Sudden Jump in Gain

[ollietheclouds]

Hello all!

I am quite new to recording and I think I have just hit my first "road-bump". Any I thought what better way than to ask to people who already went through this stuff. hehe

Well, to make it short, I connected my condenser mic to my interface and began turning up the gain on the mic as I monitored it. Toward the end of the knob position, I noticed a sudden sharp increase in gain. 2x-3x louder from one second to the next.

I connected my Taylor 210e and it did not have the same issue.

Is this normal for pre-amps in general? Or is it something I should be concerned about/ try to fix???

Thanks in advance!

 

[JimmyS1969]

Welcome to the forum ollie!

First off I must ask 'what interface'? And what/how you are connected and how you are seeing this level change. Is it from your DAW? And what is that?

No, it is not typical for signal to 'jump' in output at the top of it's abilities tho it is common for them to sound crappy or noisy when pushed. By 'them' I mean lower end preamps that are built in to lower end interfaces.

Most important is for you to give more details about your particular setup.

 

[ollietheclouds]

Thanks!

Welcome to the forum ollie!

First off I must ask 'what interface'? And what/how you are connected and how you are seeing this level change. Is it from your DAW? And what is that?

No, it is not typical for signal to 'jump' in output at the top of it's abilities tho it is common for them to sound crappy or noisy when pushed. By 'them' I mean lower end preamps that are built in to lower end interfaces.

Most important is for you to give more details about your particular setup.

Thanks for the welcome Jimmy! Didn't expect a reply so fast

Well, I don't know much about gear so I wanted to start off simple/mobile and not immerse myself without getting a feel for recording.

The interface is an iRig Pro Duo. The condenser mic is the CAD GLX2200 (I have 2 and both have the same gain jump) which I monitor directly from the interface through headphones. I have not connected to a DAW, as I want to nail this setup first
That's pretty much my entire setup!


My possible conclusions:
1) Interface defective.
2)Condenser mics defective
3) That's just how the interface works.
4) I'm doing it wrong!

Only thing is can't figure which one

 

[ido1957]

My Lexicon U42S does the exact same spike at around 9/10. Massive volume spike and distortion. Lexicon admitted it was a design flaw and sent me 4 new volume pots for free.
They fixed the problem on all units made after a certain date (this was years ago can't remember the date).
So I would check your warranty date....

 

[ollietheclouds]

Thanks for the reply ido. After opening up my device, it will attempt to replace the pots. Hopefully that solves the problem.

Thanks for the advice!

---------- Update ----------

Thanks for the reply ido. After opening up my device, it will attempt to replace the pots. Hopefully that solves the problem.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[ecc83]

Thanks for the reply ido. After opening up my device, it will attempt to replace the pots. Hopefully that solves the problem.

Thanks for the advice!

---------- Update ----------

Thanks for the reply ido. After opening up my device, it will attempt to replace the pots. Hopefully that solves the problem.

Thanks for the advice!

I would not bother to try changing the pots. I doubt they are the correct "reverse log" type* that is needed or the problem would not be as bad as it is but then you almost certainly would not be able to get RLPs that would fit and of the right value anyway.

*Even those pre amps that USE such pots and some are pretty high end, still suffer a degree of "gain jumping" or cramping. The "proper" way to do it is a stepped gain in say 6dB increments together with a + & -10dB variable set pot. Another solution is to give the pre amp less gain, 50dB say and then have a 20dB make up amp (this is why even quite a modest mixer can be of more use than an AI with a single gain pot. Mixers generally have 3 controls. Gain, channel level and ultimate Main Main Mix Out.

You should read up on "gain staging" and then avail yourself perhaps of a CloudLifter or a small mixer.

(Inserts are a bit out of fashion on AIs these days but My M-A Fast track Pro was a bugger for this problem. I solved it with a "pot box" in the insert route)

Dave.