Jan 17, 2008 05:25 pm Always...always...check the simple stuff first. Cables and their connections are where I'd start. Since your playback is OK, look to the connections on the recording end. Also think of dirty pots and controls.
Muffled/Echoed/Distant Recording...Please Help
Posted on Jan 17, 2008 05:21 pm
Da Brakes
Member Since: Jan 06, 2007
Ok this has been driving me crazy so I would really appreciate if someone could help me out.
I have a very simple set up:
Rode NT1A which connects to Xenyx 1204 Mixer, which plugs into my computers soundcard.
Now I've used this setup for YEARS and have had no problems with it at all. Now all of a sudden my vocal recordings sound very echoed/muffled and slightly distant. I am completely baffled as to why this has suddenly happened!
I thought at first it was my mic (which is why I brought the Rode) but the same thing happens when I use this. The mixer is fairly new (1 year) so I'm pretty sure its not that.
Do you think its my soundcard or xlr cable? Can computer soundcards suddenly deteriorate like that? Playback of other music and sounds is perfect but when I playback recorded sounds and vocals I get the problems.
I thought about buying an audio interface to bypass the mixer and computer soundcard. Is this something you'd suggest..
Please help..I'm two songs short of finishing my album!
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Jan 17, 2008 05:25 pm Always...always...check the simple stuff first. Cables and their connections are where I'd start. Since your playback is OK, look to the connections on the recording end. Also think of dirty pots and controls.
Jan 17, 2008 05:59 pm Behri mixers have those little "To Mix" and "To Monitor" buttons. Depending on your routing you might have an endless loop going on (sound to mixer, mixer to DAW, Daw to Mixer, mixer to DAW, Daw to Mixer etc.). It's not fun.
As Herb mentioned try the simple things first.
Is there any software for your soundcard (e.g. EMU uses "Patchmix")? Check the setting there.
Jan 17, 2008 06:16 pm No software for the soundcard! Its the one that came installed with the PC.
I'll try hoovering any dust from around my recording ports and new cables/connectors. Fingers crossed that works!
Jan 17, 2008 06:35 pm Don't rub the vacuum nozzle, or anything around the jacks / metal. Static can and will build up when rubbing plastic and metal. Then discharge itself into your sensitive equipment. Static can = > 10000volts, where as your equip wants to see 1s of volts and less.
I've seen things go poof, and I've done it myself.
Use compressed air if you think there's an issue with dust.
Unseat all cables, and reseat them. Don't just wiggle them to see if they're all the way in. Physically take them out of their home, and plug them back in.
Your mixer should have a headphone jack? Plug headphones into that, and test the mic -> preamp -> summing mixer -> headphone output.
This will tell you if it's before the headphone port, or after. If it's before, then it could be 1) mic 2) cord 3) phantom power 4) preamp 5) trimpot/gainpot 6) eq/fader/channel strip on mixer 7) summing mixer.
That just made me think, did you try other channels, to see if it's only on one channel of the mixer. This isn't uncommon on behry mixers.
Now, if the problem is after the headphone port, meaning the problem does not present itself in the headphones -> mixer jack, then you can be looking at 1) output jacks 2) cables 3) soundcard input jacks 4) soundcard itself (converters, etc) 5) drivers (highly unlikely) 6) software settings somewhere in PC.
Check also in an EQ program, to see if the signal getting recorded is lacking high end. This will help isolate the problem.
Hopefully you can eliminate some of the possibilities, and start whittling down to the cause.
If'n I had to guess, I'd say the mic, then the mixer. You say you've used this setup for YEARS, but then say the mixer is fairly new. I'm not sure what to think about that, but well, i dunno.
The NT1A isn't a lifelong mic, so I'd be testing it on other things, to see if it's the problem.
Jan 17, 2008 07:05 pm I have a feeling its the soundcard.
The set up I've had for years but with different mixers. Everything sounds fine in the headphones so I'm pretty sure as you said its after the headphone port. Its not the mic coz I brought the NT1A in the hope to solve the problem.
Jan 18, 2008 08:13 am ah, that makes sense. I thought you had the mic for the 'years' you spoke of. The OP was a little vague.
Good to know that you're zero-ing in on the problem.
Keep eliminating possibilities, and you should find the prob. Like Herb said, eliminate the easy fixes first, like cables and connections.
If you can see the waveform in a EQ program like voxengo span, you should be able to see if the high end exist in the waveform.
Soundcard driver, or config, could still be an issue. There should be a control panel applet for windows sound, and maybe there's something amiss in there.
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