Just got my mixer, very dissapointed.

  • Thread starter Thread starter poo_noodles
  • Start date Start date
Poo-Noodles :
Are you recording electric guitar? I just recently got a 4-channel phonic mm1002 mixer (similar to your one) for inputting electric guitar and vocals..I have it running into a Emu0404 soundcard...I heard a tip somewhere that computer monitors produce a lot of hum through the guitar pick-ups if you stand too close to the screen...So I switched off my monitor and lo and behold I had a perfectly clear sound..The same works too if you just move away from your monitor! (Of course with distortion added its always more difficult to get a hum-free connection) :)
 
I think I am going to get an M-Audio Duo. I only need 1 mic plugin, but this has 2 and I read that the pre-amps were "pretty good". It basically acts as a soundcard and a preamp for me, it's perfect for what I need. The USB seems like a good feature, even though it's 1.1. I also looked at the Tascam US-122, seems like a similar concept.

Btw, the noise issue is cleared up. It was an amateur mistake that I made, but now I know. If I get the DUO, do I need a new soundcard? I wouldn't asusme so because the USB is receiving the audio signal, the sound card isn't part of the transfer. But maybe I am wrong?
 
poo_noodles said:
Well, I figured out my first mistake was putting the line out of the mixer into the mic in on my soundcard. I had never thought that it would actually amplify the sound of my mixer, hence the increased hiss. I tried recording with the line in and it sounds a lot better. There is still a little bit of a hiss, but nothing a couldn't remove with some eq. If everything else fails, I will start looking into a mic preamp and the digital mixers, but I am only going to record about 4 minutes worth of riffs and I don't need anything professional since it's just for me.
Click to expand...

Well there's one big problem there isnt' it? You don't put a line level source into a mic level input. Secondly: is it possible your SoundBlaster card is also a source of noise? I have a behringer ub502 and although I only use it to route monitors and headphones, it really doesn't give me any problems with noise. Actually I find it quite comparable to the old mackie I used to use.
 
i am very dissapointed. here comes a newbie saying he gets hiss with his behringer mixer and soundcard, and you all tell him that his mixer sucks and needs to buy something new. when the problem was that the line was plugged into the wrong input! you would think that would have solved the problem but no, you have convinced this person to buy a new piece of gear anyway. did he say "I am looking for a new mixer/soundcard can u make some recs"??? no! he said "I don't need anything professional since it's just for me." so, congratulations, you sold another piece of gear to somebody. I hope you got your comission.
 
Falken,

Why don't you save some of you ire for the nimrod that sold him a sub-$100 4-channel "mixer" to begin with? First, he has no need for a mixer, by his own admission, all a mixer is doing is lengthening his signal chain. The bozo that sold it to him is the one that should be admonished. And he did get a comission.

I don't care if its a Behringer or a Derringer or a TEAC or a Gemini. I'm not cutting the brand. I'm cutting the fact that toy mixers are so infamously bad in audio quality that they should be banned from the marketplace, especially in today's market of quality and inexpensive alternatives.

The fact is anytime someone tells me they are running a toy mixer into a stock PC soundcard and they are getting noise, my immediate reaction is, "and you are suprised by that?" I have no need to look beyond the equipment.

Now, you say that he has solved his problem, that it was just an incorrect connection. Well, the fact is, his troubles with this gear are just beginning. You really think he spent a couple of hundred bucks on a microphone, mixer and some cables for a setup that he'll use just once for himself? Nope. He's just being defensive there. He'll keep recording. And on about the third session or project one of two things will happen: his ears will self-educate (they'll become adjusted to the sound of miked recordings in much the same way that eye become adjusted to the dark) and he'll become unhappy with the limited sound he's getting out of that setup, or he'll hear a recording by someone with a clean - but still inexpensive - signal chain and the veil will be lifted on just how much better recordings really can sound by jumping from the toy to the prosumer level (really only a hundred bucks more.)

Unfortunately a large part of the disagreement here has to do with the self-education of the ears issue. What one rookie calls "getting rid of the noise", another veteran would listen to and say it's "getting rid of half of it". It's a matter of aural experience. I'm not being snobbish here, I'm not saying eveybody has to run Neve pres directly into a Studer recorder.

I'm just saying that when a rookie comes on this board and says "I have noise", we have no way of knowing whether he's talking "noise" or "NOISE" until we get to learn *him* better. Given his setup, there is "noise" inherant in his budget gear no matter how you slice it. So to ID his gear as a source of noise is not incorrect. The problem is that's not what he was talking about. He had "NOISE" as well.

The important and good news is that hopefully we all will have learned something here. The next time a rook comes on with the same symptoms, hopefully we'll add "improper sound card connections" as an early possibility to test and diagnose for. :)

G.
 
The soundblaster will be a problem if that's what you use. I mean it's ok, but it will not really reduce or cut noise I don't think. But, since you got your inputs sorted out, then you can really get some fairly decent results from what you have. What software do you use to record it?

On another note...I've looked into the Presonus Firebox and found it's a pretty good sounding little unit for recording. It has 2x XLR and 2x TRS inputs and a few outputs including headphones. It acts as preamp and soundcard, so it can run all your system sounds. Anyway, I used a unidirectional mic and other cheap as chips 'radio shack' mics recording into my soundblaster's mic in because I didn't know any better...and I did it for ages. I just never knew there even existed better things than an SBlive and my little mics. I saved up for Guitar Tracks Pro2 and I thought I was a pro! It was the best fun starting out with that stuff and I love some of the things I've recorded on that set up. But, now, I am expecting my Firebox to arrive in the mail tomorrow...I bought a CADM177 condenser mic. This will about do me I reckon. So, I'm looking forward to this new stuff.

Maybe you will be the same...you can get ok results from what you have, if you maximise the piss out of every component
 
You mentioned that you are turning up the Hi level on your board...you will probably get some hiss from that. Push all of your eq levels on your board to the middle. Make your eq adjustments at your amp and then your computer after the track has been recorded.

btw - When I first started playing guitar, I did not buy a rack full of Gibsons and Fenders...nor did I buy a wall of Marshall stacks. I started with a Hondo II and a 30w Roland amp. The same pricinpal should apply here too. For doing some beginning recordings, the Behringer board is fine. Later when you want to get more precise and have a better understanding of recoding/mixing, you can look here for upgrading some of your equipment. There is a wealth of knowledge lurking in this forum. I recommend you go thru the some (not all) of the growing pains for experience sake.
 
Falken is right. I did originally come here stating I did not need anything professional sounding, just something for myself so I could record a couple of minutes worth of music. It did turn out that I had the line in the wrong input, something only a few of you actually stated as a potential problem next to buying all new gear.

Having said that, I think many of you were in the right by reccomending I get something different. The behringer is fine for me, but for about $40-50 more there are many alternatives that are perfect for what I need and would provide far superior quality. There is nothing wrong with the behringer, I am getting the quality I expected, the quality I paid for. I do think it would have been wise of me to save a little bit more so I could have solid, nice sounding piece of gear that will last me awhile. Which is why I think I am going to get the m-audio duo.
 
Monkey Allen said:
. . . I am expecting my Firebox to arrive in the mail tomorrow...
Click to expand...
I just got a Firebox. It's hard for me to get the hang of it. I've made progress, but there are so many settings in so many places I still use my USB soundcard and Mackie mixer (for the pres) to get anything done. I'd be interested in how it works out for you.




poo___noodles, if you're using a PC you might be getting noise from the "Microphone Boost" option in your system Volume control. I think you said you still had some hiss.
 
Southside Glen is right and anyone who disagrees with him is a gear snob. Yes, being prejudiced against good gear is most certainly snobbery.
 
stash98 said:
man, behringers really suck..i mean..sell that shit on Ebay tomorrow...dont let it phase you.
Click to expand...

werd..


can anyone say T.H.D????

Total harmonic distortion.....thats what the extra $$$ eliminates on better mixers...

Yamaha MG or Mackie...

I need one of these too.....
 
If anyone cares...you could bypass all the bullshit of learning how to correctly record by just purchasing NI's new Guitar Rig. It's made primarily for a guitarists mind. nearly every sound possible...you build your set up in a virtual setting, complete with a 4 switch pedal, it's got a VERY practicle recording option, and it sounds pretty damn amazing for that price. I would suggest he just get something like that...suited for a guitarist rather than grasping the techniques and knowledge of recording.
Only downside...it costs 500 bucks!
 
hmmm alot of posts on that new unit... do we have a salesman in the house? :rolleyes:
 
"hmmm alot of posts on that new unit... do we have a salesman in the house?"

Woops you caught me...
Anyways...I guess you could try cheaper stuff cuz Guitar Rig is kinda pricey, but amplitube isn't good at all so I don't suggest that. If anything else, you might want to just get a pod, download a free and basic mixer software, and just record from that.

www.acoustica.com - That website is one example of REALLY simple recording software. No multiple track recordings though, just 1 track at a time. But the mixing software still has effects and compressors, ect. It's kinda funny cuz it says you only can download it for a 7 day trial period, but all you have to do is put you clock back a few days whenever you feel like using the program and then the software works again. If you get something like a Pod and hook it up directly to the computer, it'll be a hell of a lot easier than micing a live amp through a mixer.
 
I have been using the firebox for 6 months. I like it because the Pres are good, and you also have 2 line in, so if you buy a really high end pre, you can just run it through that. Actually, I really love these pres for the price. They are excellent, and you will get great vocal takes w/ no precompression needed.

If you are having issues w/ the firebox it may be your hardware. I got a gigabyte motherboard with firewire built into it (texas instruments is the best one), so my firebox plugs right into the computer bypassing PCI. My latency is 6 ms.

If you are running a firewire interface into a PCI firewire card, you can have issues if the card is not PCI and if you have other PCI cards hogging the bus. So use a bare minimum graphics card and no other PCI cards. I actually just have a graphics card in my DAw and that's it.

Once you make the move to a firewire interface, you will love it. The only problem is getting past potential problems w/ clicks and pops and PCI issues.
Once I got my gigabyte mobo, those problems were gone, and I am very very happy w/ the results. For the price (and if you are more of a vocal oriented studio that doesn't need more then 4 inputs) I think the firebox is the best choice.
 
oh yeah, so not to derail..behringer plus soundblaster is the worst way to go....call me a snob, a maniac..I don't care..I recorded into a soundblaster for years, and damn did it suck..speaking from experience, don't expect much more then an ok mix...f you are happy with that, then rock on...but if you are a serious producer, you will want new gear in 6 months.

that's why i said to sell it now, because you may still be able to take it back and get something else on store credit. if you just need 2 inputs simultaneously, the firebox is a sound interface and can record 2 inputs simultaneously...you can them mix in the box, bypassing processing your music through any cheap gear.


no, i don't work for presonus (their cust. service is not the best), but its a solution and a great way to start out mixing quality music.
 
Thanks stash98, looks like time to upgrade my mobo to one that has built-in firewire.
 
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