another noob who needs oh so much help

[negativecreep99]

Ok, im new here this is my first post, please be gentle

I am at my wits end.
Being very much the ignorant guitarist i've decided to join the very annoying so called revolution of home recording.

Knowing absolutely nothing about it, the products i needed or the education to even run or install the simplest of programs. i dove head first and got myself into a world of problems!

K im running a 633MHZ PC with a sound blaster live sound card.

Here is my first question..........no laughing please...........or at the very least keep laughter to the end of your replies!

Im using Windows XP
I have a brand new spiffy Mic.
I also have the attachment for the mic to be plugged directly into the soundcard.
When i plug the Mic into my sound card i can not get sound!

I was told that you just plug the mic in and it should work

Now
I've checked all my settings, they all have been switched to the SB live function.
Im positive im pluggin the mic into the correct slot.......i've also plugged it into every slot and received no response.

Im thinking that i need to get my mic working just normally and use it in say a chat room for testing before i try to use any recording programs.

Can anyone please give me some user friendly advice on what im doing wrong!

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Creeps:

I'm just guessing but if you're using a condensor mic, you would need a phantom power source....

If it is a dynamic mic, it would still need some amplification....

Since I don't use a PC to record, I may be off base here. Just trying to help and I'm not laughing.

Somebody will get you powered up.

Green Hornet

 

[hasbeen]

If you are a guitarist, you must have an amp, use it to make sure the mic works first, then post again...

 

[negativecreep99]

Hey Hornet
Thanks for the reply

To be honest im not really sure about the differnt types of mic's
I had recorded demos with my band using one of them tascams. At the time we used a condensor mic and it sounded great.

I myself have a Behringer ultravoice xm8500.........and yes i know its cheap


I figured you could just plug it into the sound card an go!

 

[Richard Monroe]

You figured wrong. "Spiffy new mic" doesn't tell us diddly. Give us the make and model of the mic, and we might be able to help you. There are lots of types of mics with different requirements. There are several standard things you might be missing, but you have given us insufficient data, dude. Also, what software program are you using?-Richie

 

[manning1]

comments. you have a behringer xm mic ? correct ?
dynamic ? correct ?
you will need some sort of mic preamp to boost the low mic signal into soundcard.
the cheapest one i know is behringer mic 100 at 40 bucks.
search under my name for lots of info on recording set ups.
also with respect your pc is quite a bit underpowered for serious daw work.
you might want to consider a amd athlon.
at the very least as your running xp - make sure your current pc
has 512 ram in it.
peace.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

I figured you could just plug it into the sound card an go!

If it was that easy the world would have no use for people like Eddie Kramer.

When are people going to realize that there's more to recording than hitting "play and record"?

::sigh::

 

[negativecreep99]

Richard Monroe - as i stated before your post im using a Behringer ultravoice xm8500 Mic -
I am using Guitar Tracks pro 3 and i also have a copy of Cubasis VST - not sure what one im going to use. any other info you need?

manning1 - i understand what your saying, what about headsets used in chat rooms?.....do they have a pre-amp? i was told that you just need to plug the mic into the sound card and it would amplifi it?........thanks for the brand name...im looking them up right now

No offense takin, thats why im here askin questions and thats what this board is for.

But i have to say this.
During my little escapade all i seem to run into is these arrogant high and mighty perfectionists that look down upon you for trying to learn, as if its a weakness.
I know perfectly well my computer is not top of the line but that shouldn't stop me from trying.
My band, and the music im into doesn't have that polished sound to it. In fact i would be tickled pink if i could achieve a low fi sound such as bands like Kyuss or Clutch.

Thanks for taking the time manning, any and all advise you can give is so much welcomed


Cloneboy Studio - I guess i have to apologize to you cloneboy for my pure ignorance. Im sorry my wanting to educate myself on how to create music for myself is such a annoyance to someone so superior.
I mean we all couldn't be born with the innate ability to know how to use the mixing boards and computer programs at birth like yourself.
And geez..........me asking a question on a NOOBIE board was wayyyyyy out of order

I guess you forgot what it was like to learn huh?

 

[tedluk]

Negativecreep99- I'm sorry that some of replies were less than helpful to you. Sometimes we get frustrated because people want help and don't tell us much of anything and it's difficult to give meaningful assistance.

I don't know why, but no one asked you if you're sure that your SB card is functioning properly. Have you checked Control Panel to make sure that there are no conflicts or problems with the SB? Are the other functions on the card working properly?

As you might have noticed, SB has precious little information in their manual regarding recording with the SB Live!. That's because it's not really a recording card. All of SB's cards are oriented towards gaming and that's why people experience a lot of problems with them.

You should be able to connect a dynamic microphone directly to the card without running it through a preamp. Is the connector on the card a 1/4"? I can't tell from the manual. Most of the consumer cards have a 1/8" mini jack on them and, according to the manual, it's a stereo jack. I'm not sure why. If it's an 1/8" jack, do you have a mic like you'd use in a chat room? That should work for testing purposes.

In order for anyone to determine what's happening, you need to be very specific in what it is that you've done. What program did you attempt to record in? Every program has different ways of handling audio. Usually you have to enable the audio inputs in the program in some manner. Lots of computers have onboard soundcards now and it's possible that the program is looking for the wrong input.

Unfortunately, that's only ONE possible problem! You really need to narrow the problem down for us so we can determine if it's a software or hardware problem first of all. Then we can try to pin things down from there.

Again, be VERY specific. You will find that if you do that you will get answers and we'll help you solve your problem.

Oh! Welcome to the board!

Ted

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yo Negativ! I hope I did not appear arrogant. There's plenty of that to go around. I'm sorry I confused your mic's designation with the Behringer ultragain which is a preamp, not a mic. Your mic is a dynamic mic, not a condenser, and does not require phantom power. However, you need a preamp. The mic input on your soundcard was designed for a cheap computer mic, not the real deal, and will not produce good sound with or without the right mic. Consider a perfectly good cheap (as they go) preamp- M-Audio Audiobuddy, $80 new, less used. Connect the mic to the mic in on the preamp, then a balanced 1/4" TRS patch cord (not a speaker cable) from the line out on the preamp to the line in on the sound card, and you should be good to go. Note- TRS means tip-ring-sleeve, like a stereo cable, not tip-sleeve, like a guitar cable. Get it as short as it can be and still reach, as the longer cables are, the more they cost. Mics put out mic level, and all of them need a preamp to raise the signal to line level. Some high-end sound cards have preamps in them, but I don't believe your SB is quite in that league. No, don't buy an ART, a Presonus, or a Behringer, even if they are cheap.
Not everyone here is trying to rain on your parade, but mics run from $20 to $10,000, and preamps run from $40 per channel to $4500 per channel. Most people just want you to get the best sound you can afford. When the money becomes available, look for a used Shure SM57 to replace that Behringer. It will set you back $50-60 and will blow the Behringer out of the water. Preamp upgrades and soundcard upgrades are down the road, also. Understand that I'm into this hobby for about $35,000 worth of gear, and only now have finally achieved 2 channels that I would call professional quality. Everybody is at a different place, but be advised that people with a whole lot of bucks sunk into this deal are going out of their way to try and help you, not just busting your balls for something to do. Best of luck.-Richie

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Cloneboy Studio - I guess i have to apologize to you cloneboy for my pure ignorance. Im sorry my wanting to educate myself on how to create music for myself is such a annoyance to someone so superior.
I mean we all couldn't be born with the innate ability to know how to use the mixing boards and computer programs at birth like yourself.
And geez..........me asking a question on a NOOBIE board was wayyyyyy out of order

I guess you forgot what it was like to learn huh?

Nope.

But so many people act like getting a quality recording is something anyone with a computer, some software and a nasty soundcard can do.

 

[Ronan]

I am at my wits end.
Being very much the ignorant guitarist i've decided to join the very annoying so called revolution of home recording.

Knowing absolutely nothing about it, the products i needed or the education to even run or install the simplest of programs.

Yo Negative creep, Not all revolutions in history have lead to better things, Some just ended up with thousands being slaughtered to have the old regime replaced by a worse one.

But now to chime in with some advice that does not directly answer your question. I say get a cassette 4 track and learn how to record. I do not mean this to sound arogant at all, you yourself said that you know almost nothing and now instead of learning how to record you are trying to learn how to get Windows to work properly. (a very common mistake): I say get really simple tools and learn to record. You will have a lot more fun and learn a whole lot more. Look at a 4 track cassette or maybe an old 8 track. Once you start to master these things you will make better recording no matter what you end up working on when you "upgrade". A lot of people think I am insane when I chime in with this advice but i am dead serious. with simple tools you will learn more and make better recordings than if you jump straight into a computer system (unless you are doing electronica). I have been using computers for music for over 15 years, and I have made records in some of the most famous and expensive studios in the world, but right now I am in Italy doing a record on a half inch 8 track with absolutely no computers or digital effects of any sort and its one of the most exciting projects I have worked on in a long time.

 

[gordone]

I have to agree with Ronan. I started with a 4-track cassette recorder in 1991, so by the time I got up to full-fledged PC recording in 2000, I knew all the concepts involved (tracking, mixing, eq, busses, aux sends, etc...) so learning to record on the PC was just taking all the analog concepts and applying them to PC software/HW interfaces. The concepts are all the same, they are just implemented differently, and I believe they are easier to learn on a small porta-studio unit. Look for a used Tascam 424 (I still have the MKII that I play around with once in a while).
Good luck!