Vocal recording problems

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fash40

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Hi All,

I wonder if anyone can point me in the right direction?
I use the following:
Imac with Presonus Studio One V3
Presonus Audiobox
AKG 271 Headphones
Rode NT1A with pop filter and reflexion shield

Whenever I record vocals the sound is toppy and slightly distorted. I can barely hear the vocal when recording. I have the mix level right on the interface but I have to put the volume fader on the DAW all the way into the red! Its hard to record because I can't get the mix level in my head phones loud enough to record the vocal - turning the fader down doesn't work as I can't then hear the vocal?

Any ideas - I'm new to this!

Many Thanks
 
Are you plugging the headphones into the Presonus Audiobox? On the Audiobox, do you have the control that is marked 'mixer' turned mostly anti-clockwise (towards 'input')?
 
Yes headphones in the audiobox and mixer knob turned fairly anti clockwise,
 
I've tried everything but still I'm getting a poor vocal sound, however I'm beginning to wonder whether the Audiobox is any good? Thinking of getting a Focusrite Scarlet 6i6, maybe a newer USB2 interface with better pre-amps will solve the problem? Any thoughts?
 
I had similar problems with the Tascam 1800. My old M-Audio worked very well, but the Tascam just didn't have adequate volume (overall) when I got the vocal volume balanced (I tend to belt out the vocal). So I got a headphone amplifier and now I can turn the volume of the Monitor volume almost all the way to the vocal side and very little track coming through and just turn up the HP amp.
If you can get a balance at low volume, this is an option. If you can't get a balance, period, there's something odd.
Also, if you have the preamps overdriving, they will sound poor. Overdriving the signal back to your headphones should not affect what is recorded if the signal chain has no overdriven elements.
In other words, make sure you're not clipping at the interface and you should get a decent signal into the DAW. If it overdrives on the way out, it won't hurt that signal, although it might be harder to sing to.
 
arcaxis said:
It very well could be the Audiobox headphone output isn't very strong for monitoring of tracking. I have a Tascam US1800 that I ended up buying a headphone amp for because the headphone output of the Tascam is weak.
Your headphones seem to be 55 ohms which should work fine.
Might be some users of the Audiobox here that can comment.
Read through this and see if there are any hints to your problem (drivers maybe?) >> AudioBox USB Low Headphone Output Volume (Missing Bass) is a Driver Problem

Googled > "Presonus Audiobox headphone output weak"
https://www.google.com/search?num=2......0...1c.1j2.64.hp..16.10.1710.0.4jEQzyegqrs
Click to expand...

I use the Audiobox when I don't need anymore than two inputs. I never had a problem with volume.

I'm just fiddling around with mine, and got the effect I think you are describing by plugging the headphones into one of the MAIN OUT jacks on the back of the Audiobox. Make sure your plug the headphones into the jack labeled "PHONES"

I assume you probably know that already, but that's all I can come up with.
 
Resurrect said:
I'm just fiddling around with mine, and got the effect I think you are describing by plugging the headphones into one of the MAIN OUT jacks on the back of the Audiobox. Make sure your plug the headphones into the jack labeled "PHONES"
Click to expand...

Was just going to ask this, actually.

Are you making sure to plug into the headphone output, and not the line outputs on the back?
 
Are your recordings clipped? Or is it just your headphone mix? I would set the input gain on the Audiobox to get the right signal to the DAW and then worry about the monitoring.

If you have an Auto input gain setting on the Audiobox, you might open up the control panel software that came with it and check the settings. See what gain level it sets by default. You should be able to change that. The one on my Roland Quad Capture defaulted to -6dB. I reset it to -12dB to get clearer recordings without clipping.
 
That's what I like about the Tascam US800 - software mixer. I can adjust the mic/line inputs vs computer to headphones wiht infinite adjustment capability.
 
Don't be afraid to slap a limiter of your preference on the master fader just to get your volumes up while tracking. As long as your levels are set properly coming in, you'll be fine cuz you can always remove master fader fx without altering your recorded track.

That being said, I've yet to let anyone one this site hear my recordings so take it with a grain of salt. That's just how I do it to track vocals/guitar/bass
 
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