Mixers can affect audio fidelity ? or they are just consoles with the same porpouse ?

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underp

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I was trying to make some home recordings time ago, with some old mics that i have at home. But i couldn't continue because of the audio fidelity.

Lot of people, told me that could be the mics, that i need to buy a good mics to get good sound. Well... I bought an SM-58 and a SM-57 recently, and the Sound still suc#s.

The Sound card can't be affecting this to much, cause i've been making some direct recordings with CD Players using the Line Out directly to the Line In of my computer and i get the exact same quality of the original CD.

That means, that my sound card is receiving the exact sound that is coming out from my console Mixer.

I tought, this was going to be solved with good mics, but i still don't undertsand.

Console mixers are just equipments with same porpouse, or they can affect audio fidelity ?
 
If you describe your signal chain more specifically, we might actually have a chance at pointing you in the right direction, rather than guessing at the millions of possible gear combinations that would cause someone to have a bad sound!

As it is, your question is kinda like asking someone why your car is broken...
 
Acoustic Guitar ---> sm57(using xlr) ---> Phonic Pro-Mixing Console 8x2 ---> ADI 1885 Sound Card ( Line IN )
 
Well the Phonic mixer certainly won't help, but that soundcard is a built-in cheapie -- not made for audio purposes....

Incidently, how are you placing the mic? Also - how does the guitar sound in the room that you're trying to record in? How the source sounds in the room is half the battle right there.....
 
Dynamic mics really need a good preamp and even then they are probably not the best choice for acoustic guitar.

It's also important to have a good monitor setup so you know what the recordings really sound like.
 
So... mixers can affect audio fidelity ? or fidelity depends just on the Sound card ?

I really need to know what's causing bad audio fidelity, cause i don't really have to much money, and i need to know what should i buy.


My guitar sounds like a guitar, and there are no echos in my room.

The placement is irrelevant in my case, cause i'm getting low fidelity sound not just with the sm57, also on the voice with an sm58, and also with my other mics.

3 things could be affecting this:

- Mixer
- Sound Card
- or something that i'm not doing in the computer.
 
The entire signal chain affects the fidelity of your recording.

Your room has echos, stand in the center of the room and clap your hands. THAT's flutter echo. Every room has flutter echo and room nodes to one degree or another.

Mic placement is also critical, regardless of whether you're using a dynamic or condensor mic.

Like Bruce said, look into a better soundcard. Then look into better mics and preamps.
 
The first thing you should get is a book to help you understand the basic concepts of recording techinques.... with that knowledge, you can better understand the elements of a signal chain and the impact on the recorded sound.

Check out the book list at the bottom of the Articles page on my studio's website for a list of recommended reading...
 
i don't live in the US, and is hard to me to import equipments or any other thing, like books.

You are the experts, and internet is the only way for me to learn stuffs. I spend hours on the internet looking for answers with no luck.

That's why i'm here asking in the "Newbies" section what do you think could be affecting fidelity.

Some tips about what sample rate should i use to get the more near sound of what is coming out from my console is useful, and how many bits should i use, and stuffs like that.

That would help me to know if my sound card is bad enought.

Also some tips about something that i can use or do to know if is a good sound what i'm getting out from my console, could be useful too.
 
Doesn't matter what sample or bitrate you use if the out from the console is crap.

All you're getting is a "better" picture of crap!

Record at the highest sample and bitrates your soundcard can handle.
 
So..... could be the console ?

I know people talk bad about integrated sound cards, because they suc#s, but i also do video captures in my computer and i use the DirecTV decoder directly to the Line IN to record my sound, and it sound great.

why should my console, sound bad ? what does this mean ?

If the sound that i'm capturing from other sources are great, then the problem is the console ? or sound cards usually captures this in a different way ?
 
garbage in garbage out

the question to be asked is why do some people with not the most pro of equipment put out excellent songs while others
cant. several points you should ponder..
1. good recordings can be made with cheap mics.
2. learning the ins and outs of audio engineering can take years.
there are no instant coffee quickie solutions.
ive been an AE and songwriter for 25 years and i still screw up and i'm still learning.
3. the essence of recording a good take is often down to microphone positioning and choosing the correct microphone.
4. if you have a poor sounding room this can really impact your quality.
on an acoustic guitar i would definitely not use an sm57 mic.
i HAVE done it and obtained good results BUT it takes WORK.
there is an article floating around the web at a site called tapeop
on building inexpensive microphones using panasonic wm capsules you can get from digikey. i think the mic is around 5 bucks to build and according to reports give a good account of themselves. otherwise i might suggest you try a small diameter condenser microphone.
 
It's hard to explain good or bad sound. It's something you have to be able to distinguish on your own. Behringer is pretty bottom of the line and so is your sound card. Chances are updating either will give you better fidelity.

Wether or not fidelity is your biggest problem has yet to be determined.
 
If your monitoring system isn't great, you won't be able to get a good picture of what you're actually recording. You may not be able to tell the difference between a great mixer/soundcard combo and your current setup if you are listening through computer speakers. You should be able to tell the difference between a CD and a CD recorded to your PC through the analog line in IF you have decent ears and decent speakers.
 
just an example of what i don't understand.

Take the "Morning View Sessions" DVD from Incubus

- demux the 5.1 ac3 sound.
- seperate all 6 channels.
- take the "Center" channel of the song "Mexico".
- hear a pure clean voice of brandon boyd in this song.

He's using a beta58a.
If you take a look, the voice does not appear to be affected by those special voice effects processors. I't sounds horrible, cause is his real voice without any effect on it, but fidelity is just normal.

I mean, is not 64kbps Windows Media Audio like my recordings, is just "Voice" is just "Normal Sound".

I don't want to compare the mixer of these guys with my mixer, but please just hear the center channel of this song and tell me that you need a console of 400.000$ to get that sound. Of course not.

Also read the reviews of the engineer who made the sound editing for the DVD, i think this guy have a 8bit mono sound blaster ( ISA ) and a little 486-dx2 for his sound editing.

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I'm going to put some links with some of my demo recordings, just to hear your opinions, cause maybe i'm nuts, and my sound could be just fine, and i'm just expecting something imposible.





I'm doing some tests with a beta58a and i'm not even closer to that.
 
Sure he's not using a modified Nintendo gaming console for editing??? or maybe a Pong or Atari for that "vintage" transistor sound???

Don't believe everything you read from those interviews.

Eddie Van Halen uses voltage attenuators to dial in his sound. He told anybody that asked for years that he was pumping the voltage up to run his amps. Truth is he was turning the voltage down somewhere in the high 80-90volt range depending on the venue power supply.
 
I mean, is not 64kbps Windows Media Audio like my recordings, is just "Voice" is just "Normal Sound".

I don't want to compare the mixer of these guys with my mixer, but please just hear the center channel of this song and tell me that you need a console of 400.000$ to get that sound. Of course not.
Click to expand...

Maybe not a $400,000 mixer, but I have a feeling they used something a bit better than your soundcard. They also probably used some nice preamps, used a nice sounding room, good cables, and an engineer who knows what they are doing. You seem stuck on the idea that since you and this Incubus fellow use the same microphone, your recordings should sound the same. THERE IS ALOT MORE TO A GREAT RECORDING THAN JUST THE MICROPHONE!!!!!!



Also read the reviews of the engineer who made the sound editing for the DVD, i think this guy have a 8bit mono sound blaster ( ISA ) and a little 486-dx2 for his sound editing.
Click to expand...

This is the funniest thing I've read all week (on both this board and all over the internet). I'm sure that's what he used! Since I use a Delta 44 and a PIV 2.53GHZ, my stuff should sound MUCH better, right? :rolleyes:
 
If you are recording in 64kbs WMA format that must sound like crap. Record at least 16bit/44.1khz WAV files.

It doesn't matter what the soundcard is for editing since the audio is only for monitoring.
 
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