MIDI recording great - Audio terrible

[e_sand]

This is my setup:
I have a great PC, with AP2496 sound card (new), behringer 1622fx pro mixer, cw homestudio, bx5 monitors, guitar, midi keyboard, samson studio condensor mic.

I have my mic(1), guitar(2), keyboard(3 - I only have one phone output on my keyboard) all going to my mixer (behringer1622) and am getting sound. I am running sub outputs 1 and 2 on the mixer to the ins on the PCI right and left and the OUTs on the PCI to the 5/6 right and left on the mixer. I have the main out on the mixer going to my monitors.

I checked my input levels in CW homestudio but I don't think they are high enough even though everything is maxed out. Any recommendations and unless I turn the gain up on the mixer for the guitar it barely displays an input level and it sounds terrible.

e_sand

 

[guttadaj]

Have you gone into your M-Audio Delta Control Panel and adjusted anything there? Under the Patchbay/Router tab, I have my Outputs going to my Monitor Mixer. Then, under the Monitor Mixer tab, you can adjust input levels. Check to see if HW In 1/2 is up high enough.

HTH,
-Jeff

 

[e_sand]

Yep. Mine is set to mixer also and they are all maxed out.

 

[guttadaj]

Hmmm... that's odd. You have a track armed in Homestudio and are seeing signal on the meters when you play? But it's just low, huh?

Do you have any other soundcard in your system or just the one? If you have others, are you sure that you have the right Input picked for the track?

Maybe it's something with the mixer outs. Does your mixer have other outs you could try like 2Trk or Tape outs? If so, maybe give those a try to just see if you can get a good strong signal and rule out a soundcard config problem. Then, maybe it's something to do with the sub outputs.

Let us know if you get any more info.

 

[AlChuck]

How are you plugging in the guitar?

A direct guitar signal right off the pickups with no preamplification is going to be way low...

 

[guttadaj]

Wouldn't a mixer's channel preamps boost it enough?

 

[manning1]

NO !! it wont.
you need a di box or you could use a vamp or jstation or similar device.
also look around for an old guitar effects box, that might work as well.
also try micing a guitar amp. way better. ive got a bunch here picked up at yard sales and through local paper for 5 bucks or ten.
zzounds.com i checked recently have a bunch under100 bucks.
one of the best guitar sounds i ever heard was a top lead guitarist session player once - who'd played on lots of records...
he brought in just a pignose amp and a few pedals and sounded amazing through that pignose. some of the best rhythm and lead tracks ive heard.
peace.

 

[guttadaj]

Maybe it depends on the guitar or something, because I can plug my Fender Lite Ash Strat right into my crappy little Behringer Eurorack MX602A mixer and then into my Audiophile 2496 soundcard and get a strong enough signal with the gain and level pots at about 12 oclock.

 

[manning1]

you should NEVER plug a guitar direct into a mixer because of IMPEDENCE MISMATCH. google for more info on this.

 

[NYMorningstar]

Check the mixer and make sure your phantom power switch is on for the condensor mic.

 

[guttadaj]

you should NEVER plug a guitar direct into a mixer because of IMPEDENCE MISMATCH. google for more info on this.

Well, that explains why it sounds so thin when I do that, which is mainly just when I'm just fooling around with ideas. When I go to record something for real, I go through my PODxt unit or mic my amp. For bass, though, mine has active EMG pickups, so I've had good enough results going direct into the mixer. It's my understanding that with active pickups there's not the impedance mismatch issue. I guess it wouldn't hurt though to pick up a DI box - maybe I'll look into those next trip to the music store. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up.