Hello all. I am new to the forum and new to recording. I have a condenser mic plugged into a phantom power via XLR, that is then connected to the mic input on my lexicon alpha via XLR, that is then ran to the USB port in my PC via FireWire.
My issue is that I am able to record in audacity in the stereo setting with only audio going to the R side. Then when I try to switch to mono (where I want to be) I am getter my no sound input at all. Any suggestions will be helpful, and if you need clarification just let me know.
Because the Alpha will not supply Phantom Power. Cool. Just not to wander too far off too quickly, it does sound OK, right?
Here it is. According to the knobs on the front, this “stereo” device (I don’t think they ever call it that, right?) is actually aggressively two channel. Instrument on the Left and Microphone on the Right.
The Alpha is not a Mixer. You can’t start re-assigning which sound channel goes where. That’s what you bought.
You can tear everything apart in Audcity post-production and put the sounds where you like. That does make Overdubbing/Sound-On-Sound a little rough. Were you planning on cranking out a podcast with little or no post production?
When you record “mono” you get “channel 1” from the Lexicon alpha, which is the instrument channel. The mic input on the Lexicon alpha is “channel 2”. There is no way to set the mic input to channel 1 on the Lexicon alpha, and Audacity does not have “channel mapping”, so recording stereo is the only way to record channel 2 with your setup.
Thanks for the quick response everyone. This all makes a little sense now. My goal was just to do voice over work, so nothing too crazy. Is there a reasonable mixer/interface you would reccomend for the mono recording? Or would I be just fine deleting the unused stereo track or copying the recorded track?
It should be possible to read a passage, change the volume a little and out the door. You won’t be hitting all the specifications with generous elbow-room, but it does work. I’ve done it twice now with different equipment (and a very quiet room).
You know you’re in trouble when… You arrive on the forum with a low volume, noisy performance—and it’s the kind of noise we can’t deal with.
I’d stick with splitting the stereo track and deleting the unused half. It’s a bit of a chore, but the Lexicon alpha is a good interface, and if that’s the only problem that you’re having with it then I stick with it.
If you find it too much of a chore, the Behringer U-PHORIA UMC22 has a mic input on channel 1. According to the marketing hype, the U-PHORIA UMC22 has a better mic pre-amp than the U-PHORIA UM2 (I’ve not tested)
Which may be a lot of whispering in each other’s ears behind the barn. I have a UM2 and I’m pleased with it. It has the same Xenyx preamp Behringer uses in their larger mixers. They had to come up with a reason to Run Right Out and Buy Something New, so that’s the newer machine.
One of the things that really makes the Behringer U-Phoria UMC22 stand out is its genuine MIDAS preamplifier technology. Known throughout the world of live sound for delivering ultra clear sound with plenty of headroom, MIDAS preamps are among the most popular mic pres on Earth.
That’s from the Sweetwater document. Nowhere did they say “it’s quieter” That’s the specification I’m interested in, and it’s the hardest to hit.
I certified the UM2, if you care, as part of the rolling stock of recommended equipment for Overdubbing/Sound-On-Sound. It has zero-latency local monitoring, headphone mixing, etc.
It was during this musical testing it became obvious that I shouldn’t give up the day job.
I don’t know why, but this has made me want to get a behringer model interface/ preamp combo. I was just looking at Amazon for what they have I am seeing the UM2 for $80 a UMC204HD for the same price $80, and the UMC22 for $120. Which of those would be the most recommended if better than my current set up?
I think the problem with the UMC204HD is it’s forced stereo. Maybe.
You’re going to get a microphone on one side of a stereo show. None of these are mixers.
You have to hack your way past the ad-speak. “Two Channel” in the case of the UM2 means two inputs. I don’t know they ever tell you whether it’s a stereo device or not. So you have to go into each one’s instruction books, propose connection scenarios and see where they fall apart.
You may never get there. I have a stereo USB device that simply vanishes if you tell Audacity it’s mono.
