearance of a competitor's product (I have no idea of the internals of the Bugger's amp and it is not in my gift to post B's circuits)

That practice would be bad enough if they were ripping off Fender or Peavey (but they wouldn't would they!) but Blackstar's turnover probably wouldn't cover Uli's travel budget for '17/'18!

Yes the world is a bad, dangerous, bloody awful place but just sitting back and saying "that's the way it works" will change nothing.

And I count MY "engineering" skill AS important as that of most "pop" musicians.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Yes, they have "absorbed" some classy firms but not, AFAIK, Blackstar? Does not however stop them producing practically exact copies (externally at least) of the HT-5 and HT-20.
Click to expand...
Hi Dave, I think we discussed this before. I own 2 Behringer products. One is a 8 channel ADA that I once used to expand the inputs on my Digi 002. I never really used it much and it’s sitting in my garage. The other is one of the copies of the Blackstar HT-5, the Bugera G5. Even the model number is similar to the Blackstar. It is almost an exact copy feature wise, but includes one feature the Blackstar didn’t have, an internal power soak. I use this strictly for a practice amp and it’s been working fine after 1.5 years. They’ve really pushed the envelope though with the way they copy products. When I bought the Bugera, I wasn’t even aware of the Blackstar. I got an email from a dealer with a video of the amp, so I purchased it. Being a keyboard player myself, the MiniMoog copy is kind of blasphemous but it sounds pretty good. While I personally would not normally buy this brand, I have no problem recommending their products to others who are looking for cost effective solutions. Their quality has seemed to improve over the years.

How does the amp bias the output section correctly when there are no bias adjustments? I built a mic pre many years ago and used LED’s instead of resistors to bias the tube, so I could change tubes to any 12xx7. Does the Blackstar (and ultimately the G5) use the same idea in the 12BH7 output circuit? Behringer claims its auto adjusting the bias and I can’t think of a cheaper way of doing this other than using LED’s.
 
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"How does the amp bias the output section correctly when there are no bias adjustments? I built a mic pre many years ago and used LED’s instead of resistors to bias the tube, so I could change tubes to any 12xx7. Does the Blackstar (and ultimately the G5) use the same idea in the 12BH7 output circuit? Behringer claims its auto adjusting the bias and I can’t think of a cheaper way of doing this other than using LED’s. "

Aha! I suspect when they say "Class A" they really mean cathode bias! Using the latter DOES give "auto-bias" but the technique has been around for close on a century, hardly revolutionary.

It is possible they have used a servo IC system to produce a sophisticated auto-bias but at the price I doubt it.

I would be surprised if the 12BH7 can really put out 5 watts cathode biased, will do some numbers. If anyone has a genuine HT-5 and wants to bias it? Shout.

Dave.
 
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