Condenser Mic Newb, what is this sound?
- Thread starter dan5050
- Start date
McMajik
New member
Ooh! Ooh! Is it a record player? 
j/k
Does wiggling the cables affect it at all?
Edit: I had a similar problem with one of the first C414s I got. Turned out one of the tabs connecting the capsule to the rest of the mic was loose. Just squeezed it a bit tighter and all was fine.
j/k
Does wiggling the cables affect it at all?
Edit: I had a similar problem with one of the first C414s I got. Turned out one of the tabs connecting the capsule to the rest of the mic was loose. Just squeezed it a bit tighter and all was fine.
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Chili
Site Moderator
Could be moisture. Could also be your phantom power supply. Now that I think about it, someone else came here about a month or so ago with a similar problem and the cause was the phantom power box. Can't find that thread, but he plugged into an audio interface that supplied the phantom power and that solved his problem.
I once had a similar noise and it turned out I damaged the capsule, it is a neumann mic and they replaced it at a great expense, the mic is worth a lot on its own so it was worth it, I would get it looked at by a qualified mic technician who really knows what they are doing.
went to guitar center yesterday. Tried the microphone on a different system, no record player noises. Tested the XLR cables, one of them had a loose pin 2, so i replaced the cable. Tried everything out again, same problem. That basically narrows it down to either the phantom power, or the UX1/Laptop interaction with the microphone.
BroKen_H
Re-member
If you've ruled out the mike, and you've tried with no mike and a dynamic, you're pretty much down to your phantom power supply. If the pod isn't supplying the noise (dynamic mike works), has to be the supply giving the mike the noise. Can you beg/borrow/steal another interface with phantom power and see if that helps?
I bought a XLR female to 1/4'' male adapter so that I could run the mic into a guitar amp, instead of into the UX1. When I ran the Mic into the phantom power and then into the amp, there was no record player noise. I put some headphones into the amp and cranked up the volume, no record player clicks and crackling. So that pretty much narrows it down to the UX1/computer.
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Last night I read everything I could about setting up my computer setting to work with the UX1. All the sample settings are where they need to be. I tried turning down all settings, made a huge buffer, but it didnt help. So I fired up my computer this morning, and the crackling noise decreased substantially, probably 10% of what it used to be. But its still there. I get a pop or set of crackles every 10-30 seconds And if I leave everything plugged in for a while and keep messing with my computer/mic/phantom power/etc, it slowly gets worse over a half hour span. Still, only gets 25% as bad as it was before.
I have used a SM58 into the UX1 "Mic" XLR input for years with no problems. When I tried running the C214 into the phantom power and then into the UX1 "Mic" XLR input, then the crackling noise appeared. Just for shits, I put the SM58 into the phantom power and then into the SM58, to see if that crackling/noise still existed, and no crackling noise exists when I have the SM58 plugged in through that same chain.
Arcaxis, i tried running the C214 into the phantom power, into the XLR/1/4" adapter, into the "Instrument" 1/4" jack in the UX1, instead of the "Mic" XLR line in the UX1, and I can barely get any signal. With the input on the UX1 cranked up to 11, and the output all the way up, I can barely hear a signal even when I tap on the C214.
Im out of ideas, I think its just something with the UX1 and my computer. I've owned the guitar port and then tried the UX1, their stuff always seems to be a little buggy. It might be time to just try a different audio interface and see if that does anything.
I want to say thanks to everyone who has been reading this thread and gave ideas/opinions on how to fix this issue, its been a huge help to bounce ideas off everyone.
I have used a SM58 into the UX1 "Mic" XLR input for years with no problems. When I tried running the C214 into the phantom power and then into the UX1 "Mic" XLR input, then the crackling noise appeared. Just for shits, I put the SM58 into the phantom power and then into the SM58, to see if that crackling/noise still existed, and no crackling noise exists when I have the SM58 plugged in through that same chain.
Arcaxis, i tried running the C214 into the phantom power, into the XLR/1/4" adapter, into the "Instrument" 1/4" jack in the UX1, instead of the "Mic" XLR line in the UX1, and I can barely get any signal. With the input on the UX1 cranked up to 11, and the output all the way up, I can barely hear a signal even when I tap on the C214.
Im out of ideas, I think its just something with the UX1 and my computer. I've owned the guitar port and then tried the UX1, their stuff always seems to be a little buggy. It might be time to just try a different audio interface and see if that does anything.
I want to say thanks to everyone who has been reading this thread and gave ideas/opinions on how to fix this issue, its been a huge help to bounce ideas off everyone.
ArcAxis, thank you for the detailed response. I got the Nady the same time as the mic, all the gear is new. Unfortunately, the schematics are a bit over my head. 
The Nady gets power straight from a wall outlet, or wall outlet --> power strip --> Nady. I emailed line 6 asking what the problem could be. They responded that its just the mic is just so sensitive that its picking up room noises. I wrote a response explaining I dont think thats the case, because the ONLY time I have a problem with this background noise is when its running through the UX1. Line 6 responded saying thats the only explanation.
Well. I didnt use the Mic for like a month because I havent had time. I had time to bust it out just used it a few days ago, and poof, the noise is gone. Im using everything in the same way, in the same environment, I cant explain what caused the noise to disappear. I had some people suggest the noise may have been caused by humidity in the mic. Maybe that was the problem. For the last month, the mic has been sitting in its case with 2 silica gel packages in the case. The microphone was shipped to me during November in the Chicago area. Im not sure what environments it was in on the trip over. Maybe it picked up a lot of moisture on the way, and now its out? I dont know.
Ill keep this thread updated if anything else happens, hopefully it could help someone else down the road. Thanks again for responses/help everyone.
The Nady gets power straight from a wall outlet, or wall outlet --> power strip --> Nady. I emailed line 6 asking what the problem could be. They responded that its just the mic is just so sensitive that its picking up room noises. I wrote a response explaining I dont think thats the case, because the ONLY time I have a problem with this background noise is when its running through the UX1. Line 6 responded saying thats the only explanation. Well. I didnt use the Mic for like a month because I havent had time. I had time to bust it out just used it a few days ago, and poof, the noise is gone. Im using everything in the same way, in the same environment, I cant explain what caused the noise to disappear. I had some people suggest the noise may have been caused by humidity in the mic. Maybe that was the problem. For the last month, the mic has been sitting in its case with 2 silica gel packages in the case. The microphone was shipped to me during November in the Chicago area. Im not sure what environments it was in on the trip over. Maybe it picked up a lot of moisture on the way, and now its out? I dont know.
Ill keep this thread updated if anything else happens, hopefully it could help someone else down the road. Thanks again for responses/help everyone.