Help with usb microphone sound quality

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mrtom82

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I just purchased a MXL USB007 stereo condenser microphone and I would like a little help. The microphone is plug and play which uses a generic windows driver (I'm using windows 7 64bit). I am using it to record guitar and violin but I have a lot of static/hiss. The hiss/static is not that obvious when I'm playing but it's still audible. The hiss is very noticeable at idle, even with the microphone level set to 20. The usb cable is 10ft long which is a decent length and I've tried placing it in several different spots with very little success. The only ambient noise is my computer fan. I posted my input settings below.
Settings:
Stereo, 16bit, 44.1KHz

does anyone know of any 3rd party drivers for my device? I would also like to know if there is a better, more advanced control for the microphone settings- Windows 7 only let's me adjust the level, that's it.

I would ,also welcome any suggestions to help improve my recording quality. Thanks in advance!
 
if you want to improve your recording qaulity save up buy a proper mic (not usb) and buy an audio interface with phantom power and preamp built in
i'm not bieng rude honestly i know from bitter experiance what a differance an interface makes.
 
I'm afraid you got yourself into one expensive little hobby.

People post here day in day out asking for cheap solutions that sound great. But you can't eat at a first rate restaurant for $10. Same here.

Don't worry, we all had to learn.

The choice is, basicly, to stick with this set up and make crude demo's, or invest a grand for a reasonable set up and start moving forward. And beware, it's addictive :)
 
Like i said I am not being rude. Welcome to the world of recording and hell yer its addictive. I still only own budget gear and i think i can get a fair sound for the money i've spent . I reckon it'd be some where in the parish of a grand. Seriously save your pennies mate get the best you can afford and your sound will improve. You learn so fast in this game sometimes it takes a while to get your head round the stuff you've learned and applying it skillfully can take a while too, but I for one have a passion about sound now and i never want it to end. Good luck on your quest
 
Try Noise Reduction on the track you just recorded. It helped me get rid of the hiss sounds but the quality became "bassy" if u know what i mean.
 
Inonly said:
Try Noise Reduction on the track you just recorded. It helped me get rid of the hiss sounds but the quality became "bassy" if u know what i mean.
Click to expand...

The best way to go is to have a good sounding source, then make a good sounding recording of that.

If you have to fix all kinds of stuff afterwards, and remember; it's not just one track you'll have to fix, you'll end up with one big clogged up chunk. I learned the hard way, don't go there. :drunk:
 
Thanks for all your input. Unfortunately I can't afford a better microphone right now so I'll have experiment more with getting better quality out of what I have now.
 
Make the best of what you have and you'll find ways to improve things and learn along the way. mean time if you want to improve your sound save up. I started out with a soundblaster card making midi to audio conversion type backing tracks for open mic nights in the pub and it served me well for a couple of years. Then i took lessons in recording from a friend then went to work for him as a recording engineer free of charge. then i started to get a few quid for it and saved it towards an interface etc. befriend your local live sound or recording engineers and you'll be surprised how helpful they can be. they may end up lending you some gear to get you started.
 
Stop recording at 16 bits per sample. The best you can hope for with 16-bit audio is a -96dB noise floor, which is not always adequate when recording quiet sources.

If recording at 24 bits per sample doesn't fix the problem, then the circuitry in the mic is crap, and the only real option is to buy a decent standalone interface and a decent mic.
 
Borrowing gear from friends(or stores) is a great way to find out what kind of equipment you do or do not need.
 
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