M-Audio 2496

  • Thread starter Thread starter titch
  • Start date Start date
T

titch

New member
Hi
I'm wondering about the clarity of my M-Audio soundcard
For some time now the clarity of guitars recorded sounds fizzy/fuzzy around 4-5k.
I've replaced all of my leads and equipment so the only thing left that i can think of is the soundcard.
Do soundcards degrade during their life ? i'm thinking this as it's old.
 
How old is it? I bought mine new 2 years ago. Electronic circuits age, but not that quickly.
 
Since the 2496 only has line level inputs, I'm wondering how you are recording your guitars ?
 
After my Sansamp character pedal i use a behringer equaliser and then into the soundcard.
The card is more than 5 years old and i can't remember buying it.
How do you mean "Has only line level inputs" ?
 
titch said:
How do you mean "Has only line level inputs" ?
Click to expand...

There are three basic standard "levels" in audio. Microphone level is really low--about -60dBu. Line level (electrically powered gear like mixers and effects boxes) is the highest--around 0dBu and instruments like a guitar tend to put out levels someplace in the middle of the two.

Besides the levels, different bits of gear tends to want to be connected to equipment with certain "input impedances". Mic level and line level tend to be relatively low impedance devices (150-200 ohms for mics, around 600 ohms for line level) and the proper input impedance is generally about 10 times their output. Guitars, on the other hand are very high impedance devices and want a very high impedance input--typically around a mega ohm.

I mention all this detail because an impedance mismatch tends to show up as problems with the frequency response.

I don't know the details of your effects pedal but it's quite possible there's some kind of mismatch going from the guitar to the effects pedal to the EQ and then into your sound card.

If this is the case, then the suggestion of a DI (Direct Inject) box is a good one. A DI is effectively a transformer or circuit that matches impedance and levels from a guitar into mic or line level destination.

Bob
 
Hi
I checked out the web sites for Behringer and M-Audio which say
M-Audio Imput impedance 10kohm minimum
Behringer Input 20kohm unbalanced
10kohm balanced

Output 120ohms


So, I go from the guitar to Sansamp British to Behringer equaliser and then to the soundcard
As i said i've tried loads of things but am still failing
 
could be the settings on the behringer eq why not try it without it and apply eq in your daw if needed.
I use a 24/96 all the time mine is defo more than 5 yrs old and it works great. with a di and preamp. i'm not saying its not that just try some differant options instead to eliminate the problem ok before you go and get a new card
 
Which Di do you use ?
I'm assuming your chain is guitar -pre-amp - di - m-audio
 
I'm just curious as to what type of tone you are looking for here. Which Sansamp pedal? Distorted guitars? All amp/speaker emulators inherently have a 'fizzy' sound to them anyway. 4-5k is the typical range for this sound. Creative notching can help a bit.
 
As soon as i wind anything up slightly I get a raspy sound attached.
I've tried Line 6, Tonelab and some others but still go from weady clean to bad distortion with a 1 micron turn of the gain knob.
 
Sounds like there's a lot of variation in the signal level when you play. Have you tried a compressor or limiter before the interface?
 
Im using a behringer ultragain mic 2200 . usually record dry guitars and apply guitar rig to taste.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top