RideTheCrash
Member
I always read people saying "the mixer is alright, but a bit noisy", or "the mic has a lot of self noise". How do you tell? A mixer for example, what would I be listening for or doing to determine this sort of thing?
T
travelin travis
New member
it's kind of an experience thing. if you've only ever owned one mixer then you have nothing to compare it to. ignorance is bliss. 
if it's not a problem for you, don't worry about it.
alot of mixer preamps will be noisy at their upper limits and it will sound like hiss / white noise, something like that. preamp noise is easily noticeable when using mics that require alot of gain.
as far as mic self noise, it helps to have a quiet preamp for comparing mic noise. mic noise sounds like hiss / white noise too.
if it's not a problem for you, don't worry about it. alot of mixer preamps will be noisy at their upper limits and it will sound like hiss / white noise, something like that. preamp noise is easily noticeable when using mics that require alot of gain.
as far as mic self noise, it helps to have a quiet preamp for comparing mic noise. mic noise sounds like hiss / white noise too.
Chris Shaeffer
Peavey ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Um... for the lack of a better example...
Its like being in a fantastic relationship. If you've never been in one then you're probably doing OK with the ones you've been working on. Its not a problem, its just the way things are.
Once you HAVE been in a fantastic relationship... its *really* hard to choose to be in one that's a bit disfunctinal.
As far as the noise goes, it tends to be cumulative. If you're tracking, say 30 tracks, through those slightly noisey mixers it builds up. The effects can increase if you're also mixing through the same board. So you might not hear it with just one track if you don't know what you're listening to.
I do something when I'm checking out a board.
1) Disconnect ALL input sources. You don't want any mistakes...
2) Put on some headphones, turn the phones volume down, and plug them in.
3) Bring up one channel to unity- set it to mic input with the pre all the way down
4) Turn up the headphones loud
5) Slowly turn the pre's gain up...
6) Listen....
Listen for noise. Normal pres get noisey in the top...oh, 20% of their range? Good ones don't get noisey at all until that tipping point near the top of the range.
I do this with all my equipment, actually. Just need to get familiar where every piece's sweet spot is. Listening is a good thing. (With both gear and relationships, actually.)
Take care,
Chris
Its like being in a fantastic relationship. If you've never been in one then you're probably doing OK with the ones you've been working on. Its not a problem, its just the way things are.
Once you HAVE been in a fantastic relationship... its *really* hard to choose to be in one that's a bit disfunctinal.
As far as the noise goes, it tends to be cumulative. If you're tracking, say 30 tracks, through those slightly noisey mixers it builds up. The effects can increase if you're also mixing through the same board. So you might not hear it with just one track if you don't know what you're listening to.
I do something when I'm checking out a board.
1) Disconnect ALL input sources. You don't want any mistakes...
2) Put on some headphones, turn the phones volume down, and plug them in.
3) Bring up one channel to unity- set it to mic input with the pre all the way down
4) Turn up the headphones loud
5) Slowly turn the pre's gain up...
6) Listen....
Listen for noise. Normal pres get noisey in the top...oh, 20% of their range? Good ones don't get noisey at all until that tipping point near the top of the range.
I do this with all my equipment, actually. Just need to get familiar where every piece's sweet spot is. Listening is a good thing. (With both gear and relationships, actually.
)Take care,
Chris
bubbagump
New member
noisey = when you crank the gain you hear hiss... The more you can crank the gain with out getting hiss, the less noise a component has.
RideTheCrash
Member
Well, I've used different boards before, but not for recording, so to my unexperienced ears, my board seems fairly quiet. With my headphone knob cranked full, you can hear some hiss and it only gets really loud near the very end of my trim pot (all faders set to unity).
M
Minion
Blow Me !!!
A lot of Mixers and Mics will have the Noise Specs advertized or in the Manual, Most Mics have a Noise spec that is quite important to know when Buying Mics especially condenser mics.....
The Preamps on my Crappy Mixer are extremely Noisy, well they are Noisy when you get the Gain past about 5 but luckilly when I record my Gain is usually only on about 1 or 1.5 as the Pre"s have a LOT of Gain (about 120db)...
When looking at Mixers they will Post a "THD" spec (Total Harmonic Distortion) which the Lower the THD the Better...
With Mics they have a SNR spec (Signal to Noise Ratio) and with this Spec the Higher the SNR the Better...Most Consumer Mics have a SNR starting about 70db to about 100db but the High end Mics will have a SNR from 100db up to even 140db+.....
These are Important things to consider when buying equipment.....
Cheers
The Preamps on my Crappy Mixer are extremely Noisy, well they are Noisy when you get the Gain past about 5 but luckilly when I record my Gain is usually only on about 1 or 1.5 as the Pre"s have a LOT of Gain (about 120db)...
When looking at Mixers they will Post a "THD" spec (Total Harmonic Distortion) which the Lower the THD the Better...
With Mics they have a SNR spec (Signal to Noise Ratio) and with this Spec the Higher the SNR the Better...Most Consumer Mics have a SNR starting about 70db to about 100db but the High end Mics will have a SNR from 100db up to even 140db+.....
These are Important things to consider when buying equipment.....
Cheers