USB Microphone

[quigleybc]

quigleyBC, my comment was in no way directed towards you. My issue is with Zim and Zim alone, I'm sorry for any confusion. I'm really just an ignorant bugger trying to stir the pot a bit. I just can't be talked down to like I was by Mr.Zim so I'm giving him a piece of my mind. As for everyone else...I'm sorry if I piss you off in the process, but someone needs to help Zim realize that while he is indeed educated and very knowledgable indeed...his knowledge does in fact have limits and those limits are for starters telling people they are wrong about equipment they have and he hasn't even used. My advice to Zim is to go borrow one or buy one and then come talk. I'm sure he will realize the things I've said about the mic are in fact true.

ok, cool.

Zim can come across as condescending, but he is just trying to help....and he know's more than most of us...but I think he forgets that the majority of us are amateur's not Pro's...

 

[zimv20]

from now on I won't try to help anyone

no, that is not what you should do. you were honest in your post when you talked about the samson being noisy and non-pro, it just doesn't follow that you'd then recommend it so heartily. that's the bit i was questioning. but your impressions about how it works for you are important for others to know.

now, *i'm* sorry that i jumped on you earlier. i keep telling myself not to post right after i wake up, 'cuz i know how i can be. it's not an excuse, anyway.

maybe you can tell me if there is any way that noise we've been arguing about all day can be reduced within a recording program or if it is simply a matter of getting a better mic?

it depends on the nature of the noise. if it's self-noise, meaning you get the same kind of hiss regardless of what room you're in, then it's probably the samson. and the mic element may be fine, i'm just suspicious of bus-powered mic pre's. the signal to noise ratios tend to be low, so you have to turn it up to get a decent level, but that also increases the self-noise. the best rememdy is to see if you can get a better signal from your source, either by turning it up or getting the mic closer. of course, other things may go wrong --- it's all a balancing act, anyway.

for your room, it's probably better that it's big. if a room is too small, you get "bedroom 'verb" -- lots of quick slapbacks competing with the source. in your room, you want to kill some of the high end, but not all. for example, a wood floor, no curtains, no furniture, no rugs, etc., will produce too much high end. if that's the case, put down a rug, hang curtains, and put in a couch for starters. move your bookshelf in there, and make certain the titles sit on the shelf at different depths. that'll add some diffusion to the room.

any untreated room is going to have a problem with standing waves, unique to the size and shape of the room. these can get particularly troubling with low frequencies, so bass traps are recommended here. you have the option of buying some (i use real traps, though i'll probably be investing in some of the much less expensive GIK traps soon), or you can stuff cardboard boxes with crumpled-up newspaper and put them in the corners.

do this in both your live room and control room (if they're separate).

if you want, you can get real technical about it and figure out first reflection points, the 38% rule, et. al. Some good info here and here.

i hope that helps.

I think he forgets that the majority of us are amateur's not Pro's...

fwiw, i am an amateur. an amateur who wishes he had better control with his gear budget

 

[jamesbennington]

In laymans terms maybe?

i'm just suspicious of bus-powered mic pre's. the signal to noise ratios tend to be low, so you have to turn it up to get a decent level, but that also increases the self-noise. the best rememdy is to see if you can get a better signal from your source, either by turning it up or getting the mic closer. of course, other things may go wrong --- it's all a balancing act, anyway.

Sorry Zim, I'm just going to prove how much I don't know about this stuff by asking you to dumb down your explanation of how to fix the self noise problem from the Samson.

 

[quigleybc]

fwiw, i am an amateur. an amateur who wishes he had better control with his gear budget

sigh...me too amigo.

 

[zimv20]

how to fix the self noise problem from the Samson.

your "mic" is actually three things: a mic, a mic pre, and a converter. all are, obviously, crucial elements and, with probably about $50 worth of parts inside, all are an engineering compromise to some extent.

good mic capsules can be made fairly inexpensively. cheap converters are loads better than they used to be. but i think cheap mic pre's are still problematic. to compound the problem, yours is bus powered.

a good, pro pre will use a lot of juice, or at least needs a lot on hand.

some may disagree with this next analysis, but i think it's as valid as "you get what you pay for." my favorite pre (that i own, i mean), is the phoenix drs-1. it's one channel and costs $1250 new. i reckon that's $400 worth of parts, vs. my estimate of $50 for the samson mic, and not even all that $50 goes to the mic pre.

i'm not saying that makes the phoenix 8x better than the samson, only that i would expect compromises with the samson.

anyway, to your question. if it is indeed the pre that is generating hiss, there's nothing you can do to fix that, short of opening it up and dropping in some better components. what you can do is try for a better signal to noise ratio, which amounts to a stronger signal vs. a constant noise factor.

first thing to do is confirm a constant noise level. stick the mic in a closet with a lot of clothes and close the door. hopefully this will isolate the mic from outside sounds. set your DAW to record, and adjust the gain. if you get more noise with higher gain settings, and less with lower, then you do indeed have self-noise and it can be helped with better signal to noise.

so, if you're 3 feet from the mic while singing, move closer and sing louder (not to the point of distortion, obviously, but enough so that you can use lower gain settings). when recording electric guitar, turn up the guitar amp. tell your drummer to hit things harder. things like that.

btw, and i probably should have mentioned this earlier, you should be recording at 24-bit in your DAW and your levels should be nowhere near the top of the "LED meter". shoot for signals that stay in the middle third. if it's spending too much time around 80%, turn it down. so long as you have a good signal, you don't have to worry about that "losing bits" nonsense.

edit: well, i just did a bit of research on the c03u and not only does it not seem to have gain control, it doesn't do 24-bit. how does it know how much gain to use? is it software controllable?

 

[quigleybc]

y
some may disagree with this next analysis, but i think it's as valid as "you get what you pay for."

I don't disagree, but sometimes that's not the case. The Shure SM-57 for example.

and....isn't it just more fun to put a sock on a mic called the snowball and go nuts...?

sounds fun to me...

 

[zimv20]

The Shure SM-57 for example.

i'll add the RNP to that list.

 

[jamesbennington]

Thanks

Thanks for dumbing it down for me...I actually learned some of that stuff in school...correction...they tried to teach me some of that in school, but it obviously didn't take. I'll take your solutions combined with my good old sock I should be able to get some better quality recordings out of my mic now.

 

[zimv20]

if you try that constant noise test, let us know how it turns out.

 

[e-clipse]

I always look forward to Zim's replies.

 

[jmhart716]

Samson CO1U mic/Garageband issues

I've had the CO1U for almost a year. Initially I loved the mic. It was great for what I was doing: recording acoustic guitar and vocals for some demo recording work my friend and I were working on.

However, recently the interaction between the mic and Garageband has crapped out completely. I can't figure out what the issue is, and I'm assuming it must be something that came with an upgrade on my iBook G4, but the mic is picking up such a small amount of sound that it's worthless. I have to turn the recording input to the max in order to hear anything, and it's still so minimal that it's of no value at all. I took my Mac into the Apple store with my support package still active and they offered no help at all, making some suggestions that didn't end up panning out to anything. Do NOT purchase this microphone. Seems to have compatibility issues with Macs.

 

[Tarkovsky]

Microphone hiss fixes

Ok you can try too things to allieviate that hiss that I can think of anyway.

1) Buy a powered USB hub with a power supply overrated beyond the recommended current output (NOT VOLTAGE) and with it's own ground this will a) Provide more current to the setup giving it (hopefully) a bit more headroom and b) seperate you mic from that noisy nasty bus ground, eek!

2) Wack that baby open and see what sort of simple modifications you can make. Have you tried googling its name followed by 'mod'? Or even just checking for a loose connection.

Give it a shot and happy modding!

 

[it5five]

I too am looking for a USB Mic. I know it isn't the best option, but I can't afford to buy real mic. equipment.

As far as USB Microphones go, is the Samson or that Snowball one recommended? I am just looking for something to record vocals and acoustic guitar.

 

[mag2001]

I might get one of those BLue ball mics