Plugging Mic into GuitarPort? It's all too technical for me...

[drewsmiles]

Hello to everyone here
Okay, so my reason for this post is purely due to my lack of technical knowledge, and frankly, lack of patience. If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!
Basically, I'm trying to get a demo together, and I made a purchase the other day of an AKG C 3000 B Microphone, which you can see HERE
I don't know much about it but the guy in the shop said it was a very good microphone in it's price range...
Anyway so I have a phantom power box thingy that I have to plug the mic into then plug the phantom power box thingy into my computer via line in. The only thing is my computer's sound card is a heap of junk and creates a distorted fuzzy sound in the background when recording.
So then I discovered that if I plugged from the phantom power box thingy into my GuitarPort then obviously the GuitarPort goes into USB port, the distorted fuzzy sound in the background is gone! Hurrah! But wait! I don't know whether it's just me or not, but when playing back vocals, they sound kinda muffled? So I'm thinking, is it because the GuitarPort isn't designed to process vocals? Or is it something to do with the phantom power box thingy going into GuitarPort?! Or maybe the guy in the shop has totally ripped me with a Z-list microphone?!
AAH! Sorry if I'm not making any sense...
If I got an audio interface like something from m-audio, which specifies that it handles guitar and microphone inputs, might that make a difference?
Please if anyone can shed some light on the situation, much appreciated

 

[andyhix]

If I got an audio interface like something from m-audio, which specifies that it handles guitar and microphone inputs, might that make a difference?

I'm not familiar with the GuitarPort, but I think almost certainly the answer to the question above is "YES!" Basically, guitars, mixer outputs, and speakers inputs all run at adifferent levels. You can't mix and match without sacrificing some quality, often significantly. Someone will be along shortly to explain it better, I'm sure.

But it sounds like you are plugging a line-level signal into an instrument-level jack. Not likely to produce satisfacory results. I'd get a USB audio interface that has line level AND instrument level inputs, and for convience you might want to get one with built in Phantom power. Then you can take the seperate phantom unit out of the chain. Something like the M-Audio MobilePre would work.

 

[andyhix]

Mic: low level, -55 to -30dBV; low impedance, 150-250 ohm output, 1-2K ohm input
Instrument: medium level, -30 to -10dBV; high impedance, 10-25K output, 500K-1M ohm input
Line: high level, -10dBV to +2dBV (+4dBu); medium impedance, 100 ohm output, 10K ohm input

from this thread: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=225216&highlight=instrument+level

 

[drewsmiles]

Thanks for your reply! Okay so the M-Audio "MobilePre" looks perfect for what I need, and I am rather glad you suggested a specific model because I had absolutely no idea what I was looking for. May I ask a question? It's one of those "Is it the best?!" sort of questions that everyone hates but what the hell - does this interface produce good quality sound? Like I understand that an audio interface is like a soundcard in itself, and obviously with it going through USB as opposed to the heap of junk soundcard on my computer, the sound is purely generated from the interface... So that's good, right?!?!

 

[andyhix]

I have one, but haven't used it too much because it doesn't get along with my computer - I get random distortion cutting in and out. I think there is some unresolvable IRQ sharing problem. I have, however, brought it over to my friends house, and tried it on his computer and it worked just fine.

Likewise, I attempted to use a Presonus Firepod on my computer with similarly poor results. So, it's my computer, not the interface.

The MobilePre sounds pretty good - it will definitely be better than your stock soundcard by a mile. However it is 16 bit, whereas a lot of other interfaces record at 24 bit. The higher the bit rate, the more accurate the representation of your audio, and the more headroom you have to play with (ie you can record at a lower volume with good results, and not have to be as concerned with clipping).

Anyway, if your computer is fast enough to do 24 bit recording, you might want to find a 24 bit interface, if your budget allows. However, the MobilePre or something similar will be a huge step up for you - you just might find yourself ready for an upgrade in a few months or years.

It's probably worth holding out for a few more opinions as I'm fairly new to all this too. I'm sure there are other good options out there as well.

 

[Moonis 29]

I was totally unaware that you could record your voice through the Guitarport! haha, I figured it was only for recording your guitar!