Microphone dead quiet??

Gtrance · Post by **Gtrance** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:06 am

Hello everyone.

My mum has been getting into song writing with her guitar and i suggested she buy a microphone then we can record her stuff into Ableton and put it on the net. Admittedly I know little about microphone recording. I assumed we would just plug it into my soundcard and away we go.

But when we've tried this, the microphone volume level is ridiculously quiet. Cant even hear anything unless i put a compressor on the channel with the lowest threshold and highest output but it still is too quiet with a lot of hissing.

Obviously Im missing something or doing something stupid.

Any ideas?

Cheers

/. · Post by /. » Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:16 pm

if youre on win,go to control panel,sound and devices then open the mixer and boost mic up to 20 db..should be somewhere there..

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:55 pm

Probably needs a pre-amp.

or....

Throw a Utility plugin on and push it up like 20-25db (start low).

-Ben

snowtires · Post by **snowtires** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 1:19 pm

maybe it needs phantom power?

theshaggyfreak · Post by **theshaggyfreak** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 1:44 pm

I suggest getting a small mixer board. I've had this little Behringer for a couple years now, and I still use it now and then. It doesn't sound half bad for only being $50.

Behringer UB802

feyshay · Post by **feyshay** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:04 pm

If it is a condenser microphone (what kind of mic is it?), It needs phantom power.
Boosting level after you get it in the box will only increase noise as much as volume of signal. That will not be a viable option.
Most soundcards have a preamp. Your best bet if you do not have one is to get a soundcard with some workable preamps on it. What soundcard are you using?

Lo-Fi Massahkah · Post by **Lo-Fi Massahkah** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:25 pm

You definitely need a mic pre-amp. A cheap way to go would be getting a small Behringer mixer as suggested. Your soundcard might have pre-amps but then youd probably know it. What kind of card do you have?

Regards,
Mikael

j0shu@ · Post by **j0shu@** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:29 pm

pre amps are like 33% of your mic signal:

1/3 the mic
1/3 the prepamp
1/3 the mixing board / inteface

but you should be able to pull off a moderate recording even without one.

make sure you are plugged into the mic input of the soundcard, (not the line in) and make sure your software levels are all up using the windows mixer.

then slap on a compressor or something post recording to up the levels a bit again. you should at least be able to get somehting usable.

theshaggyfreak · Post by **theshaggyfreak** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:45 pm

j0shu@ wrote: but you should be able to pull off a moderate recording even without one.

make sure you are plugged into the mic input of the soundcard, (not the line in) and make sure your software levels are all up using the windows mixer.

then slap on a compressor or something post recording to up the levels a bit again. you should at least be able to get somehting usable.

Not if the microphone needs phantom power. Mics generally put out a signtal at -50 to -60 dB. That's hardly a usable signal.

j0shu@ · Post by **j0shu@** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:06 pm

this is true. my apologies for leaving this out.

i was assuming they are using an inexpensive non-powered mic as most condensers (which usually require the P.P) are mo spensive

if this is the case then you will probably need a mixer with phantom power or a pre-amp.

but i would try the above steps first as well.

Gtrance · Post by **Gtrance** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:22 pm

Unfortunately I dont know the type of microphone. My mum bought it off ebay, came without instructions or any description on the ebay listing. All it is called is a BEYERDYNAMIC wired MICROPHONE Model M300TG.

My soundcard is a M-audio delta 44. It comes with a breakout box with 4 1/4" jack inserts. Im not entirely sure if it has a built in pre amp but I have a feeling it doesnt. So do you all think I require a pre amp. I have seen a Behringer Mic 100 for £33 on digital village. Cheapest they have got. Would this do the trick?

snowtires · Post by **snowtires** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:26 pm

Gtrance wrote:Unfortunately I dont know the type of microphone. My mum bought it off ebay, came without instructions or any description on the ebay listing. All it is called is a BEYERDYNAMIC wired MICROPHONE Model M300TG.

My soundcard is a M-audio delta 44. It comes with a breakout box with 4 1/4" jack inserts. Im not entirely sure if it has a built in pre amp but I have a feeling it doesnt. So do you all think I require a pre amp. I have seen a Behringer Mic 100 for £33 on digital village. Cheapest they have got. Would this do the trick?

ok, so it's a dynamic mic. most dynamic mics don't need phantom power (i can't think of any that do). sounds like you need a preamp

theshaggyfreak · Post by **theshaggyfreak** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 6:28 pm

snowtires wrote: ok, so it's a dynamic mic. most dynamic mics don't need phantom power (i can't think of any that do). sounds like you need a preamp

Right. There are a lot of low cost solutions ot this problem. There is the Behrigner UB802 that I posted a link to above. There's the M-Audio Audio Buddy 2 channel mic pre-amp that's pretty damn good for the money. Recently I just picked up the ART Tube Pac which is a tube preamp with a built in compressor. It actually sounds really nice for 100$. So, it all depends on how much you want to spend.

Gtrance · Post by **Gtrance** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:03 pm

Ok.

Cheers for the replies. Think Ill go for the UB802 mixer. My mum didint want to spend too much money and i think this will do nicely for what she wants.

Gtrance · Post by **Gtrance** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 10:21 am

Ok

Just one more question, I promise.

having looked at digital village there seem to be two possibilities. One is the Behringer UB502 Eurorack - http://www.dv247.com/invt/14695/

The other is the Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC100 - http://www.dv247.com/invt/9212/

Both a similar price. Both have a mic preamp. The UB502 is bit cheaper but seems to have more features. I understand these are different products but don't really see which one would be the better purchase. My knowledge of hardware is very limited so any advice would be great.

Thanks a lot

Greg