Sm57 db problem

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batigol

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Hello, the past few months I have been recording guitar and vocals with a Shure SM57 into a PreSonus audiobox 22VSL. The program I am using is called "Audacity". One problem I have been having is that I need to turn up the db knob really high or else everything I record is really quiet. This results in a lot of buzzing. I know that this is a known problem with dynamic microphones like the SM57. Is there anything I can do to address this problem such as buy some sort of decibal booster?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, this forum looks awesome/really active/ helpful.
 
And there is the cloud Lifter yet it is in the same price range.

Rapco makes a cheaper version! Quality may vary.
 
...or buy a condenser mic which will fix your level issues and add some brightness and clarity to your recordings at the same time.
 
Since mention is made of Audacity I am making the assumption that the OP is not well heeled? So, £150 for a single channel, one trick poney like the Cloudlifter is a bit steep.

Now I KNOW I shall get my neck trodden on but....Buy a small mixer! Two mic input (one mic input mixers or AIs are daft IMHO) mixers from the likes of Mackie, Yamaha, Soundcraft and yes, Behringer, are very good these days in terms of noise. They also have more gain than most AIs plus the bonus of EQ and a bit of bass rolloff is usually a good thing. £50ish new but~ 1/2 that at Cash Converters and the like.

But the point about "how quiet is quiet" is well taken (before the thread descended into the Ministry of Silly Walks) . Signals need to be averaging around -18dBFS (24bit, 44.1kHz recording) . Now Audacity is a great lil' free app' but the meters are less than startling so I make no apology for once again suggesting the free MAGIX Samplitude Silver!
 
It's not a "problem" with SM57 microphones. The SM57 is most likely doing exactly what it's supposed to do. As is your interface. High probability of user error here.

What's the guitar? What's the style of playing? Where is the mic situated?
 
ecc83 said:
But the point about "how quiet is quiet" is well taken (before the thread descended into the Ministry of Silly Walks) .
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See what you've unleashed?
 

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Armistice said:
It's not a "problem" with SM57 microphones. The SM57 is most likely doing exactly what it's supposed to do. As is your interface. High probability of user error here.
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and ^^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^^


Lots of folks use SM57's ....... they are almost an industry standard and no, there is no issue with dynamic mics ..... they don't put out as much as most condensors but they put out enough.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I just looked up the specs because I have a firestudio mobile, and often (blindly) recommend the audiobox as a usb version.

According to the specs, the firestudio has 75db gain, where the audiobox has 35. Can this be right?
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Yes, the specification does indeed suggest that but when I have a more cogent moment I shall try to untangle the numbers and words and see just wh'appen! (for instance. Why quote noise, EIN at 55dB gain? And even so I find -130dBu a bit hard to believe?).

Gain specs for AIs are a bit of a hobby horse of mine! A far more useful figure would be input SENSISTIVITY (in mV/ muV) for say -20dBFS. Most folks "in the game" know a 57/58 chucks out ~1.6mV/Pa and most capacitors 10-20dB more than that so we would all know WTF we were!

Amplifiers of all sorts, be they power, pre, tape inputs, cassette RCA inputs were, and many still are, specc'ed as an input VOLTAGE. To give an unreferenced gain figure is useless.

Dave.
 
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