budget (usb) mic for classical guitar recording needed

[bgravato]

Well, that's painful, isn't it? Apparently, nobody makes those microphones. Thousands of people sell them, but Google has no idea who manufacturers them, where, or why.

From the little I got from the ads, the SC1100 is a condenser microphone and in spite of appearances, is not end-fire. You have to aim the side of the microphone at the performance and you have to get the correct side so as not to be in the notch during cardioid performances. You are doing all that, right?

Or correct me since you have the instructions and I don't.

If you can point to a manufacturer's web site, that would go a very long way.

The mic is sold by Thomann I think T-Bone is their own brand. Unfortunately the mic didn't come with any instructions and I couldn't find any on thomann's website... Ain't that interesting? hehe

As for the micplug... same thing... and yes I would bet that's the source of hiss... but I wasn't expecting a breathtaking performance from a €29 device...

I believe I'm aiming at the right side of the mic since it's the one from which I get higher volume.

As for mic boost option in sound card options I think I don't have it... When I connect the micplug it shows up as a standalone usb device and I don't remember seeing such option there... either in linux or macos-x, though that option usually shows up next to the mic volume bar on the computers sound card options... But anyway from my (little) experience that +20dB boost also boosts the noise as well...

As for sending the micplug back... For the price and for the size and comodity of not needing any external power supply or anything else... I think I'll keep it anyways, it's performance seems to be fair enough for the price...

Finally after many rainy weekends there's a beautiful sunny day so I'm going out for hiking now, I'll check your sample later when I get back home.
Have fun underwater I'm hoping to stay "water-free" this weekend hehe only water I expect to see will the waterfall along the trail

[steve]

The mic is sold by Thomann I think T-Bone is their own brand.

It is (sort of) their own brand. Thomann are the largest music equipment retailer in Europe and have several "own brands" (T-Bone, T-Box, Harley Benton, Millennium, Stairville, Swissonic...). Most of these "brands" are made by other (reputable) manufacturers for Thomann, re-badged and sold at a much lower price than the original. Thomann have also bought some manufacturers who now manufacture equipment exclusively for Thomann. I believe their guitars (Harley Benton) are made "in-house". I've been using Thomann for years and own a lot of their own brand stuff. The very cheapest budget stuff they do tends to be (unsurprisingly) "cheap". I think the USB MicPlug probably falls into this bracket. Their less cheap equipment is still relatively inexpensive and is usually exceptional value for money. The SC1100 is in this bracket.

The only item that I've had from Thomann that I was disappointed with was a "T-Bone MB85" dynamic microphone. It worked but was definitely a "cheap" mic. On the other hand I have bought several "T-Bone MB85 beta" dynamic microphones (for stage work) and they are fantastic - very similar to a Sure SM58 but a bit brighter. To be critical, the bottom end is not quite as smooth as an SM58 and there is a fraction more handling noise, but the build quality is great and in many situations the improved top end more than makes up for the minor drawbacks. The €37 price tag makes it a fantastic bargain. The bottom line from the "Sound-on-Sound" review of the MB85 beta was "How Much!!!"

As for the micplug... I would bet that's the source of hiss... but I wasn't expecting a breathtaking performance from a €29 device...

I'd agree there. Your tests on your friends sound card shows a noticeable improvement when using a considerably more expensive sound card. For €29 I don't think you can complain.

As for mic boost option in sound card options I think I don't have it...

You won't have on a USB device.

But anyway from my (little) experience that +20dB boost also boosts the noise as well...

Yes it will.

As for sending the micplug back... For the price and for the size and comodity of not needing any external power supply or anything else..

The only thing that concerned me was the rattling that you mentioned. It could just be plastic clip from the casing that has broken off inside, but if you are concerned about it get in touch with their customer services - I've generally found them to be very helpful (and they have English speaking staff if that's your native language).

Here is my latest sample.

I'm not at home at the moment so I've only listened to it on my laptop. Looking forward to hearing it properly at home.

[bgravato]

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/clip ... Keypex.wav

I left the first 2-1/2 seconds of noise in there before I suppressed it. That's Noise Gate 20Hz, -15dB reduction, -35.3dB threshold.

I didn't damage that last note. The original performance stopped.

Koz

Where did my noise go? Give it back! (or maybe not hehe)

I just cranked through an important voice recording session with a very good phantom powered microphone, my MacBook Pro and one of these...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PV6

It has good, quiet gain, supplies headphone connections, and +48v Phantom.

You say so good things about that Peavey PV6 that I'm starting to feel that I should get one

$99 USD is really a good price, but I don't think I can't find that price in Europe... And ordering from USA would add a lot of taxes to it that could give it a considerable price increase...

Anyway I was search amazon uk for it and I found this and this. Apart from the first one being cheaper and having more buttons on the pic I was wondering what the differences would be... The pic on the second link looks like the same as the link you posted, but the other by the description seems pretty much the same...

[kozikowski]

There was supposed to be a significant theatrical pause between those two statements. The +20dB Mic Boost has nothing to do with USB. The USB device handles all that very nicely by itself.

The boost is important -- really important -- if you use the analog input of the sound card. It's frequently the difference between having a performance and not -- assuming you're not going into heavy post production. And our training sessions aren't.

Anybody listen to the patched recordings I posted? It's really easy to produce that effect and it's a significant improvement in the presentation noise level without affecting the performance at all.

Koz

[kozikowski]

I'm pushing one of these into testing...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/X2u/

<<<Finally after many rainy weekends there's a beautiful sunny day so I'm going out for hiking now>>>

One of my tasks is to go to the athletic shop at the beach and get my roller skates serviced. I can't face all this sunshine without my roller skates.

Koz

[whomper]

Well, that's painful, isn't it? Apparently, nobody makes those microphones. Thousands of people sell them, but Google has no idea who manufacturers them, where, or why.
.

they are made in china
(at least the cheap ones are - few expensive ones may still be made in germany -- and if not completely made in china many use parts from china)

generic mikes are cranked out by a few factories then
many vendors put their own brand label on them
many use the generic case
some have a different case made to make the mike look unique

may or may not be some better quality in some of the higher priced ones but only IF the seller requested and paid the factory for it

but in some cases it seems as if the only difference is the higher price for the "better" brand logo

if its powered from usb it is an electret and not a "real" condensor type mike. trades convenience and cost for some quality of signal.

[kozikowski]

<<<Anybody listen to the patched recordings I posted?>>>

I think I'm playing posting catch-up. I'll stop now.

Koz

[kozikowski]

I was just thinking about this as my tea solidified. What? Doesn't your tea hold a spoon upright?

Anyway a Hollywood production engineer is performing custom noise reduction on a live guitar performance capture from a hiker in Portugal using software written to task produced, I believe, in Manchester.

Let me know if I left anyone out.

Koz

[kozikowski]

<<<You say so good things about that Peavey PV6 that I'm starting to feel that I should get one>>>

It's extraordinarily difficult to beat this unit. I have a very small field microphone mixer that I will shortly be posting on eBay. Yes, it's tiny and battery powered, but the power of ten less expensive Peavey runs circles around it -- given the Peavey is not battery operated.

We have either three or four in the family now. I own one and the company owns either two or three for training and performance sessions.

The performer end of my shoot was one of these...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/C414BXLII/

But the A/D converter and sound recorder was the MacBook Pro and Audacity 1.3.7.

Koz

[bgravato]

Koz have you tested any Art Tube MP? I'm thinking about maybe getting one of those... My soundcard line-in seems to be really quiet... Not sure if I can say the same about the mac, but for that i still have the usb micplug... Well... sort of... my micplug had a small accident today

I was wondering what that loose piece inside could be so I decided to open it... the "loose piece" seems to be an "extra" button... it was a button like the one on the phantom power switch that was inside... I just don't know why it was there... spare part? ou accidentaly got lost in there during assembly... The good news are that everything else inside was intact... and I say was because that's past... no longer true...

3 wires got disconnected while I was trying to pull i out... anyway nothing that my soldering iron can't fix...