Please help, my recordings are too quiet...

M

matt's bedroom

New member
...I'm running a Shure SM58 into a cheap Phonic mixer (for preamplification), then into the line-in of my PC's soundcard. The problem is, even with all levels and gain well up, my recordings don't come out anywhere near loud enough (a waveform with visible amplitude would be nice!).

Generally, I'm recording vocals and acoustic guitar, and ironically, in the days when I used a cheap computer mic for this, my recordings came out much louder.

I know the signal is Ok when it reaches the mixer because I can easily get it in the red, but when it arrives at my computer it's wavering somewhere near the bottom on the Windows mixer.

So could it be...
a) Soundcard
b) Mixer's preamp
c) Connection between the mixer and the soundcard

Any ideas?

-Matt
 
Have you checked the level at the mixer with monitors or headphones? What kind of sound card are you using?
 
Make sure you're going into the Line input and not the mic input on the sound card. And if possible, use a different patch cable from the mixer to the soundcard or if you have a multi meter, check the continuity of that cable to make sure it's good. The fact that you have good levels at your mixer (LEDs are dancing) leads me to believe that the problem is between it and the card. It's all a process of illimination. Verify you have signal leaving your mixer, verify your cables are good, verify you're patched to the correct input on the card and verify that it's turned up and not muted in the Windows mixer and your recording software.
 
Check the recording level of the mixer that comes with your soundcard and make sure you have the correct source chosen.
 
What recording software are you using? It should have meters in it that tell you the level of signal it is receiving. That's the level you need to be concerned about. Are you getting a signal there?

It's not clear to me whether you are getting no signal at all (visible amplitude would be nice), or just a very weak signal. The answer to this would help to pinpoint where the problem might be.

What connections are you using to go from your mixer to sound card? Main outs, channel inserts, direct outs??? What type of cabling are you using? What source is selected in your recording software?
 
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