Buzz in recording

[hueseph]

Did read dvdhawk's response regarding comb filtering? This also may explain some of the lack of "lustre". I still think you are pushing those preamps too hard. No more than 9:00 on the pot if there is one. Turn down the gain to maybe one quarter of it's potential.

[Boswell]

I think Remy's on the right track by suggesting that the EMU is the problem. My guess is that it cannot deal properly with the piano transients from the Eathworks mics. Before you go too much further down other routes, I would beg or borrow a different pre-amp/interface to see if you get the same results with that.

[Edahall]

Did read dvdhawk's response regarding comb filtering? This also may explain some of the lack of "lustre". I still think you are pushing those preamps too hard. No more than 9:00 on the pot if there is one. Turn down the gain to maybe one quarter of it's potential.

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried out your tips and made another recording. I turned down the pot from the 12:00 position to the 9:00 am position and rearranged my mics to the following to hopefully mitigate the comb filtering you were hearing. I also turned up the mic level in Audacity all the way up to compensate.

Here's how the mics were set up (XY configuration). Baldwin baby grand with soft hammers.


Kinderscenen 1 XY by Edahall on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

Kinderscenen 3 XY by Edahall on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

The buzz I was hearing has completely disappeared. Maybe what I was hearing before was the comb filtering. However, I get more hiss in the recording. What do you think? Improvement or not?

[hueseph]

I can't listen where I am right now but do yourself a favor and download Reaper. It's nagware but, completely functional and far more capable than Audacity. Supports ASIO drivers and VST plugins, many of which are free and really quite good.

[hueseph]

Sorry to tell you this. I'm still hearing distortion. I'm afraid Remy and dvdhawk may be right. Your interface just might not be up to the task. However, the distortion I'm hearing could very easily be dropout. I really think you should download and try Reaper. It's nagware as I said. Which basically means that after the trial period it will nag you to buy it every time you load it. It will still run but you will get the nag screen. Even then, the purchase price is only $70.

On another note, looking at your mics, it doesn't look like they are quite coincident. Basically, the tips should be as close as possible to touching. This is where you benefit from avoiding phase problems at the mic. That being said, the comb filtering can be a result of your room and can affect your recording regardless of the mics.

Just listened again. It's definitely clipping.

At any rate, nice playing. Sorry I never mentioned it before.

[Edahall]

Sorry to tell you this. I'm still hearing distortion. I'm afraid Remy and dvdhawk may be right. Your interface just might not be up to the task. However, the distortion I'm hearing could very easily be dropout. I really think you should download and try Reaper. It's nagware as I said. Which basically means that after the trial period it will nag you to buy it every time you load it. It will still run but you will get the nag screen. Even then, the purchase price is only $70.

On another note, looking at your mics, it doesn't look like they are quite coincident. Basically, the tips should be as close as possible to touching. This is where you benefit from avoiding phase problems at the mic. That being said, the comb filtering can be a result of your room and can affect your recording regardless of the mics.

Just listened again. It's definitely clipping.

At any rate, nice playing. Sorry I never mentioned it before.

I decided to record again but made some changes based on the suggestions you gave. I put the tips of my Earthworks as close as possible without touching. I turned the the gain on my preamp down a little further. I then recorded it using Reaper.

Anyways, here is how it sounds. Is it an improvement? I wonder if the buzz that I was hearing in the previous recordings was actually distortion.

Kinderscenen 1 1 by Edahall on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

I read that the E-MU 0404 USB actually has a pretty good A/D converter. I'm wondering if the built in preamp is the culprit here. Having to set the gain at such a low level is telling me that there might be an impedance mismatch. I wonder if my ProSonus BlueTube preamp might be a better match for these Earthworks mics?

Thanks, I hope to get my recordings to sound as good my playing.

[hueseph]

I read that the E-MU 0404 USB actually has a pretty good A/D converter. I'm wondering if the built in preamp is the culprit here. Having to set the gain at such a low level is telling me that there might be an impedance mismatch. I wonder if my ProSonus BlueTube preamp might be a better match for these Earthworks mics?

There's a lot of hype out there. The truth is that many manufacturers get their chips from the same source. The magic is in the circuit design and implementation. So, yeah maybe they have the same A/D/D/A as a Pro Tools rig. The thing is, they are probably leaving out that they are talking about an MBox or Digi 002.

As far as the Blue Tube is concerned, you can try it but be aware that starved plate tube designs are meant to impart distortion.

[hueseph]

Are you using any compression? If you are, can you not? It still sounds a little "tight" to me. It sounds like you're boosting the volume somehow, which is what will introduce the hiss if your preamps aren't particularly good. Mind you if the noise is inherent in the interface, there is no preamp in the world that will get rid of it. Just thoughts.

[Edahall]

Are you using any compression? If you are, can you not? It still sounds a little "tight" to me. It sounds like you're boosting the volume somehow, which is what will introduce the hiss if your preamps aren't particularly good. Mind you if the noise is inherent in the interface, there is no preamp in the world that will get rid of it. Just thoughts.

I really appreciate all your comments.

I checked again and something may have boosted the volume so I got the original file and tried it again.

http://soundcloud.com/edahall-1/kinderscenen-1-2

What should I set the volume control in Reaper when I'm recording? I notice that the less gain I set on my preamp, the more hiss I get.

Gain set just a tad above 0


Recording volume set at 7.08 dB. How do I dial in the correct amount of volume?


Photo of mic placement. Mics are 26" above piano soundboard.

[hueseph]

I'm surprised you're not doing anything because there is a lot of volume. There must be some sort of automatic makeup gain going on.

Actually:

Two E-MU XTC™ Ultra-low Noise Mic/Line/Hi-Z Preamps with Soft Limiter and 48V Phantom Power

I wonder if you can turn that off. Even then, it doesn't matter because there is still some distortion and I don't think it's happening at the mic. I would bet it's that "Soft Limiter" clipping out. Damn those SoundBashers!

Sorry, I'm not a fan of "Creative". Great for gamers but not so great for musicians.