just got ripped off

  • Thread starter Thread starter Inverness
  • Start date Start date
find an online retailer with good price and reputation, and pull out the plastic money card
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Allow me to suggest Musicians Friend. Even with a spotty credit history you can get approved for a $1,000 limit platinum card in just a few seconds and have your gear in 3-5 days.
 
backup a bit, what are you using to test the input on the soundcard? have you even gotten anything in from it? Line in is the easiest to test, just get anything w/ line out and plug it in, like a cd player or tape deck. Maybe you're past this point already...
 
junplugged said:
backup a bit, what are you using to test the input on the soundcard? have you even gotten anything in from it? Line in is the easiest to test, just get anything w/ line out and plug it in, like a cd player or tape deck. Maybe you're past this point already...
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I know the mic input works. I've recorded with it in the past.
But the line in... how exactly do I test it with a CD player? I don't have anything that goes out of the player and into the line in (in other words, a male-to-male 1/8" cable)
 
Hmmmmm, you say that this was a separate pci sound card that you installed in your pc?

I am very experienced with computers, but tell me, I was under the impression that Realtek AC97 was pretty much a standard onboard sound for many motherboard manufacturers. How much did you pay for the card, and is it a professional soundcard for recording?
 
Rick Shepherd said:
Hmmmmm, you say that this was a separate pci sound card that you installed in your pc?

I am very experienced with computers, but tell me, I was under the impression that Realtek AC97 was pretty much a standard onboard sound for many motherboard manufacturers. How much did you pay for the card, and is it a professional soundcard for recording?
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Oh no, no I didn't install it separately, it came with the computer.
 
If the Sam Ash guy was so stupid, how do we know the mic he sold you was actually a dynamic? Maybe it was a cheap condenser? Maybe you need Phantom power?


Probably not, since he said not to get a pre-amp because"dynamics mics don't need them anyway", he probably thought pre-amps are for phantom power only.

What a Maroon.

Still, he may have sold you a condenser.

What's the make and model number of the mic?


One of my all time biggest pet peeves is Sam Ash salespeople. Right behind Radio Shack Salespeople.
 
maestro_dmc said:
If the Sam Ash guy was so stupid, how do we know the mic he sold you was actually a dynamic? Maybe it was a cheap condenser? Maybe you need Phantom power?


Probably not, since he said not to get a pre-amp because"dynamics mics don't need them anyway", he probably thought pre-amps are for phantom power only.

What a Maroon.

Still, he may have sold you a condenser.

What's the make and model number of the mic?


One of my all time biggest pet peeves is Sam Ash salespeople. Right behind Radio Shack Salespeople.
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Oh, I've looked at it, and it's a dynamics for sure. It's a Samson Q7.

And I think the salespeople can be good. But it's very rare. I went with a friend, and he got a real nice guy that got him exactly what he wanted (a drum machine). I'm just not as lucky.
 
GoldFalcon said:
Allow me to suggest Musicians Friend. Even with a spotty credit history you can get approved for a $1,000 limit platinum card in just a few seconds and have your gear in 3-5 days.
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Oops, guess it was the right thread. I couldn't find the original post because of a typo.... Musician's Friend, but it was spellled Musicians.

I used to order everything from MF until they jerked me around and kept delaying delivery on some simple mic cables. I haven't bought anything from them since. I figure if they aren't willing to bump me up to a higher quality cable to not delay shipment for over a month, they don't deserve to have me spend $5,000 a year there anymore.

They were never the best deal, though they were usually close enough that I didn't mind, since I knew they would deliver things promptly. All that changed when my last four orders ALL had at least one back-order lasting more than a week. At some point, I realized that I was wasting lots of precious time waiting for them to ship stuff when I could spend an extra five minutes doing a web search and get it a week or more earlier.

I've had my studio wiring finished for over a week. Had I kept the MF order, I would have received the cables I needed this coming Wednesday or so, assuming it didn't get delayed a third time. Enough is enough.
 
So I've reviewed what I've gathered, and here are my conclusions:

I can't afford a preamp. So what I'll have to do is get the next best thing, which is simply trash my XLR-to-phono cable and get a XLR-to-phono adapter, then, in turn, a regular ol' 1/4" cable into a 1/4"-to-1/8" adapter, into the soundcard.
The sound won't be exactly good, but it will be infinitely better that what I had before (a webcam).
I have a friend whose setup is exactly the same as mine, except he got the XLR-to-phono adapter since the start (as opposed to me, whose unbearable luck got me an idiot behind the counter pointing me to wrong directions) and he does perfectly fine.

This is what I've gathered. Please tell me if there's anything blatantly wrong.

And thank you for all the help! Seriously.
You guys are very generous towards noobs like me, with stupid situations like these.
 
Your plan will get you to where your friend is. I might point out that you can get a cheapo mic pre for about $50, vrs the XLR-1/4" adaptor for $12-15. It won't be stellar by any stretch, but it will be much better than the soundcard's pre, I bet. Seems like a good use of $35 extra, if you can swing it.
 
I got an ART TubeMP off of eBay about 6 months ago for around $35 including shipping. I got it for modding, but hey, it'll be better than nothing, and it has XLR to 1/4" conversion built in.

Plus you can use it as a DI box for bass or electric guitar, and it has phantom power incase you get a condenser in the future...
 
Back to the soundcard, in the control panel, does it have a selection for mic, that has a 20 db boost on it? It might be under advanced properties or something. Just a thought.
Ed
 
Rick Shepherd said:
I was under the impression that Realtek AC97 was pretty much a standard onboard sound for many motherboard manufacturers. How much did you pay for the card, and is it a professional soundcard for recording?
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Yeah, that realtek is the cream of the crap. I'm sorry inverness but it really is garbage. It's a soundblaster clone on the cheap. At any rate, try this: double click the speaker Icon on the bottom right hand corner of the screen/options/properties/recording/now you should see a list of possible recording inputs. Select them all by putting a tick in the check boxes and click ok/now you should see a mixer window with all the possible inputs./ selct the mic input and turn the volume up all the way. Make sure that no other inputs are selected or enabled. Otherwise you will suffer the "everything I record on track one getrs recorded to track 2" syndrome. This should work. If it doesn't work, the problem is probably because you are inputting a mono source into a stereo input. If you can find a single stereo 1/8" to dual mono 1/8" adapter, this may alleviate the problem.

The bottom line is, I think, that if you want to record decent levels, you will need to invest in a decent sound card with preamps or in addition to a preamp.

Hope that helps.
:cool:
 
hueseph said:
Yeah, that realtek is the cream of the crap. I'm sorry inverness but it really is garbage. It's a soundblaster clone on the cheap. At any rate, try this: double click the speaker Icon on the bottom right hand corner of the screen/options/properties/recording/now you should see a list of possible recording inputs. Select them all by putting a tick in the check boxes and click ok/now you should see a mixer window with all the possible inputs./ selct the mic input and turn the volume up all the way. Make sure that no other inputs are selected or enabled. Otherwise you will suffer the "everything I record on track one getrs recorded to track 2" syndrome. This should work. If it doesn't work, the problem is probably because you are inputting a mono source into a stereo input. If you can find a single stereo 1/8" to dual mono 1/8" adapter, this may alleviate the problem.

The bottom line is, I think, that if you want to record decent levels, you will need to invest in a decent sound card with preamps or in addition to a preamp.

Hope that helps.
:cool:
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Thank you for the help.
I checked the adapter and it says "Mono 1/4" to Mono 1/8"". I guess that solves the problem!
So I need another adapter now, is that right? If yes, is it one I can go right now and buy at RadioShack or Circuit City?
 
Is this a possibility? If so, I can run down there right now (it's a few blocks away) before it closes and get a functioning setup before the end of the day!
It does say it's stereo to stereo. But it doesn't give anything more than that. Do you think that'll do? :confused:
 
You can take that to the Mic-in of the soundcard (we have determined that there is a Mic-in, right?) But honestly you should save up and start looking for a used preamp on ebay.
 
Inverness said:
Is this a possibility? If so, I can run down there right now (it's a few blocks away) before it closes and get a functioning setup before the end of the day!
It does say it's stereo to stereo. But it doesn't give anything more than that. Do you think that'll do? :confused:
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No. What you want is a dual MONO to single stereo 1/8" adapter. This will be a Y adapter. You plug in to only one side of the adapter. So it would be seen by your software as left in. Or input #1.
 
hueseph said:
No. What you want is a dual MONO to single stereo 1/8" adapter. This will be a Y adapter. You plug in to only one side of the adapter. So it would be seen by your software as left in. Or input #1.
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Like such?
But then, wouldn't it play only in the left speaker?
 
Could I get a 1/4" to RCA adapter into a mini plug Y adapter?
That might cause more noise, but it will ensure I get sound, correct?
 
Inverness said:
Like such?
But then, wouldn't it play only in the left speaker?
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That's right. Your software will recognize the input coming from one side but once you have recorded the track, you can pan it left, right, center, slightly off center. When you deal with multiple tracks, the input does not determine the stereo placement.
 
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