condenser mic input volume too low

[mcwarble]

Hi,

I was using a Nady UIM-2x USB interface, 15 ft XLR, MXL 2008 mic, on a Vista machine to record vocals. The very first time I recorded, the signal-to-noise ratio was fantastic and the waveform was a decent medium size, so no clipping, but you could also hear all the soft parts clearly. It was great. I also used a mic stand and a homemade pop filter.

A few hours later (nothing moved in the setup), I tried to record again and the signal was extremely small, almost inaudible. When I turned up the volume to hear it, the noise was really loud compared to the signal. I can up the input volume, but all I get is a bunch of noise and the signal is still not even close in volume to the original first time I recorded.

I went to Guitar Center to pick up another XLR cable (the original one was a cheapo one that they "accidentally shipped" instead of a livewire one, how sketchy is that, but they "replaced" it with a livewire one eventually, though they never explained why the wrong one was shipped), thinking that was the problem, but now that I try with a different cable, it still doesn't work. It's a weird problem because it worked initially and with almost the same conditions hours later, it stopped working, but isn't silent. It's just crazy noisy and insensitive to soft vocals, which is really frustrating, because I swear a cheap webcam would record better aside from clipping.

This has been driving me nuts for the past month. I've read up on some forums, but no one seems to have the same problem. Any help would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

Michelle

[kozikowski]

Does your microphone use Phantom Power and is it turned on? You covered most of the bases already, but you might have troubles with Windows Conferencing.

Scroll down to the block labeled Windows Conferencing.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/wind ... rding.html

Win Vista and Win7 machines are not tape recorders. They're built for conferencing and that can mess up voice recording. Also, since you're using the USB system at the computer, are you recording the USB connection and not the built-in microphone? If you like to Skype or other conferencing service, you may have had your "device" setting changed.

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Mixer_Toolbar_Issues

The one sentence version of that is make sure Windows is "looking" at the USB connection for your voice and nothing else.

Koz

[mcwarble]

Hi Koz,

Thanks so much for the quick reply! I'm sorry I didn't get to researching everything you mentioned until now.

Phantom power- check. I forgot this the very first time (or my pre-first time), so that doesn't happen now.

Windows Conferencing- I had never heard of this, and I do use skype a lot, but I checked the Windows Sound and all the effects are disabled for playback. There aren't any options for effects (like echo, etc.) for the recording tab. I have Vista Business or something.

For the last part, I made sure the microphone drop down menu in Audacity is set to the USB mic, not the webcam or built-in mic. Is that enough, or do I need to change it somewhere else too? I think windows follows what is chosen in Audacity, but I'm not very tech-savvy, so that's just a wishful guess.

Is there anything else I can try? This whole thing is so odd.

Michelle