E
esox
New member
Hi, I'm a newb. I'm attempting to record acoustic fingerstyle guitar into a matched pair of Samson C02 SDCs into a Focusrite Scarlette 2i2. I fully understand that these are budget mics and I probably shouldn't expect too much. 
Whenever I turn the gain up beyond a certain point, I hear the normal hiss noise and room noise, but also a repetitive thumping noise that sounds like a diesel motor idling (is this what they call "motor boating"?). The "motor boating" is not constant unless I crank the gain all the way up. It seems like it's set off by any noise the mic picks up. In other words, if I turn up the gain slowly, it won't start motor boating as long as I keep it below a certain point. But as soon as the mic picks up a thump like a finger snap, it starts motor boating. There is a point in the gain below which the motor boating does not occur. At this gain level, I can get usable recordings, but I have to be within about 6 or 7 inches from the mic.
Is this normal for this mic or is this some type of RF interference?
My At2020 LDC does not have this behavior at all.
Both C02s have the same exact behavior.
The same thing occurs on my laptop or on my desktop computer.
I've tried turning off the cordless phone, computer fans, florescent lights, Cable modem, wifi router, cell phone.... to no avail.
It's working for me as is, so this is not crucial, but it has me curious as to whether there is something causing the noise that I can control. Thanks.
Whenever I turn the gain up beyond a certain point, I hear the normal hiss noise and room noise, but also a repetitive thumping noise that sounds like a diesel motor idling (is this what they call "motor boating"?). The "motor boating" is not constant unless I crank the gain all the way up. It seems like it's set off by any noise the mic picks up. In other words, if I turn up the gain slowly, it won't start motor boating as long as I keep it below a certain point. But as soon as the mic picks up a thump like a finger snap, it starts motor boating. There is a point in the gain below which the motor boating does not occur. At this gain level, I can get usable recordings, but I have to be within about 6 or 7 inches from the mic.
Is this normal for this mic or is this some type of RF interference?
My At2020 LDC does not have this behavior at all.
Both C02s have the same exact behavior.
The same thing occurs on my laptop or on my desktop computer.
I've tried turning off the cordless phone, computer fans, florescent lights, Cable modem, wifi router, cell phone.... to no avail.
It's working for me as is, so this is not crucial, but it has me curious as to whether there is something causing the noise that I can control. Thanks.