Getting lots of distortion

[orcite]

Hi

Im getting lots of distortion when im recording at my computer. I use Hansén HCM-101 as a microphone and it's connected to a Behringer Eurorack UB802 which is connected to my Audigy 2 EX platinum with coaxial connections (L/R, White Red).

So when im recording im getting lots of distortion. I have tried with low volyme settings on the rack but the results are the same as having high volyme. I have tried 3 other soundcards too but it's just the same.

I dont know what the problem is but im guessing it's the rack.

Here is an example after recording with the settings on the rack to have the LOWEST distortion.

All that brsshhhh is unnacaptable!

I really have to get this fixed. After spending lots of money on the mic and rack i have to get it working as it should.

 

[Minion]

Well make sure that the "Gain" knob on the Mixer for that Channel you are useing is Turned down as Low as Possible as The Higher you Turn up the Gain the More Distortion you will get especially with the Crappy Pre-amps on the Behr Mixer.....

also make sure you are useing the "Line In" on your Sound Card for recording as the "Mic" input on the sound Card uses a Noisy Pre-amp which will introduce Noise especially at Higher Volumes.....

If none of this Stuff helps very much it Could just be that the Audigy Card you are recording with is not very Good For Recording and is quite noisy....

You would definately get MUCH better sounding recordings if you used an actual sound Card that is Made for audio recording Which are actually quite a Bit cheaper than your Audigy 2 card was....

You can get a "EMU 0404 or a M-Audio Audiophile 2496" for about $100 which will record MUCH better sounding audio than your audigy and let you record multiple Tracks at once without Noise......

When I first started Recording I tried just useing the Sound Balster Card in My PC but there was allways a Noticeable Humm in the Backround that wouldn"t go away and the Card created a lot of Distortion especially at higher Volumes...This is when I realized that I wasn"t going to get any sort of acceptable quality unless I invested some money in a Proper Sound Card so i splurged and got a M-audio Delta 44 ($200 Canadian) and the quality differance was Just like Night and Day ,There was No Humm and no distortion and the audio quality was awesome compared to what I had before.....

I actually didn"t realize how much better it was untill I got some actual Studio Monitors and then I could Hear sounds in the Music that I never heard before which is why I also suggest that after you get a Proper recording Interface that you Invest in some Studio Monitors as they will greatly improve your sound......

Cheers

PS: what do you mean when you say the "Rack"?? do you have some Rack gear that you didn"t mention in your Post??

 

[orcite]

You are making it sound like it's the soundcard is the case. You have such confidence to say that so i belive in you Right now i cannot buy a new soundcard but i can buy a microphone cable which i can connect to 6.3mm jack. So i can just skip the "rack" for now. It might work? Regular mikes do.

By your post i now belive it's the sensitivity of the microphone combined with a rack that makes my soundcard have distortion as backgroundsound.

Uhm when i say "rack"? Well my english is not that great so by joining this forum i picked up this word. I didnt know what to call the "mixer or rack" whatever i should call it. And no i havent forgotten to mention any gear.

 

[Minion]

Well I can not tell you For Certain it is your Sound card but most Non-Recording sound Cards will Introduce a certain amount of Noise into the Audio signal....

Also with your Mixer if you have the Gain set any higher than say 4 or so you will start to get distortion so if you set the gain down to about 2 or so that should keep any distortion Caused from the Gain to be reduced or try just lowering the Gain till the Distortion is gone and just use the Level or Volume controll on the Mixer to adjust the audio Volume level and if that doesn"t get it loud enough then just boost the Volume in your Recording software.....

By turning down the Gain on your Mixer you can find out if the Distortion is being caused from the Sound Card or by the Mixer or something else Like maybe an Unshielded Cable or non-Grounded Cables or Outlets.....

Either way a Proper recording sound card should be your next investment , That is if you are going to get semi serious about it....

Cheers

 

[orcite]

Great!

Yesterday i had to have gain at pretty high levels just to even hear my own voice. Now i have gain at +4 and i can record without any noticable distortion. It works pretty good now!

Yet a recording soundcard is my next investement.

Thanks