Im a noob, having problems with new set up :(. Any help would be very appreciated

[Sadistikpro]

Sorry for the ignorance, but Im fairly new to the home studio thing, Ive always recorded out of home in the past.

Here is my set up: I have a BLUE Bluebird mic, an EMU 1820M preamp, and Wharfedale 8.2 monitors w/ a custom PC, and Im recording into Adobe Audition...

Here is the problem.. I am fairly sure it is a settings problem, probably with the EMU. When I record the vocals are always quiet, but when I turn the gain up it distorts, and also when I "pop my Ps" or do anything with plosives it distorts horribly. Ive tried different angles of the microphone, have a pop filter and do not use the plosives obscenely where it would be my fault.

I think it is a problem with the settings, could anybody help me? Maybe I need to set the compression to a certain level? Im unfamiliar so any help would be extremely appreciated. I can post an example of the recording if it would help, thank you!

-Cody

 

[peritus]

Someone else will probably help you more, but I'll say that your distortion is affecting the signal before it reaches the compressor... At least it would seem that way to me...

 

[Scoop]

Hi Sadistikpro,

Work from the mic backwards...
1. Check the input to the Mic Pre isn't over loading/clipping.
2. Check the output isn't either.
3. Check the EMU inputs are overloading.
4. etc...

It sound like an input is overloaded and an output is turned down to compensate.
I seriously doubt it's mic or mic placing/positioning.

If you play back a cd and thing are fine then guarenteed it one of the above.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sadistikpro]

Once again sorry for the ignorance... But how would I go about checking those? Just from the program that controls the EMU?

 

[cpl_crud]

A clip would be good.

Also, try plugging in the mic, and sing/rap/whatever. Turn up the gain knob until the -12dB light is lighting up fairly consistantly.

Now, i'm not familiar with teh 1820, however I can see it has a headphone jack. Try plugging in a set of headphones and having a listen there. It may let you monitor the mic inputs without going through the computer. (I tried looking for the docs online, however half of the links i followed were dead links. Bit of a shame really, I expect more of professional sites).

I would hazard a guess to say that it's probably a software or user issue. Maybe read over the manuals again- I usually find that, in my excitement, my first read-through of the manuals misses a lot of information (that is if I even bother to read the manual. I know my first hard disk recorder was on the road before I even opened the manual).
It may reveal something that you've missed. See if there is any way for you to monitor along the singal chain (ie after the preamp, between the pre and hte computer, between the copmuter and hte software, before any software plugins etc).

Also, try turning off all plugins that you may have running in your software.

If I can find a manual for the unit, i may be able to offer more help

 

[Sadistikpro]

Here is a clip of the quality: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pageartist.cfm?bandID=35179 " Bad Quality Example "

I put part of it a capella where it pops badly, hopefully this helps, thank you...

 

[Sadistikpro]

Anyone else?

 

[Sadistikpro]

I just read that Adobe Audition is the only program that doesnt support ASIO ( I have no idea what that means, but Im assuming that is the EMU's default ) so maybe that has something to do with it... Ill try recording with Cubase maybe

 

[cpl_crud]

Now, I will admit that I'm only listening on headphones atm (had to spend a couple of days at the paren'ts place) but it doesn't sound too low/bad.

I can hear the plosives that are worrying you, they do make it sound a bit crappy, agreed.

If you can get your hands on one, try using a stage dynamic mic, like an SM/Beta 58. They are lesss susceptable to plovisves than condensors like the bluebird, and are easier to position.

You mentioned that you tried various positions, and there's numerous examples/discriptions of that on these forums, but I'd give them another try.

ASIO is a common driver set between audio cards and software companies so that you can take any ASIO card and use it with any ASIO software without issue. It also is a way of getting low-latency through the copmuter, so you can get close to real-time monitoring.

Try putting the mic further away from your mouth (about a foot or so) and turning up the gain to compensate.

 

[Sadistikpro]

I think I solved the problem... I recorded in Cubase and it sounds wonderful, I think it is because Audition 1.0 doesnt support ASIO... I guess Ill just have to learn the basics of Cubase