And by that I mean having a stationary mic to record things like clap, chimes, and whatever sounds you can produce at home.
I’m trying to understand if I’m doing this the best way…
I have two mics, Shure SM-57 and a PGA58 vocal mic connected to Berhinger mixer through XLR inputs. The mixer is then connected to a Focusrite 2i4 with the input switch set to Line and gain set to 0.
On the mixer, I have the volumes and gain for the mics set to around 1 to 2 o’clock.
When I record, the volume of the sample gets very low. Now, which volume in the chain should I raise? How do you set your mic recording chain?
I considered getting rid of the mixer but I found it useful to easily switch sources.
I think the Behringer is an unnecessary extra step in your setup. It can be useful to use a high-end dedicated mixer or preamp to boost the level without raising floor noise, but in this case I would tend to think that the Focusrite preamps are at least as transparent and quiet as the ones in your mixer. So the extra gain stage and extra cables might degrade the signal more than anything.
The difference is probably very subtle though, so if it helps your workflow keep it! The gain set to 0 might be the problem, you should try to have it around noon. Most equipments are at their best when the meter starts to hit the orange zone, and you should always avoid clipping on this kind of cheap device.
By the way I’m no engineer, I just have some experience as a sound technician in a very non-musical area.
Righto, assuming you’re only recording one mic at a time to begin with.
Start with the individual mixer channel set to 0 (i.e. 12 o’clock), main mix fader also at 0. You can leave the interface input levels right down while you sort out the mixer levels.
Normally you’d start with the gain turned right down, but since you’ve already had it turned up you may as well set it to 12 o’clock to begin with.
Make the sound you’re planning on recording and look at the metering near the main mix fader. As aldovino already said, you want it to be starting to hit the orange.
If you’re barely getting to the second green on the meters, then you can up the gain a bit. Alternatively if you’ve got a solid orange brushing up against the red, or the peak light is flashing on the channel, then you need to reduce the gain.
If you want to record with both mics at the same time, get levels right for each mic (as above) and then reduce both mixer channel levels (but leave the gain knob).
Once you’ve got a good level coming out of the mixer, then you can adjust the input level of the interface to match.
If you’re finding that the recording is too noisy, then try plugging the mic directly into the interface. Not sure what the xenyx mixers are like these days, but I remember them being a bit too noisy for my liking.
Something else to keep in mind is that these are both dynamic microphones and as such are best suited to loud sounds i.e. guitar amps, percussion, rock vocals etc. Since they rely on sound pressure to move the magnet inside the coil, they don’t work so well for quieter sounds.
Check out LOM micro usi pro, these are amazing small omni microphones. I’ve recorded ants walking over leaves, you can here their footsteps & communication. I used a sound devices Mic preamp & also use these mics through a regular mixer.
While you totally can record claps and percussion with a dynamic mic (I do it myself), in general many people like to use condenser mics for recording that sort of things. Using a dynamic mic for recording percussion needs copious amounts of gain from the micpre though, so unless you have a cloudlifter, you might struggle with getting acceptable SNR…
An audiotechnica AT2020 is a great large diagphram condenser mic to start a condenser mic collection with. They typically sell for under 100$. The AT2020 is a decent enough vocal/voiceover mic as well. A friend of mine has been super happy with a “AT2020 running into a focusrite 2i6 soundcard” combo.
Best bet for quieter or more detailed sounds is some sort of condenser mic. Actual model will depend on your budget - I’ve always been happy with Rode (NT2a, NTG shotgun etc) for sound FX. Have seen that other people generally have good things to say about the AT2020.
If you start getting into the really quiet SFX such as atmospheric nature sounds (wind through the trees, insects buzzing and all that sh1te), ticking clocks and melting ice, then it’ll be time to start thinking more seriously about preamp and microphone noise.
They are different beasts, at2020 is a large diaphragm condenser which is great for a bit of directionality & noise reduction on the rear very similar to Rode NT1a. Great mics but the joy of the small omni’s is that they are perfect for getting up close & personal e.g. I’ve used them to record inside metal pipes, inside stringed instruments & drums, yes contact mics can do this but the joy inside an acoustic instrument is the reverb.
Small omni’s will capture everything the bigger mics can capture, they can easily be used outside with a bumblebee windjammer (try that on a at2020 or a nt1a). So for me the small omni’s are incredibly flexible & a ton cheaper, many field recordists & classical musicians use dpa 4060, great but expensive and there’s not much difference (beside being smaller) than the small omni’s from FEL or LOM, their only restriction would be for live use due to their sensitivity & lack of directionality.
I have a lot of microphones & can honestly say I hardly use any of them but my FEL 172’s I use all the time, could never be without & I’ve got 4 for multitrack recording in my studio or outside for less that the price of my AKG boom mic. Microphones are creative tools and I find the small omni’s really creative, for the money it’s an easy choice & you’ll find yourself sticking it in places you either can’t or wouldn’t dream of sticking a larger more expensive mic. As an example all the sound on this recording is done by placing small bone conductors on an old zither, my electronic instruments are being played through the bone conductors and recorded from inside the zither, everything you hear is the sound of the small space. The Gasp of Resonant Body
Cheers, there’s nothing like the sound of naturally occurring reverb & you could barely hear a thing outside the instrument, just a really faint tap. I think it’s always a good idea to start with something affordable that can be used in a variety of situations, use the preamps in your mixer & learn to set your levels correctly. I am constantly on the lookout for a deal regarding preamps & microphones, in general though Behringer bought out Midas so we’re seeing a lot of Midas designed preamps turn up in Behringer products which can only be a good thing for people on a budget.
Apart from FEL mics I’d also recommend Rode NT1a mics which can be picked up used for around £100, these cover a lot of ground. Happy exploration.
