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Location: SE Michigan | I have a new Lexicon Omega USB recording interface that uses Cubase to record to a PC. The problem I am having is that the vocals in particular sound fuzzy or slightly hissy no matter what I try.
I am using a MXL 990 condensor mic and I have tried wind screens and fooling with the EQ. Is this maybe something with my PC or USB port? I am using a Windows XP lap top with 1.2 GHz processor and 256 Mbyte memory. The fuzzy sound is not as pronounced when recording a guitar through a mic.
Any ideas? Thanks |
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Posts: 382
Location: USA | Is your pc card compatable?
Check your gains?
http://www.myspace.com/styllheartandsoul |
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Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | Thanks for the reply but I dont see what a PC (sound) card has to do with it. That's why I went with a USB interface. I thought because this uses a USB interface that it essentialy doesnt use the PC sound card. But maybe I am wrong. |
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Location: Avondale, AZ | Wow, modern electronics. What ever happened to recording through a mixer to 8 track? I never was professional. |
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Location: Avondale, AZ | Wow, modern electronics. What ever happened to recording through a mixer to 8 track? I never was professional. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Brian;
Is it the "end result" (a mastered CD) or what your hearing in the headphones while your recording that sounds "hissy"??
I'm quite a bit of novice myself at this, but I've noticed that some projects that might sound just a tad too "bright" while recording tend to lose a bit of it when mixed down and burned to a CD . . .
Does the Lexicon have a "trim" pot for the mic input? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Is the mic picking up background noise of the PC fan running? |
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Location: Houston, Texas | My guess would be to try to trim the microphone input down a bit. You can always increase the level later when mixing and you might be overdriving the input a little. |
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Location: USA | yeah...just trying to throw some suggestions...what i meant was your pc capability.
maybe your gains are too hot...check all your connections...
http://www.myspace.com/styllheartandsoul |
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Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | How old is this laptop? This can make a difference, if it only has USB 1.1 (slower transfer rate than 2.0). It is also possible you're overdriving the input, you want to cut it down at the mic pre (the Lexicon) rather than in Cubase. If you record at 24 bit you can reduce the level you record at (say aim for -5db instead of trying to hit 0).
Studio Central is a great forum for home recording enthusiasts, they're very knowledgable and helpful. Many of the members have both home studios and professional working studios. |
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Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | I've tried reducing my levels, I still get the slight fuzzy distortion, only now it's quieter. I also plugged the MXL990 mic into a small mixer and listened from the headphone out, it sounded much clearer, so I dont think the mic is the problem.
I am beginning to think I bought a lemon (the Lexicon) , either that or something with my PC and the USB buss is causing the issue. Thanks for your ideas, any other thoughts are appreciated. |
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Location: Hernando Beach (Tampa area) | Brian:
I use various electrics into an ART Studio V3 (tube) where I can control imput precisely into the capture device. On the device, I voice mike to mono, and the pre-amped guitar goes to stereo. If the device has an advanced driver, click it on, and put the input select to mic. If you go through a regular amp to the audio capture, likely you will get static, and if you have the speakers on the computer turned way up, it is likely you'll get static or an artifact at some point as well.
If you go through my mp's, you can hear the progression as I learned (from static to artifact to (Praise God) just normal rotten singing with no static or artifacts).
http://www.treasuresites.com/z.htm
Be sure you've got a sock over the mic
Wish I could follow this, but am headed to Ga. tonight. Good luck! |
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Location: Tennessee | Do you have phantom power going to the MXL990 when you are going into the USB device? |
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Location: closely held secret | Brian, make sure you go to Lexicon's website and get the latest drivers for the device. |
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Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | I figured out the distorted fuzzy-vocal issue. The problem was that there were several extra unused tracks in the mix, for some reason when I deleted them the mix cleaned right up. Now I'm pretty happy with the Lexicon Omega product.
If you follow the quick set-up guide it tells you to select "default" when you set up a project, ,this puts 20-some tracks of various parameters in your mix, these were the trouble. Easy remedy is to select "blank" when you set up a project and only add new tracks as you need them. Too bad it took me a day and a half to figure that out.
I have been having a blast with this thing. I just finished a version of Pink Floyd "Time", with four vocal tracks, an acoustic guitar rythym track on my D28, and three lead guitar tracks using my T5 through a Korg amp modeler. Even my wife was impressed and that says a lot.
Thanks for all of your suggestions. |
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Location: closely held secret | Brian, I'm glad you got that problem solved.
But seriously, my advice on getting the latest drivers still stands. Since they started making USB and FireWire devices, the drivers sometimes get updated monthly and even weekly until they are stable. I've bought a few 'plug-in' audio devices, and there were several generations of newer drivers than the ones that came with the product.
Sometimes the newest driver can mean the difference between intense frustration and audio bliss. |
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Location: Warrenton, Virginia | Brian
Your thread caught my attention because I was thinking of getting one of these units. How do you like it beyond the issues you just went through? Where did you get it and would you recommend it?
Also, as you add tracks back, do you find the hissing noise returning? |
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Location: SE Michigan | I've only really been playing around with it for a couple of days, so it's hard to say really. I just figured out the distorted vocal thing, and the two songs I worked on since then came out nicely. Adding new tracks didnt seem to bring the noise back, although the most I have used is eight.
What I do like is the USB interface, I use a lap top and I did not want to screw around with firewire cards or high-end sound cards. The interface comes with phantom power, lets you record 4 tracks at the same time (a big plus for what I wanted). Like all of these things it's pretty complex so plan on spending several hours focusing and figuring the thing out, but once that's done it seems pretty easy. I paid $299 minus a $50 rebate at Musician's Friend. |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Brian:
Thanks for the advice on the Lexicon Omega. I had just bought an M-Audio Delta 44. I chose that model because it has a break-out box with 4 inputs and outputs. When I read the manual though, I learned that all input signals need to be balanced low impedence. That requires a DI box. The matching M-Audio DI box (Audio Buddy) costs $79. The Delta card was $149.
I saw the $50 rebate on the Lexicon and promptly called Musicians Friend for a return authorization for the sound card. Fortunately, I never opened the box beyond reading the manual. Today, I sent it back and ordered the Lexicon. For $249 after rebate, it's a great deal. After adding the cost of the DI box, it's only $21 more than the Delta and it's a much more complete package with the Cubase LE software.
Many thanks also to Waskel for the link to Studio Central. That's a great source of information for digital recording. I'm sure that once I start using the Lexicon I'll be at that site very often. |
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Location: closely held secret | "All jacks on the Delta 44 break-out box are of the 1/4” TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) variety. The TRS jacks allow connection to either balanced (typically professional) or unbalanced (typically consumer or semi-pro) equipment. +4dBu balanced configurations provide the highest performance and should be used whenever possible. The Delta 44’s analog connections support combinations of balanced and unbalanced, +4dBu, consumer, and -10dBV level signals."
From the Delta 44 manual. Where did you read it had to be balanced? It does say that the Delta 44 has no mic pre's. Looks like it's mostly designed for line- and instrument-level inputs. That would turn me off right there.
Oh, also has this caveat...
"NOTE: In order to preserve its high dynamic range and minimize distortion, the Delta 44 does not have microphone pre-amplifiers built into it. Therefore direct connection to a microphone is not recommended. Instead run the microphone signal into a microphone pre-amp (such as the Midiman "Audio Buddy™") and then connect the pre-amp output to the input of the Delta 44."
Translated - "We neglected to put mic pre's in this unit, so we could sell more Audio Buddies. You'll need a mixer as well if you want to use microphones."
This really surprises me. I have the M-Audio FireWire 1814, and haven't run into any of that nonsense. |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Waskel:
The manual states that a DI box is required for guitars and mics. There's a sample set-up diagram that shows both linked to the break-out box through the Audio Buddy. I'm new at this stuff and I was looking for something to add to my computer and start recording. To get quality recording from the Delta 44 you need additional hardware and software.
The Lexicon appears to be a complete package for a lot less money than what the Delta 44 would really end up costing. It has the mic pre's, reverb, a mixer format in the unit and multi-track mixer software. I also like the USB connect, even if it's less than ideal. There were some negative reviews about the software, but I'm sure that there's enough there to get started with.
I know that M-audio makes some great products which is why is bought the Delta. I just didn't realize how much extra was needed to add to it to do some basic, but quality, recordings. |
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Location: NJ | SueTheBastards ;) |
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Location: Chicagoland | "This really surprises me. I have the M-Audio FireWire 1814, and haven't run into any of that nonsense."
I just got the same a week or so ago, and I'm lovin' it.
And the whole DI box dealio is true anytime your plugging in a guitar with passive pickups. But try it out; it hasn't stopped me in the past from plugging straight into the card. The key is to set your levels and then dial down to aroudn 6 or 7. It's worked for me in the past, before I got the 1814. |
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Need PC recording help