Problems Recording -- please help!

[Phantai]

Hi all!

I'm a film maker by nature, but decided to record some music. Sadly, the only microphone I have is a shotgun microphone specifically for filming. Thankfully, it produces a very nice and crisp sound, and with the right preamps, I can get a decent recording of vocals or even instruments.

However, i'm having a problem with my recording software (or maybe it's with the mic?). All of my recordings start out very crisp and clear, and then 3 or 4 seconds in, become fairly muted and muffled. I'm not sure why this is. When I use this microphone for filming, the sound is crisp the whole way through.

I'm using audacity to record. Could this be a problem with audacity?

Your help is GREATLY appreciated!

 

[KJ09]

Muffled Playback of Recordings...

Hmmm...Ideas to solve your problem.

1) The playback sector is bad inside your computer/recorder on playback.
Damaged playback amplifiers inside the playback circuitry could be giving
you a "dull" or distorted playback even though your initial recordings could
be fine. Try another sound source to playback and see if the problem is
still there. If it is, it's not your recording. If it disappears, it may be
your recording;

2) If you are playing back a Digital file (mp3 etc.) you may have mastered the
original recording at too high a level on your meters. Try making another copy of your master recording at a lower volume and play that back through your system to see if the "muffled" sound disappears. If it does, then you mastered or mixed down your initial recording at too high a sound level when making a digital file;

3) Does your microphone need a line transformer going into your deck/recorder/computer to match impedance ? These cost about $15.00 and will connect to a male Canon plug on your Mic cable;

4) Is your mic too close to the sound source when recording ? Condenser mics are extremely sensative and will easily distort if pushed too hard (volume is up too much or you are too close to the mic condenser element
or a combination of both);

5) Try lowering the output on your mixer (per track) if you are mixing down multiple tracks and make a new digital audio file. Play that file back on your PC and see if the muffled sound disappears;

Theoretically,when you first start your Playback the current in the circuitry first explodes (as a magnetic current field) and then it should level off some thereafter. So if you were going to get distortion one would think that it would happen when your song starts and not a few seconds later, but in your case it is just the inverse --so it may be that some device in the playback circuitry doesn't have enough BIAS voltage (current) to work properly which once again leads me to suspect your playback circuitry in some fashion (playback computer board, etc.). If there is an "Open Circuit" inside the playback section of your Computer card/Recorder it shouldn't playback at all;

Try some of these ideas out to see if the problem goes away and definitely play other recordings through your equipment to see if this problem is still there on those sound sources as well. If it is, it is most likely your playback circuitry (or card). If you are using Windows, go into Control Panel and check the hardware devices in "System" to see if any of them are accidentally disabled. Inispect all the hardware devices on your computer in "System" (in Control Panel) to see if anything is affecting playback quality.

6) Make a new recording with the same Mic using a DIFFERENT Mic Cable.

7) Switch out Sounds Cards in your computer and see if the distortion goes disappears (borrow one, buy a backup one);

Good luck,
-KJ09