condenser microphone like rode nt1-a in not a quite place - several questions

L

lntz

New member
Hello,
I bought my first microphone. I waiting for more about record vocals etc because I bought a microphone. I want that in places where I don't have an acoustic screen etc, better will be a dynamic microphone, but I buy this nt1-a on black friday for half of the price, and can't return it.
At the moment I using this monitor with my focusrite 4i4.

My questions:
a) I must set gain for 1/4 to 2/4 max power, in another way I hear bird from window.
Fix for this is mount acustic screen etc, yes?
b) I using headphones DT 770 PRO, and if I want hear myself when I singing, I must setup gain for microphone setup minimum for 3/4+, but in this scenario I hear birds etc
:)
How I can fix it?
c) I should use with my microphone on focusrite option 48v, and inst/air/pad option?

Which setup will best for amature recording?
 
Those birds will always be in the recording. Whether it’s turned up or down, the mic will pick them up. Might as well hear yourself and deal with the birds in the background.

Don’t use any of those inst/air/pad options. Just 48v
 
The NT1A is a good mic Intz.
You could try with the gold dot facing at right angles to the window, to keep the birds down.
Experiment by singing at various angles into the mic, and various distances from it.
I use the air setting on my 18i8 interface.
 
Intz, when you say acoustic screen, do you mean the one on the left or the one on the right. The pop screen on the left is designed to stop blasts of air from your mouth from making pop noises. The screen on the right is suppose to dampen reflections from hitting the back side of a microphone. Neither will truly isolate a microphone from noises like birds or fans. Unlike people, a microphone does not have the ability to ignore sounds. It hears everything that is there, singing, refrigerators, lawn mowers, passing cars, airplanes flying overhead, birds and crickets outside.

The best you can do is to isolate yourself as much as possible, and even go so far as to record vocals late at night or early morning, when things are generally quiet. Today while recording vocals, I turned off the phone ringer and the furnace, as they often interfere with my recordings.

Screens.jpg

RE: setting your microphone level, you will have an indication of the volume by looking at the signal in your audio workstation meters. You want them to read somewhere around -10 to -15 at the loudest setting. Avoid letting the signal to go to 0 at the top, as that will cause bad distortion.
 
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With the constant din of loud vehicle exhaust and emergency vehicle sirens, I stuff my window opening with Roxul Safe-N-Sound Rockwool insulation when I use my mic. This blocks 99% of the outside noise.
 
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