H
habanero
New member
Whats up yall.
I have recently put together an entry level home recording package, and the only part I wasnt really solid on was selecting the vocal / instrument mic.
After doing as much research as I could, and reading reviews, I settled on the MXL R144 Ribbon mic. At $87 bucks (with coupon) I thought it would be a great way to get started for now.
I am plugging it directly into my Tascam US-600, and I am using Sonar 8.5 pro. I have heard others say that this mic (as with many ribbon mic's) need a lot of gain. I started with the gain all the way down, and quickly realized that I have to turn it to about 95% to get the audio levels in the proper range. This is even singing about 4 inches away from the mic. Any further than that, and its too quiet.
I want to use this to record vocals, as well as vocals with acoustic guitar (sometimes at the same time). I was thinking I could sit about 2 feet away from the mic, sing, and play acoustic guitar, but that isnt going to work with my current setup.
So I guess I need to get a preamp to do this, right? Can I expect this mic with a preamp to pickup vocals and acoustic guitar from 2 feet away? I see plenty of youtube videos where people are doing this (not necessarily with this mic) and I just expected that most vocal / instrument mics would do this.
If a preamp would get the job done, should I go with a solid state, or tube? I am looking to keep the natural sound from the source, so I am thinking solid state. Would a tube preamp change the sound much?
Finally, how much dB boost should I be looking to add to this mic to get it to do what I want it to? I see some things max out at 20dB, while others go as high as 70dB. Is there a level that will damage the microphone? Is there a level that will make the mic useless due to clipping by adding dB's?
I am trying to stay under the cost of the mic if I am going to get a preamp. Otherwise, I would consider taking it back, and trying another option.
I have recently put together an entry level home recording package, and the only part I wasnt really solid on was selecting the vocal / instrument mic.
After doing as much research as I could, and reading reviews, I settled on the MXL R144 Ribbon mic. At $87 bucks (with coupon) I thought it would be a great way to get started for now.
I am plugging it directly into my Tascam US-600, and I am using Sonar 8.5 pro. I have heard others say that this mic (as with many ribbon mic's) need a lot of gain. I started with the gain all the way down, and quickly realized that I have to turn it to about 95% to get the audio levels in the proper range. This is even singing about 4 inches away from the mic. Any further than that, and its too quiet.
I want to use this to record vocals, as well as vocals with acoustic guitar (sometimes at the same time). I was thinking I could sit about 2 feet away from the mic, sing, and play acoustic guitar, but that isnt going to work with my current setup.
So I guess I need to get a preamp to do this, right? Can I expect this mic with a preamp to pickup vocals and acoustic guitar from 2 feet away? I see plenty of youtube videos where people are doing this (not necessarily with this mic) and I just expected that most vocal / instrument mics would do this.
If a preamp would get the job done, should I go with a solid state, or tube? I am looking to keep the natural sound from the source, so I am thinking solid state. Would a tube preamp change the sound much?
Finally, how much dB boost should I be looking to add to this mic to get it to do what I want it to? I see some things max out at 20dB, while others go as high as 70dB. Is there a level that will damage the microphone? Is there a level that will make the mic useless due to clipping by adding dB's?
I am trying to stay under the cost of the mic if I am going to get a preamp. Otherwise, I would consider taking it back, and trying another option.
