Very Low Signal

[cameronbailey]

I'm recording acoustic guitar in Cubase SX with a Shure 57 plugged into my M-Audio Firewire Solo. My input level is set to full on the Firewire Solo.

This image (sorry I can't post urls yet) shows a sample recording on the top, and a normalized version on the bottom. In the sample I was strumming with a pick, and the mic was about 6 inches from the guitar:

cameronbailey [dot] com [slash] signal.jpg

It seems like I should be able to get a much higher signal than this without having to normalize. Normalizing from a signal this low gives me a ton of room noise. What types of things can I try out to get this louder?

 

[cameronbailey]

Solved. I called up my friend, ran down the street, and borrowed some of his equipment. He hooked me up with a matching transformer, and my problems are gone. I'd heard of impedance, but didn't really know how it worked.

 

[bennychico11]

a matching transformer?


can I ask which input you were plugging the 57 into?

 

[cameronbailey]

I was using the guitar input because the only cable I have is XLR to 1/4". He also lent me a XLR cable, so I tried that in the microphone input (with no transformer) and I had the same problem as before.

 

[bennychico11]

I was using the guitar input because the only cable I have is XLR to 1/4". He also lent me a XLR cable, so I tried that in the microphone input (with no transformer) and I had the same problem as before.

are you talking about a transformer like this?
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--SHUA95U

you shouldn't need an impedance transformer.

The SM57 (and almost all mics) need to be plugged into the XLR input there. The XLR input has a preamp in it...to amplify the low signal. The guitar input would not only have the wrong matching impedance but also no mic preamp. This would explain why you were getting a low signal when trying to record into the line/DI inputs.

With regards to the input impedance on the Solo versus the Shure mic, they should be fine....the Solo is rated for low impedance microphones.

 

[cameronbailey]

Does there need to be anything special about the XLR cable? I mentioned in my previous post that I tried a borrowed XLR cable with the mic input, and was still getting a low signal.