Cheap way to hook up an XLR Mic to my PC

[Richard Monroe]

My answer, FWIW. The sound difference is *Huge*. You *don't* want any audio input, even simple voiceovers (speech) going through that soundcard. It was made to make beeps and clicks for games (not even good games), cost about $2 to manufacture, and in general, sucks. Whether you choose a simple USB interface, such as the icicle, or a better one, you want to either go in through the USB, or replace the fracking soundcard with one made for audio. Here's a clue- if it says Soundblaster in front of it, you don't want audio input going through it. Sticking the word "Pro" somewhere after it won't help.-Richie

 

[Hunsrus]

Ok, seriously. I want one of those ART Tube MP's, but I can't seem to find a shop that ships to outside of the US. Anybody know any shops that ship within Europe (I live in the Netherlands)?

Thanks

Hunsrus

 

[Hunsrus]

My answer, FWIW. The sound difference is *Huge*. You *don't* want any audio input, even simple voiceovers (speech) going through that soundcard. It was made to make beeps and clicks for games (not even good games), cost about $2 to manufacture, and in general, sucks. Whether you choose a simple USB interface, such as the icicle, or a better one, you want to either go in through the USB, or replace the fracking soundcard with one made for audio. Here's a clue- if it says Soundblaster in front of it, you don't want audio input going through it. Sticking the word "Pro" somewhere after it won't help.-Richie

Right, well you made yourself quite clear, thank you . Just checking whether we're on the same page here: I'm talking about plugging the output of the amp into the red plug in my pc - the same plug I use for my n00bie multimedia mic for use on skype and all that.

 

[Shadow_7]

Well you could use your PC with the cable. You'll probably have to normalize the track after the fact to bring it up to audible levels. And the noise floor boost as well. Not very useful for anything live though. But if you're running through a PC, you'll probably have some latency anyway.

I tried going the PC route myself. Starting with cheap electret mics ($10) that plug into the PC. They worked, although the noise floor was high, and the little extra boost in gain on the PCs soundcard made that worse. In some respects using a pair of headphones as the mic was better. It didn't take long to realize just how bad traditional PC soundcards sound. For me I was just looking to record myself practicing so I could critique myself and improve. But the PC route was soo hideous I couldn't even tell what instrument I was playing. Or discern any details behind all that hissssss, to be of any use. Except maybe to transcribe a jazz lick. But I wouldn't really need to do that, since I played that passage and therefor already had that information.

The M-Audio DMP3 is probably the cheapest respectable preamp IMO. The Art Tube MP is pretty hideous to anyone with expectations. But it will bridge that gap. Rane 1MS(sp?) might also work. A lot seem to accept the beachtek and juiced link preamps for use with their camcorders, that might also work for you. Any sort of interface with preamps should work. A number of mixers should work too. But in audio, you get what you pay for, is pretty much the written rule of thumb. You can make it work and get by with the cheap stuff. But that stuff bears no resemblance to reality, and the same mic on the good stuff bears literally no comparison. Although if you compressed things down to 64k mp3s as played on an iPod it might be hard to tell them apart. You're probably looking at $100 (used) for anything semi-decent. And as much as 100x's that amount depending on what you consider acceptable results.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Right, well you made yourself quite clear, thank you . Just checking whether we're on the same page here: I'm talking about plugging the output of the amp into the red plug in my pc - the same plug I use for my n00bie multimedia mic for use on skype and all that.

Yep, we're on the same page- don't do it. That little red plug is the gateway to that cruddy soundcard. By going into the USB, you bypass that, and you use whatever preamp is in the USB device. No matter *what* preamp that is, it will be vastly superior.-Richie

 

[Hunsrus]

Allright Richie, thanks for the advice (that goes for everyone btw)! I've made up my mind, I'm getting that icicle. Looks like a great way to start and it's not too expensive.

Thanks again!

Hunsrus

 

[fox929]

Depending where you live, ebay may be an alternative for an Mbox? I know a budget is in mind, but check it out. I got a good price for a Mbox 2 Mini and althouh i'm loving it..it's quite hard to get around in the beginning!!

 

[hairylarry]

Even with a 1010LT, you'd still need to add usable preamps. You're better off choosing something with decent built-in preamps (phantom power, low noise, etc.).

I just got my 1010LT. It has two XLR ins but no phantom power. The built in preamps worked fine with the EV dynamic I grabbed to test operation.

Not everyone needs 8 or 10 inputs but if you record a band live it's the bare minimum.

M-Audio and others also make inexpensive interfaces in the same price range with only two inputs. Some of them have phantom power.

I'm not putting down preamps. I use my DMP2s all the time and wouldn't be without them. A good preamp makes every mic you have sound better.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

 

[hairylarry]

omnistudio

Hi,

The M-Audio omnistudio is also in the $100 range used and has four inputs with 2 high quality preamps like the DMP3. If your computer has a PCI slot I recommend PCI over USB. The omnistudio has phantom power which you don't need for the mic you have but you will need if you buy a condenser mic. (and believe me, you will)

It's hard for me to recommend a fifty dollar compromise when $100 can get you a good solution.

8 0r 10 channels in and two preamps without phantom power - 1010LT

4 channels in and two preamps with phantom power - omnistudio

Thanks,

Hairy Larry

 

[Shadow_7]

Not that it's good, but it's cheap and an option. There's a sort of XLR cable / soundcard thing called a light snake. There's one with a USB end to it, that would probably bridge the gap. But it's input only, lacks phantom power. And doesn't have any outputs. So any sort of multitracking would be through two different soundcards which could get interesting. Sync issues, phase issues, and such. But for podcasts and voice overs it'd probably do alright.

 

[Hunsrus]

Still quite haven't made up my mind yet. If I may believe Richie, the ART Tube is the worst way to go. However, It's just 30 bucks and I don't understand why it wouldn't work. I mean, if I'm getting this straight, it should be the same signal it's sending into my mic input as my 5 dolla radio shack piece of crap.

Another thing that's been bothering me is not completely understanding how preamping works. Is it like:

The mics raw, unamplified signal gets sent to the amplifier, which in its turn sends the amplified signal to the output

OR

The mics signal gets amplified throughout an amplifier that is built into the mic, it just doesn't get enough power to support the amp if you're not using an amplifier?

Thanks again,

Hunsrus

 

[Hunsrus]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

I've gone for the Lightsnake, cheap, easy and perfectly suits my needs.

All the best to you all

Huns

 

[Shadow_7]

The microphone preamp brings the signal up to line level. In doing so it imparts it's own noise characteristics and color to the signal. The Art Tube MP is particularly colored with it's own high noise floor relative to other like devices. Perfectly fine for some voices and unique instruments. But for anything with a common / known / expected / familiar sound, it will NOT match the source in results. Will it connect the XLR device to the computer with the appropriate cables, sure. Will you be happy with the result, probably not for long.

As far as the lightsnake, I have no ideal how it compares to anything. I only know that it exists. And was something that I considered when I first started down this money pit of a hobby. But I needed phantom power, and the ability to multi-track which that device lacked.

HTH

 

[Richard Monroe]

Cool. I actually didn't know about the lightsnake, or I might have recommended it, It seems similar to the icicle, but without a separate gain control and phantom power. There is a tendency to recommend what you think somebody needs, instead of what they asked for. I really was trying to recommend the simplest cheapest thing I know of that would do what you asked for, but the lightsnake actually takes it down a notch. I still believe you'll get better results going in by USB and bypassing the soundcard. Let us know how it works. If it does, I'll be able to recommend it to would be podcasters in the same situation as you. Good luck.-Richie