iv just spent some time (and money) buying bits and pieces (and a boss micro br) to record with, i have a shure sm58 which iv had for quite a while and i LOVE using it live, but i have noticed that the signal output is unusually low, and have been told that that is intentional and helps with the ability to use it in noisy live situation...however...now i am trying to record, the output is so low that it just gets drowned out underneath everything else, even when all other tracks are turned down its not there (im talking about recording the vocals at full volume, then turned all other tracks down to 30 or 40% and boosting the vocals to 120% and still not hearing it clear (plus im belting out the words into the mic and it looses subtely :S )
i know that it would be good to get a wide diaphram condensor mic but i just dont have the money...
what can i do? run the mic into a mixer with a low impedance chord and run a cable from the mixer (boosting the signal) to the recorder? its a lot of extra work for a 'quick' record... :(
A condenser microphone requires phantom power (usually 48V) to work - I can't imagine the the Boss has that to offer (chances are it's running at 12V).
I think you may have to buy a small mic pre-amp.
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that is a great live vocal mike. I would work the levels further. it should be a good mike for recording your vocals.
but I have the same experience. I ended up getting a 79 dollar wide condenser. that made the difference.
of course I need to spend a few more hundred for a better condenser.
if you have a mixer you could try tweaking that to boost the input to recorder.
losing subtely in singing is not good. I hate that.
Kick me if I am wrong, but after reading greybeards response I wondered....isn't the SM58 a dynamic mic and not a condenser? I have a Sure SM58 that I use for live stuff and I never have the phantom power switched on
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You're right, the '58 is a dynamic, and needs no phantom. (although it won't be hurt if you happen to plug it into an input that is supplying phantom)
I think Greybeard was mentioning phantom because coleclark mentioned the possibility of getting a condenser mic.
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...and then it all gets a bit confusing...
it sounds wierd through the sm58, like im miles away yelling into the mic, iv tried fiddling with settings on the boss, i havent tried it with another mic yet (dont have one to try) but i want to see whether the distance echo sound it the mic or me stuffing something up
...and then it all gets a bit confusing...
it sounds wierd through the sm58, like im miles away yelling into the mic, iv tried fiddling with settings on the boss, i havent tried it with another mic yet (dont have one to try) but i want to see whether the distance echo sound it the mic or me stuffing something up
If you're using a high Z (impedance) cable with it, that's the way it sounds. The SM-58 is designed to use a low Z cable. You can't ignore the impedance requirements of your equipment and expect good results. At best it will sound bad. At worst, the equipment blows up with a nice fireworks show.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
My friends' band has just had a demo professionally recorded and the engineer used an SM58. It may be worth boosting the signal with a small preamp.
I took a peek at the manual for the MicroBR, and the only things I can think of are:
Is the mic plugged into the mic/line input, or the instrument input? If you're into the instrument input, the built-in mics might still be enabled and picking up ambient sound (including you from several feet away).
Is the line/mic setting correct? (both use the same connector)
If I'm reading the manual right, the mic input is stereo. Does your mic cable have a stereo 1/8" connector on it? Or a mono connector?
No insult intended if any of these sound like "Of course I did that, I'm not stupid" kind of questions.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
im just using the cable that came in the little (what looks like a pencil case) that the shure came with, so i dont know any details about it, after talking to a few shops i decided that on the whole you wont get as good a sound with a dynamic mic in a studio than you would with a condenser, so i bought a Rode M3. it has frequency filters build in and also has a thing (cant remember the proper name) where you can turn down the sensitivity to stop feedback so it can happily be used in live situations to (although itll have to be VERY good for me to stop using the sm58)
i havent tried it yet, only got it yesterday
As it has been pointed out, with condensers you need 48v phantom power. So likely a preamp is in order. Don't dismiss dynamic mics. Many, many a hit recording was done using a trusty SM 57 or half a dozen of them. Apparently even some vocals have been captured using a trusty SM 58. Sennheiser MD 421's are awesome sounding dynamic mics that sound good on many sources. EV RE20, Sony PL 20, Sen. 441 are some dynamics that I doubt many studios could live without.
It really does come down to preamps. A poor preamp can make the best of mics sound like crap. Whereas a good preamp can make a crappy mic sound listenable or even good.
Judging from your description of the sound it seems to me that you may have blown the capsule or possibly there is condensation in the capsule. If the capsule is blown you need a new mic. If there is condensation, you might be able to draw out the moisture by putting the mic in a plastic zip lock bag with some of those silica gel bags you get in packaging leave it in a warm room for a day or two. It's a stab in the dark. Neither may be the case but it's worth a shot.
