Mic Feedback

[Pazza]

When I record my quality's awful, I always hear fuzzing in the background, and on some of the vocals you can hear feedback.

How do I reduce it?

[howie15]

How do you have your recording setup?? and are the "fuzzes" clipping?

Howie J

[Pazza]

Basically.. I have Audition 1.5 recording in mutlitrack view, my mic plugged into a 1/4 jack, and my keyboards linked up too.

o.o only basic. And I do get clipping abit, but it's mainly just a constant fuzz thgrough it.

[howie15]

If you're getting feedback you need to turn your headphones down or get a set that are more closed-back than you are using. Feedback comes from a signal doing a "loop" Mic-tape-headphones-back to mic, etc. In the digital world clipping is a mortal sin. You don't EVER, EVER want to clip in the digital world. The constant fuzz could be due to bad gain staging. Just because the meter in audition isn't showing red doesn't mean that you aren't overdriving something else. You can "clip" anything. Mic pre, headphone amp, main outs to said headphones, etc. Another thing I just thought of: Does your mic terminate in a 1/4 jack? or is it an XLR that you are adapting?

Howie J

[Pazza]

What you mean about the 1/4 thing?

[howie15]

What connection is on the end of your microphone?

[Pazza]

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6355/micthingmw6.png (http://imageshack.us)

[sabianq]

it looks broken to me,
and that is a 1/8th inch plug.

I have to ask, what kind of microphone is that?

personally, i think your microphone is toast.

[jmail]

Looks like it might be a 1/4" into a mini adapter, into the computer sound card, and then getting "yanked" a bit and bent... A computer Mic In is a mono connection (usually), and you've got a TRS. If you disconnect the silver from what appears to be black in the photo, what's it look like?

[sabianq]

uhhh........

[sabianq]

Jmail hit it on the head,
A computer Mic In is a mono connection (usually), and you've got a TRS

I think you need one of these,
this just might clear up your issues.

http://www.ba-electronics.com/asccustompages/products.asp?ProductID=461

http://www.ba-electronics.com/images/caa14.jpg

[Pazza]

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/8637/mic2ei5.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/8945/thejackhu0.png (http://imageshack.us)

And I've got one of them Sab o.o. And it's a JTS - TM-929

[jmail]

My gosh, man (woman, boy, girl or "it", to be politcally correct)... You need a guy-line (guide-line???) or crane to hold all that stuff up on the back of the computer, if that's where you're plugging in... No wonder that adapter is bent. You need something to stabilize all that weight! It looks like you're going from a low-z xlr connector to a hi-z converter or "pad" (???), to another adapter (another hi-z converter???) (a possible source of distortion???) for the 1/4", then to the mini-plug converter.

Do you have a mixer with pre-amps that would accept that xlr connector on the mic cable? Then you could use an "adapter" or "converter" cable between the mixer and Line-In on the sound card...

[Pazza]

Nah, I aint.

Should I get one? And I'mma try recording now with something holding the weight.

(Aka my PS2 lol)

[Pazza]

made no difference.

[jmail]

Let me ask you this... do you know why there are two "canisters" on there? Did the one come with the mic, and the other with the adapter you purchased later, to get to 1/4"? You could try removing the "canister" that's between the XLR connector and the 1/4" connector/adapter, and see if the distortion goes away, 'cause it looks like you've got two hi-z converters there, and that can possibly cause your distortion...

[Pazza]

I just got the mic and a 5 meter lead with it, then bought all the other crap at another shop.

- Can you make those XLR words more simplier? o.o

[Bops2000]

is the keyboard ouput a stereo headphone out?
if so, (if I may Qoute) "turn down the volume Jack!"
keys are overloading the signal. been dere done dat bops.
I would suggest some sort of low frequency direct box for your microphone, or a little mixing board, that will balance your inputs to whatever thingie you are recording to.
If you want, email me on how to do quick fixes for cheap components.

[Pazza]

Tried that the easy way, took the Keyboard out. X_X

[jmail]

Well, Pazza, XLR is a 3-wire connector. Each wire has its own "pin" in the connector's body. The 3 pins are arranged in a triangle. There's a little "Lock" button that holds any 2 connectors together. Looking at your last set of photos, in the upper picture, just in front of the thumb is one of those lock buttons. Behind the thumb is another. If you press & hold the buttons, you can separate the parts. Remove that middle part so that the mic cable goes directly to the cannister part that has the 1/4" TS (Tip-Sleeve) plug. Then insert the 1/4" plug into a 2-conductor (TS) 1/8" (mini) plug converter for insertion into your computer's sound card. Some physical "support" will most likely still be required, in order to reduce the strain on that junction...

Now, the photo isn't exactly the clearest, and my eyes are about as bad, so if you don't have two parts shaped like cannisters, disregard this...

[sabianq]

here

XLR a balanced microphone or line level hookup (what comes out of the back of your microphone) (made by Cannon called XLR by cannon became the standard.
http://www.vandenhul.com/other/xlr-digitalL.jpg

TRS (tip ring sleeve) A balanced Interconnect hookup can be either microphone level or line level.,

http://www.e-muzyk.pl/article/634/jack_1_4_TRS.jpg

[Pazza]

Nah, I aint got two cannisters, If I remove any of the parts it don't connect properly.

I can try turning the Cannister around, which I have done.

I'm thinking may it be one of the parts be faulty? Tbh, I had to select all the different parts singualy, and manually.

Anything else I can try before I go out and spend money on it? Would a preamp help? What does a preamp do exactly?>_>

[Pazza]

Hmm.. I'm starting to think there's a faulty part somewhere thinking it over.

'Cause a while back I noticed my voice sounds nothing alike if I rap irl to if I listen to it down the PC. - I've even had my girlfriend listening and she's said there's a big difference between my voice. =S I dunno though.. might just be nothing. :S

[jmail]

Let's try this, then... here's a cable the does 1/8" to XLR (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XVM115/). Your mic may not be able to do this...

Excuse me for this next link, but I couldn't find it at Sweetwater, although I'm sure they sell them, but, here's an XLR to 1/4" (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062443&cp=2032058&pg=1&f=Taxonomy%2FRSK%2F2032058&y=8&categoryId=2032058&x=16&kw=1%2F4+plug&kwCatId=2032058&numProdsPerPage=20&parentPage=search), with transformer... You would then still need to go from 1/4" to 1/8" with an adapter... What that does is take a lo-z mic with XLR connector to a hi-z for 1/4" connection. The other adapter would let you get it into your computer sound card "pre-amp" (which can be a source of distortion, also...).

If your mic got dropped, or the weather got to it, or you overloaded the element with a high spl signal - it may be damaged and making the distortion. If you've got two hi-z transformers in there, that can cause it. If you've got a hi-z mic terminated into that XLR plug, and then using a hi-z transformer... etc., etc., etc... All those connectors/converters/adapters/connections can do it too...

Probably the 1st question we should have asked is "What brand/model microphone do you have?"...

[sabianq]

he said it is one of these:

a JTS 929

I have no idea what the specs are on this microphone, but it does have a lo-z balanced out and i do believe it is dynamic.


http://www.bluearan.co.uk/sales/jts/images/TM929.jpg

i think he needs one of these:

http://www.mackie.com/products/1202vlzpro/images/ZOOMED_1202.jpg

[Pazza]

Yeah, I've dropped it once. x-x Should I get a condensor mic?

[sabianq]

a condenser microphone will only work with phantom power.

i doubt your microphone is bad, dynamic microphones are quite robust, but then again, i know nothing about the microphone you have.

if you are looking to get a new microphone, you should get one of these:

the shure sm-58
http://www.musikanten.se/microfoner/shure%20sm58.jpg

but in order to make any microphone with an XLR out work with your sound card without going through a mixer like the one i suggested above, you need one of these.

http://www.thebroadcaststore.com/images/Cables/3xf_3.5mp_exx.jpg

[Pazza]

Do the SM58s give a natural sounding sound? 'Cause with the mic I got atm, it sounds nothing like me o.o. There's a topic and someone said about the 'character' of the voice. That just seems to not exist with the mic I currently had.. And what's Phantom Power?>_> I don't know much about engineering.

[jmail]

Phantom power isn't really there... but seriously, it's up to 48v supplied over the mic cable to power the element in a condenser mic. Not all mixers have phantom power, and your computer sound card most likely doesn't either. Go to a neighborhood music or electronics shop and see if they can't build or sell you a hi-z cable like sabiang pictured for you.

[Pazza]

iyt. - Cheers.

[sabianq]

Do the SM58s give a natural sounding sound? 'Cause with the mic I got atm, it sounds nothing like me o.o.

your voice will NEVER sound like it does in your head without some serious processing, and it would take a very talented person to program a processor to emulate the way your voice sounds to you.

there is a resonance that your skull that make your voice sound different to you than it sounds to other people.

when you record your voice and play it back, that is how your voice sounds to other people. the way your voice sounds in your own head only sounds like that to you.

in theory, you can do an impulse response of your mouth and then use that to process your voice but the resonance that causes your voice to sound like it does to you is a very complicated process that involves more than just the inner dimension of your mouth. It also involves the density, shape and size of your head and chest.

[Pazza]

I know most of that, but my girlfriend's listened whilst I recorded one, and then listened to the recorded version and said there was a difference. o.o That's what I'm getting at, I defy logic. XD

[sabianq]

i would chalk that up to your equipment.

sound card,
microphone,
maybe even software settings.

you are just going to have to experiment.

good luck

[Pazza]

Damn if it's the soundcard.. If it's the microphone I can sort that, might get a SM58. But what you mean by software settings?