Urgent question on Oktava MK 319

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metalyrico

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Hi everyone:

Yesterday I purchased an Oktava MK 319 with a preamp/phantom power Audio Buddy. It has a wonderful, rich, warm quality that I really like but it seems to only be able to handle my voice on the lowest possible setting on the preamp. I am a very high soprano singer, which may be the reason.

Anyway, I have 48 hours from 5:00 yesterday in which to exchange it for a different selection.

So here are my questions....

1.) Is this likely just a computer or preamp setting problem?(I am not experienced at all at this sort of thing so it very well could be something I am doing wrong.)

2.) Would a mic in the $200.00 range be noticeably better for
a classical voice like mine? This one was 100.00 and I am willing to go up in price. If so, any suggestions on which mic?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
It's the way you have it set up for sure. Where do you hear the distortion? How do you monitor ? What do you record to? What kind of sound card? You've left out a ton of info.
 
not sure what is the problem

My soundcard is Yamaha YMF-753 16 bit...I record into Cakewalk and I am not sure what monitoring is? Do you mean how I adjust the levels during recording?

Basically, it's only getting distortion on the high notes. This doesn't happen when I have the preamp on the lowest setting.
 
far

I stand back about 12 inches or it can't handle the high notes...I have the preamp turned down almost to the bottom.
 
try it with the 10db pad switch engaged.

the oktava is a perfectly decent low cost mic. you probably wont hear much of an upgrade unless you start spending a bit more (like $500+) or if you spend a bit of time to "match" a mic to your voice.
 
Be sure that you are going from the preamp to the 'line in' of the soundcard and not the 'mic in' which uses the sound card's crappy preamp
 
ack

It doesn't work when I put it in the line in plug |=

When i plug it into the mic I still am capable of adjusting the sound with my preamp. Do you still think it's using the system;s bad preamp in addition to my audio buddy?

Thanks
 
yes, you can amplify an amplified signal, but it does explain why you can only use the lowest setting on the preamp and why you are blowind out the top notes and generally getting bad results.

Fundamentally what your preamp does is to increase your microphone to 'line level' which is a specification of the maximum voltage that will sent down the line. That is why there is a limit light or a vu-meter on the preamp, to show when the signal it might have sent would have exceeded line level so they are truncating it.

Maybe some folks with more experience than me can tell you why it is going on about not being able to get any sound when going into the line in on the sound card. My first guesses are that the cable is wrong for the job or your copy of windows has the line in muted. (If in WinXP double click the little speaker near the clock. There is the ability to mute any port on the soundcard there.)
 
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