Teething problems - advice please?

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bmerry8

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Hi all,

I am new to home recording, and not great at understanding sound tech, but I would really appreciate some advice because I'm not sure how to move forward.

I have and AKG D5 microphone, and a Shure X2u USB interface. I am using Audacity for recording.

I have set up my mic, interface, software etc according to the X2u instructions, as well as according to Audacity's own instructions on how to use an X2u with this software.

The first problem I have is that even with the X2u gain cranked right up, and with the input levels turned right up in Audacity, and with the mic about 1/2 inch from my face, the input level from the mic is reaaaaally low - about -48db max. i have checked the input levels for my soundcard - all up as high as they can go.

So I tried recording at this really low level anyway, and normalising the recording in audacity afterwards. This produced a horrible amount of hiss, and sounded really bad.

I tried using audacity's noise reduction feature, but this just made the recording sound wierd.

I looked all over the internet for a way to reduce the hiss. One thing I someone recommented was to turn the input level in audacity right down to 1 or 2, and then turn the gain on the X2u right up. This helped a little, but not enough to be left with a good quality recording once the low levels had been normalised.

So my questions that I would really like help with are these:

1. Am I using the wrong kind of microphone? Are the output levels of the AKG D5 too low for home recording even with the X2u preamp, and should I get a condenser mic instead? If so, which is a good, cheap one?

2. Is the hiss being generated by the X2u? I have heard other people complaining that USB interfaces can generate hiss. But if this is the case then why are they so popular? Should I get a different interface?

Thank you all for your help, I don't know much about this but just want to make a good quality home recording of my music (singe-songwriter type vocals and guitar).

P.S. - I would appreciate if answers are not in tech-speak, where possible, because this just makes me more confused ! Cheers!
 
Somethings not right if you are getting that low a signal. Do you have any other way to check that the mic and (presumably XLR) cable are working correctly - like a PA system, for example?

If they are OK, then the problem is somehow with Audacity and the USB adapter.

OOPS, just looked at the FAQs for the Shure, it only has 50dB of preamp power - that's low. The answer form SHure on using an SM7 mic wiht it was 'turn up the gain all the way' and it might work in some cases. The AKG manual doesn't give its needed preamp power, so that might be yoru problem. Basically, the X2u is a cheap USB adapter (it's only 16 bit, too) with a low power mic preamp.
 
Update:

I have tried using a Sony electret condenser microphone that I had lying around, just to see whether there was a problem with my AKG D5 microphone. I get the same low low levels with the condenser mic, even with gain, sound card, and software inputs turned right up.

I have also noticed that I can hear reasonable levels coming through my headphones while recording. The headphones are plugged into the X2u.

So it seems that good levels are going into the X2u through the mic, but are not getting from the X2u to the conputer.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this.
 
Hi Mjbphotos,

Thank you for taking the time to look into this and respond. In answer to your questions, I don't have a PA, but just tried the X2u with a different mic and got the same problem. I know that the other mic works because I have used in for recording onto a professional video camera with XLR input and it produces fine levels on that.

So as you suggest, I guess the problem is either with the X2u being rubbish (!) and not having enough preamp power, or with the signal getting from the X2u to the computer.

The X2u has a headphone monitor jack - when I plug my headphones into that and talk into the mic I can hear what sound like pretty normal levels. Do you think that this means the X2u IS providing enough preamp power, but just isn't getting a strong enough signal into the computer?

That last paragraph might not make any sense, because I'm not very tech-savvy. Just trying to figure out whether this is a fixable problem or whether I should just get a new audio interface.


Thanks again for your help :)
 
I think there are two different points to make. One is the input signal being good enough to mix with. Then there is the final output, which brings all the levels up to a closer level of what you are used to listening too.

One you have recorded without clipping, then you begin to mix and focus on your final output. Which may require gain inside the DAW to bring your final levels up. This is where Audacity doesn't make this clear, but can do it.

First track and get a good signal, then look at some threads on mixing. I think that is your issue. You are thinking your tracking volume should be louder than it really needs to be.

Not sure if that makes sense, but do look at how to mix.
 
Oh, I fixed it!

I switched on the 'Microhpone Boost' in Windows and now it works like a charm with minimal noise and nice healthy levels. Perhaps that's something I should have known to do already, but none of the troubleshooting pages I looked at suggested this.

Incase anyone else has this problem, here's how to fix it: How Do I Boost Microphone Volume in Windows XP® | PCRx.com

Obviously if you are using a newer version of windows than me then you'll need to google how to do it for your operating system.

Thanks for all your help, glad to have this solved and to be able to start recording! Best wishes.
 
Hi DM60,

Thanks for your input. I hadn't got as far as mixing yet because I was just trying to get a good enough signal to lay down my first tracks. I was about 100 miles from clipping, because the signal was peaking at -48db.

Now I've turned on the microphone boost in windows I've got a better signal, peaking at about -12db. That's about right isn't it?

I haven't got as far as learning how to produce a good mix yet, but I'll certainly look into it. Thanks for the tips!
 
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