Frequency Response Weighting Issue...

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Disposable

Disposable

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Okay… I’m having an issue here:

I'm not sure where the best place to post it is but I'll start here.

It seems I am getting a weighted frequency response somewhere in my chain.
Somehow I am getting heavily weighted at 125 Hz.
This is what I am using.

A Behringer MXB1002 mixer, Audio Technica KitPak drum mics.
Out to an M-Audio Delta 44.

http://www.behringer.com/MXB1002/index.cfm?lang=ENG
http://www.audio-technica.com/prodpro/profiles/KP_DRUMS.html

I have a feeling it’s the Behringer,
Because it happens on all my mics, not just the drum mics.
I ran a test tone starting at 60 Hz and going in increments of 10 up to 250 Hz…
It jumped at 80 Hz and 125 Hz (Much more noticeably at 125 Hz though.)

Any ideas???
 
Disposable said:
I have a feeling it’s the Behringer,
Because it happens on all my mics, not just the drum mics.
I ran a test tone starting at 60 Hz and going in increments of 10 up to 250 Hz…
It jumped at 80 Hz and 125 Hz (Much more noticeably at 125 Hz though.)

Any ideas???
Click to expand...

It's your room. Search the Studio Building board for "bass trap".
 
Hmm... that may be it...
Though the test tone was pretty low volume,
And... The mics were butted up against the speaker.
I'll check into the bass trap stuff though for good measure.

Thanks for offering your thoughts.
 
Disposable said:
Hmm... that may be it...
Though the test tone was pretty low volume,
And... The mics were butted up against the speaker.
Click to expand...

In that case I would suspect your speaker. What kind of speaker is this?
 
Well... It's not a monitor by any means. :(

BUT...
The reason that I thought to check this is because
Everything I record seems to have a large amount ot 125 Hz in it.
Voice, drums, guitar, everything I mic. Regardless of volume.
I would say it's the mics but it happens on different brands/types of mics.
Whether condenser or dynamic.

It may very well be the room though. I'll check other rooms.
 
Disposable said:
The reason that I thought to check this is because
Everything I record seems to have a large amount ot 125 Hz in it.
Voice, drums, guitar, everything I mic.
Click to expand...

OK one other thing to check then: if you close mic everything like you did in this test, that is the mic's proximity effect which is entirely normal. Move the speaker 1' away from the mic and retest.
 
Unfortunately, it was the same with a further mic placement.
I just tried it without the Berhinger...
'Twas a bit better...
I am just now comparing the output of a Kick Drum hit now...
One with the Behringer and one without...

I'll let you know the results.
 
Well... After crunching the numbers...
The Behringer does add a small amount of 125 Hz.
Not much, though... It does add A LOT of noise...
Well, not THAT much... But about 2 dB.
That was with the gain set to "0" the fader set to "0"
They were each recorded at about the exact same volume.
Meaning, I would be better off without the Behringer at all,
From a signal to noise ratio.
 
I see two things going on that may cause problems.

The 125Hz boost is probably coming from your “consumer” speakers. Some manufacturers purposely design to boost lower (and higher) frequencies. They reason that if their speakers sound too drab to the consumers, (even though drab is correct,) there won’t be much excitement over them. Studio monitors, on the other hand, aim to tell the truth, or give a more accurate representation of the music. Get yourself real monitors or at least an EQ so you can manually correct the problem.

Secondly, your noise (if it is background hiss) is likely coming from the mix amp section of the mixer. Mix amps are noisier than pre amps. Pull down the Main fader, (the gray one) to about -20 and make up the volume loss by pushing the single channels harder. That should clean it up a little.

Good luck.
 
Oh, one more thing...

The test mic should be a few feet away, where your ears are when you mix, not inside the speaker cone.
 
Thanks for the thoughts. I'll look into your suggestions.
I was actually using the "Inserts" from the mixer,
Leaving the Main and Channel faders out of the mix.
It was simply going Mic --> Mixer Preamp --> Insert out to Delta 44.

I know I should get some monitors, but alas...
I don't have the funds at this point.

Also, I did try at multiple mic distances, from a few inches to 6 feet away.
 
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