home recording question..

D

daysgo_by

Member
hey guys
I was here asking some questions on what equipments for starting a home recording studio before and with all great replies I finally got all the equipments I needed..

Yamaha HS50M (Pair)
M-Audio profire 610
Shure SM7B (voice over mic)
and a headphone..

program I got is Cubase 4 Essential..

quick question
I hooked everything up and figured out how to record voice on cubase..
but volume is very low..(my speaker volume is properly adjusted) how do I
pick up more sound from mic without picking up that humming noise??

yes i'm new to all this...
thank you :)
 
The first step I'd take is determine if it's the input or the output level that's too low.

I believe the 610's gain knobs either pull or push to engage a 20dB cut, perhaps that's on by mistake. Also check the settings in the little M-Audio app and see what kind of level you're getting in/out, you should be able to adjust them there.

For home recording info, you might also try out the Home Recording BBS or Gear Slutz.
 
The SM-57 (and -58) tends to require a lot of gain when used for voice. You also need to be very close to the mic. The -57 is used mostly for loud guitars, drums and the like.
 
unclebob6958 said:
The SM-57 (and -58) tends to require a lot of gain when used for voice. You also need to be very close to the mic. The -57 is used mostly for loud guitars, drums and the like.
Click to expand...

Look again - he doesn't have a SM57 or 58. He said it's the SM7B he has, which is a broadcast studio announce mic. http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM7B_content But you are right in that it will need quite a bit of gain as it's a dynamic mic. His input gain control is going to be turned up toward the clockwise end of its range.

daysgo ... First, how's your mic technique? That mic is designed for very close working - about 4 to 6 inches from your mouth, maybe even a bit closer. A quick test to get the right distance is to hold the palm of your hand up close in front of your mouth and in your normal delivery voice repeat "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" while moving your hand slowly away. The point where you no longer feel your breath hitting your hand is just about the right position for the mic.

What levels are you seeing in the software mixer's meters while you're recording? How about in Cubase? You should watch both the m-Audio mixers's meters and the Cubase channel strips meter as you adjust your levels. The only tool that controls the recording levels is the knob on the Profire's from panel next to the mic input. The faders in the software mixer and cubase control the playback, monitor, and mixing levels. Does the waveform look normal? When you playback the recording, what do the ouput meters show in both Cubase and in the m-Audio software mixer?

If you load a sample file into Cubase and play it, how do the levels sound? How about just playing a regular MP3 in your normal music listening software?
 
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turned the knob almost all the way on my interface and spoke really close to the mic seem to took care of the issue.. according to m-audio website profire 610 has 72db gain??
I got the mic for voice over work but I don't have any mic techniques or knowledge in this area.. been reading cubase manual yesterday so i'll look more into that stuff later.
and as for M-audio software.. it is now crashign on me so i'll go and look for updated driver..
 
daysgo_by said:
turned the knob almost all the way on my interface and spoke really close to the mic seem to took care of the issue.. according to m-audio website profire 610 has 72db gain??
I got the mic for voice over work but I don't have any mic techniques or knowledge in this area.. been reading cubase manual yesterday so i'll look more into that stuff later.
and as for M-audio software.. it is now crashign on me so i'll go and look for updated driver..
Click to expand...

Just FYI - Shure says of the SM7B: "With an acoustic input of 84dBSPL - typical speech level at 3 inches - the output level of the SM7 is -69dBV. The preamp needs to bring this up to about 0dBV, thus it needs to provide at least 69 dB of gain." The maximum of 72dB of gain available in your Profire's preamps is pretty close to this required amount so it's going to be perfectly normal for you to have to run it with the gain control turned almost all the way to maximum.
 
just add a bit..
for anyone looking to grab M-Audio Profire 610

apparently it is recommended that you have firewire card with TI chipset (Texas Instrument). I had an issue all day today with the audio interface so I was visting m-audio tech support forum alot.. and this is what I found out.
however mine issue is solved without any of their tech support.. I just disabled motherboard audio driver and graphics card audio driver.. works like a charm now even though I don't have TI chipset firewire card. mine was LSI.. or something like that

anyways just thought I put it out there
 
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