Audio Problem

[EdJames]

Hi guys, hope this is finally somewhere I can get some help.

Problem is, my mic unexplainedly conked out one day and I'm not sure why. To begin with, all the quality dropped out of it one day, sound went tinny and audio quality bottomed out, sounded like a £5 mic all of a sudden. Then, it just stopped working all together.

I have an AKG b 2000 c microphone hooked into an M-Audio AudioBuddy preamp. Thisis then hook into a Soundblaster Live 24-bit soundcard.

When singing into the mic, there seems to register a sound on the preamp, but the computer doesn't pic anything up in recording software. I'm suspecting the problem is soundcard settings related, however what else could it be down too?

I'd appreciate any suggestions so that I can check into them.

Ed James
www.edjamesmusic.com

 

[DALtune]

It could be the sound card. Have you check the connection between the pre-amp and the computer. Sounds silly, but a loose cable could be it.

 

[jimmiebananas]

Could be anything, is said mic the only mic that doesn't work?

 

[EdJames]

No, leads are all plugged in correctly.

Have tried a secondary mic and the same thing happens, preamp lights flash to show it's receiving the sound but doesn't then transfer into the computer.

 

[jimmiebananas]

Well it seems you've just got to experiment until you isolate the problem.

It's not the mic.

Try swapping the cables for different ones. If still no sound then it's not the cables.

Try running the pre to something else like speakers. If still no sound, then it's the pre

Try recording something else through the souncard (like a CD player or something) If still no sound then it's the soundcard.

Could it be the software?

 

[altitude909]

Can u hook up anything at all and get sound without the pre? Maybe its the preamp

 

[EdJames]

Already replaced the pre-amp with a new one so I'm thinking it's something between the preamp and the computer thats gone wrong.

I guess a new lead is the first start, but the ideas above look useful, I didn't think of running the pre amp to speaker for example.

Will try that over the weekend.

 

[jimmiebananas]

Yeah, try those. I think one will give you your answer. The only other part of the signal chain would be the connection of the soundcard to the motherboard.

 

[TimOBrien]

Learning how to troubleshoot is one of the most important skills you can learn (for computer or recording).

Always start with the cheapest things first. (Cables, connectors)
Tag (even just stick a piece of masking tape) what you KNOW works.
Take your time.
Work your way along the chain.

Smacking yourself in the forehead when you find out its something simple or something you've done wrong is perfectly permissible....

 

[EdJames]

Ok, have played around and it seems like two things...

The lack of sound was due to a broken wire, however now the mic sounds ass and having tried my old mic, that sounds ok.

I'm therefore thinking its either the mic or mic lead.

 

[EdJames]

Main problem now in Adobe Audition is that despite singing in time, when the audio drops onto the track it's dropping off beat like it's delayed. Any ideas what the problem might be?

 

[tbonejc1]

sounds like good old fashioned latency. what kind of hardware in your computer?
most likely it's because you are recording directly into a soundcard.
you should look into different audio interfaces designed for recording audio to pc...
I used to use my soundblaster and vegas pro software and had the same problem
I bought an mbox with protools and haven't looked back.
there are other affordable alternatives.
some people use the 2 input presonus unit, some go for a more pci based card like an m-audio, which should go well with your pre.
after you try that, if you still have problem...maybe upgrade your hard drive or add memory.