SM58 to laptop problem, and.. preamp?

[dshadoe]

Hey,

I've been wanting to mess around and record some acoustic guitar, so I borrowed an SM58.. I know it isn't the best for acoustic guitar, but it's the best I had available,

I have an XLR to 1/4" cable attached to it, then a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter which I've plugged into my mic jack on my laptop - and it's definitely in the right jack. I'm using a Dell Studio17 laptop with Vista, and IDT Audio drivers. When I plug the mic in, the IDT Audio settings panel comes up; I have the mic set as the primary recording device, and am fairly certain all other settings are correct.

THE PROBLEM is that I can't seem to pick up any sound through the mic. The laptop would still pick up all sound through it's own built in mic. I played with all configurations of settings, still wouldn't work. I've now disabled the built in mic, so basically I don't pick up anything now... almost. I've tried using Adobe Soundbooth, Audition and even Windows' Sound Recorder.

What I AM picking up, is when I jiggle the adapter while plugged into the mic jack, it creates very small amounts of.. noise? I'm a complete novice here, but that would lead me to believe the problem lies somewhere within the mic's end of things.

I've read into it a bit, I'm assuming I don't actually need a preamp to use this mic with my laptop.. but could that actually be the problem, that the SM58 needs some amount of phantom power that the laptop just isn't supplying? I'm looking at a Behringer Ultragain Pro MIC2200, but I'd rather not have to pick up a preamp at all for the time being.

Any thoughts, suggestions or anything? I'd appreciate any advice offered.

Thanks!

 

[johnsuitcase]

The SM58 is a dynamic mic, which mens it needs no external phantom power.

The output is balanced, but your cable should be converting it to unbalanced. Is the 1/4" to 1/8" adapter mono? Does it have just the tip and sleeve, or does it have a ring also, like a headphone jack?

I'm not familiar with the Dell mic input, but it may require a particular jack setup, if it's designed to work with a headset, for instance.

If you're getting some noise, it's probably active, though that's not certain, either.

You probably don't need a preamp, with a true mic input, but it'd likely sound better than whatever preamp chip is in the Dell.

It's also possible that the Dell is expecting a line level input, in which case you'll need a preamp (or a very loud source, like a close mic'd snare drum.)

 

[bunt]

in the box
in the box

A3F XLR Jack-to-1/4" Plug Adapter/Transformer
Model: 274-016 | Catalog #: 274-016
$19.69$

Is this what you mean by "adaptor?" you need one of these

 

[saads]

Is the recording track armed?

 

[moresound]

I've seen this problem before and it's just as what johnsuitcase stated with the adapters.
They all need to be tip/ring /sleeve from the mic to the t/r/s input of the computer.
Most people will grab a mono adapter (tip/sleeve) and it wont work unless you push it in to the first click.

 

[dshadoe]

Thanks for the replies guys,

You were completely right about the adapter.. it's mono, I didn't even think to consider that. I just tried pushing the 1/4" male jack on the end of the mic cable into the adapter to the first click, but I'm still not picking anything up.

Would my best bet at this point be to get a stereo adapter? Or do you think that it should work with the mono adapter, but without the mic cable inserted fully into it?

As for the preamp, I didn't think I'd need it for now, but depending on how things sound once I have this working, I may pick up that Behringer.

 

[moresound]

No sorry I was thinking T/R/S into mono to the first click.

Go and get a T/R/S adapter - keep it all low impedance.

 

[dshadoe]

Thanks, that did the trick! Funny actually.. I picked one up from Radioshack for $9, then went to a wholesaler that deals in electronics and got another one for $0.38.. both work, only difference I'm aware of is that the $9 adapter is gold plated.

At this point though, I'll likely pick up an interface or something sometime soon, then a different mic a little farther down the road. Already sounds loads better than the built in laptop mic though. Thanks again-

 

[moresound]

Thanks, that did the trick! Funny actually.. I picked one up from Radioshack for $9, then went to a wholesaler that deals in electronics and got another one for $0.38.. both work, only difference I'm aware of is that the $9 adapter is gold plated.

At this point though, I'll likely pick up an interface or something sometime soon, then a different mic a little farther down the road. Already sounds loads better than the built in laptop mic though. Thanks again-

Radio shack well take that back and give you your money or credit back your card just be sure to have the package.

 

[legionserial]

Are you plugging the mic into a mic socket or a line socket? If there's only one socket, it may well be line, and you'll need a preamp. The built in preamps on mic sockets suck anyway so you'd probably want a preamp there too...

So really I'd advise (if you can right now after all the xmas expense!) getting a preamp. There's some good stuff out there for pretty reasonable prices.

 

[dshadoe]

I'm plugging the mic into a mic socket, yes.. not able to get a great amount of sound this way though, I do plan on picking up a preamp.

I was hoping to just use my laptop for all this, but I don't have firewire on it. I have the 3.5mm mic socket of course, some usb 2.0 ports, and an hdmi port - do they make any (affordable) equipment that outputs to hdmi? Would that even be a good option anyway? Alternatively, I could get my desktop going as it's a decent rig, and put in firewire, but I'd rather try and stick with the laptop.

I'm looking at some new/used equipment through my local craigslist for preamp capabilities, I've come across a few interesting items so far.

1. Behringer 1604a mixer, used, $135 - looks good, but I've had a hard time finding any recent information about these; are they older technology?

2. M-Audio Fast Track Pro interface, used, $150 - what I'm most interested in, just having a hard time getting hold of the seller.

 

[Chili]

The mic input on your laptop probably doesn't have enough gain for the SM58, so, you should be looking for an interface. If you're looking to record guitar and vocals, a 2-channel USB interface will work fine. You needn't worry about a mixer, they are not necessary.

Here's a list of USB interfaces. You would be interested in the $80 and up range. I think the Lexicon Alpha or Tascam US122 might fit your needs.

http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces/low2high

Good luck, Have fun!!