Which mic to use?Do I need a Pre-amp ? Why is this so confusing ?

N

nisthana

New member
Ok I am intimidated by recording and mixing at home.I want to learn all about it but theres so much so so much to grasp !!!!
Anyway, baby steps, moving on.
I recently bought a Sony LBT XG60 (280w), which has a 1/4" mic and guitar i/p jacks. I also bought a Sennheiser e835 mic (the guy at guitar center convinced me,a novice,that Sennheiser is better than Shure..do you think so ? http://www.sennheiserusa.com/pages/products/micro/index.htm), but it isnt behaving good with my Sony stereo :-( Theres a strange humm that speaker throws out, when I use the mic (I dont think my voice is so bad really) the sound is not very clear.I have tried to adjust the microphone i/p level as well as the volume o/p, but I am not getting good results. Should I use a pre-amp ? (I am newbie,hardly know pre-amp from a mixer, but the guy at the music shop told me that pre-amp might cut it). I spent $100+ on getting the mic, now before I spend more money in pre-amps and stuff, I thought I would ask experts here.
Also is there a way to use these kinds of mics (like Shure)..with my computer ? I have a dell running Win2k with SBLive card.
Hannyway, more later.Ohms,decibels,RF,amps have confused me big big time.
Any help would be appreciated.
 
what the hell is a Sony LBT XG60?

All I could find on that product is a mini-component looking thing. Is this what you got?

http://www.sony.com.pe/products/product.jsp?model=LBT-XG60#

I wish I could read espanol so I could tell you what I would make of it. As it stands, it doesn't look like it was made for even slightly serious recording.

BTW, I also work at GC (in Chicago) and think the e835 is a solid mic on a budget. I probably would have recommended a shure 57 first but oh well. Anyway, I doubt that's your problem.

BESIDES all that stuff, the first thing I would ask is, (now, don't be offended by stupid questions...) are you using headphones when you record vocals? Trying to record your voice into the mic only works when there's no sound coming out of the speakers. having both sound sources for the mic to pick up could certainly be responsible for the mic not playing nice with your stereo...

Finally some good news!

As far as interacting with your computer, all you need is a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to go into the mic input on your soundcard. It's not the ideal way, but certainly good enough to get started (and addicted to recording, btw...:)) The SB live has that input so I believe you're set. :)

Hope I helped.

Miles
 
Yeah thats what I got from Local Fry's.(In San Jose,CA).
True that its not the best recording gadgets,but after I broke my old Aiwa,which had superb Karaoke controls, this was the only model which had a darn mic input, and it also has a karaoke mode.So I bought it.
I sometimes use headfones sometimes not, when I record.The sound still has the humm while using the headfones (just that it comes directly to my head rather than coming to my ears first ;-)
I think the real problem is not the microphone (though I really need to know if what I have is worth it).I just used my friends' mic which is a Sony F-V320 dynamic mic (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/product/220071/SOFV320/REG/1454) and the situation didnt improve.
So should I still get a pre-amp and try both mics with the system ?
What I want is to somehow get the hall-effect (as if I am singing in some hall with top-of-the-line amps and stuff) via my humble stereo (asking for too much eh?).
Did I make any sense at all ????
 
well, I can pretty safely say that a preamp won't eradicate a preexistent buzzing.

The hall effect is called Reverberation, commonly referred to as a reverb. It simulates the reflections of sound waves in any given area. To get it, you either have a effects option on your recorder, you buy a piece of hardware such as this or you get a software like guitar tracks that comes with a reverb effect, as well as many others, in it.

Actually, I just realized I don't know what kind of music you're trying to record. Or you a vocalist singing over existing pieces of music? Are you recording instruments? Answers to these questions would help us all decide whether you should justify spending more money on a different method of recording. I personally would recommend the computer method 8 times out of ten.

Miles
 
Ok I realised that I was asking wrong question in the wrong forum.This is supposed to be entirely for mics right ? But now that we have started discussing things,I might as well tell ya what am I trying to do.

I wanna record my own CDs (tapes fine too for starters).
Now the way I wanna do it is that since I dunno any instruments,I wanna play the music CDs, fade the singer's voice,or get a karaoke cd if I can find one,hook up the mic,and record it in a clean way,so that my voice comes out clear,theres no noise etc ect.Portable karaoke machines suck,so dont advise me one.I would also wanna learn the multi-track recording and stuff.

Now I was doing this stuff using the Karaoke features my old Aiwa provided (sans multi-track ofcourse just 2 tracks),it recorded pretty well until something went wrong and I tried to repair the thing.That was cheap really.

Now,I know to do some pro recording, I need to have stuff like mixers,multi-track recorders,monitors etc etc.Is there a way I can start cheap ? (beleive me i aint a cheapstake but in this economy I better be one)..What are the components required if I wanna do the above ? Will it be fine if I get a cheap analog 4 track to start with ? Or should I get a mixer with pre-amp and some input/output jacks, and use my PC/stereo system to do the recording ? If I cannot and should not go cheap,will it be fine if I use a software like n-track studio to learn this mixing stuff as well as record my songs ? Should I use a professional (shure and the like) mics or can I do away with PC mic ?
Maaan I am so so confused.

I guess I am not making much sense yet, so am not expecting any help,but it'll be great if you still wanna wade through these tuff waters :-)))
 
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