soundcard recording - low/tinny volume

[punkmac]

hello everyone

i've recently purchased a yamaha 16/4 mixer, a sm57 mic and have it all hooked up in the following chain..

sm57 -> mixer (xlr) -> rec out (rca cable) -> pc soundcard input (24bit/96Khz)

the result isnt much improvement over my old pos radio shack mixer, the sound is still really tinny and overall crappy. not exactly what i would call "good" sounding results

is there something im not doing correctly with this chain? it's really driving me nuts to say the least. thanks for the help!

also, i should add were recording drums/guitar since your probably what were trying to do. thanks!

 

[Idgeit]

Did you try fiddle with the Eq attal yet?


Get creative, Give it a good bit of volume, mic placements. Its all really up 2 you, to try figure how you want it to sound. Go to the library and get some books on recording, or look at some files online,

- Idgeit

 

[punkmac]

eq dosent seem to do much, it helps but its not really helping in the right department.

one of the main problems seems to be, when we record in sonar 4 (mixer rca -> sound card line-in via splitter jack) the volume looks to be good, as in it just starts to get into the yellow. but when we play it back its -way- lower then when we input it into sonar. we can boost it via software, but is this normal? i read somewhere that the db level via line-in on soundcards is much less then with other inputs?

guess this is why im posting in the newbie department

thanks for the help

 

[aaroncomp]

Sounds to me like you need a preamp. That's not built into the mixer, I'm assuming? Also, what kind of soundcard are you using?

 

[punkmac]

the sound card im using is a M-audio revolution 7.1, its more of a gamers card but it can record 24bit/96KHz via the line-in.

dosent the yamaha MG 16/4 have pre-amps built in?

 

[aaroncomp]

Yes, I looked and it does have pre's - I don't know every mixer off the top of my head. Make sure the line in is turned up all the way in the computer's mixer settings. Same thing for the recording input mixer level. You should never raise the level above it's original volume in software - always get it right when recording.

Are we talking about only 1 Sm57? Even with the drums? Basically, I'm trying to understand if this poor sound is solely from the recording, or also contributed by the mixing you're doing.

 

[punkmac]

the drums is a sm57 on the snare, a sm58 on the kick and some cheapo dynamics for the overheads. i know the 58 is not the best mic for the kick, but its better then the other dynamics we have.

im using the rca-outs on the mixer into the soundcard, which say their -10DB. would it be better to use the XLR/TRS outputs instead? they are rated at +4DB, but would this overload the line-in on the soundcard? basically, i want to use the best quality outputs on the mixer that i can to run the sound out to the pc, even if it meant getting another soundcard for the job

as for the mixing technique im using, i crank up the gain on each mic until i see the peak light flash, then back it off until i dont see it anymore. using the faders i mix the level going into sonar with the same method, cut the faders just below the point where the red starts.

any thoughts?

 

[NYMorningstar]

Make sure the mixer level on the soundcard for recording and playback is not too low.

 

[Idgeit]

Make sure the mixer level on the soundcard for recording and playback is not too low.

I agree with that, and look into the gain on your mixer, Keep the volume on the channel around 0, and move the gain up. Its all down to testing different levels really. Did you turn the master on your mixer up? I normally used to anyways go out the master Left and Right of my mixer.

- Idgeit