im not sure, it sounds weird. my SM57 is always 1 dB louder than the left channel, but i dont really mind amplfying it.

chase07 wrote: sorry, im quite new to forums, and if this is in the wrong place, i do apologise.

anyway..
i recently bought a condenser mic. (behringer)
brilliant piece of hardware, however - now when i record music, (usually acoustic) the right channel is about 6dB louder then the left. why is this? 2 weeks back it was fine.
i have dropped it once, is that a cause?

i guess it is fine, but i do not want to amplify every left channel for each track.
how can i fix this? is it a hardware issue?

many thanks
chase

That company has a very questionable business strategy, and one consequence of it is that their use of shoddy components, and their less-than-stellar production QA results in hit-or-miss products.

ah...

okay then. many thanks anyways.
is there a good (relatively cheap) condenser you would reccomend?

Chase,

It sounds like you might be recording through the 1/8" input on your computer's soundcard. If this is the case and the input has gone pear, maybe just invest in a new one, or set the Behringer tracks to record as mono in whatever program you're using.

Most "relatively cheap" GULDCs (general-use large-diaphragm condensers) will give you similar results. Just look for a company whose products are hailed for holding up well after purchase.

Try a Rode NT-4 stereo microphone. It works well and is reasonable in cost. http://www.rodemic.com/?pagename=Products&product=NT4

You implied that with your Behringer mic the right channel is now 6dB louder than before you dropped it. Is that the case, or is it that the left channel is now 6dB quieter? There's an important difference. Suddenly getting 6dB more gain represents one sort of fault, while getting 6dB less means another. Yes, it's likely to be a hardware issue. Can you fix it? Probably not, although if you're lucky, it may be just one of the left channel signal leads having come loose inside.

If you are thinking of getting a different stereo mic, I would second Tom's suggestion of an NT4.

brilliant,
thanks for the replies people - it has really helped!

oh! forgot to ask...

in that case:

i will be getting a new laptop rather soon. and its going to be a dedicated notebook for recording.

patrick! can you buy a sound card with a 1/4 jack? for a laptop?
or would it be worth just sticking with the soundcard i get??

many thanks

chase07 wrote: i will be getting a new laptop rather soon. and its going to be a dedicated notebook for recording.

can you buy a sound card with a 1/4 jack? for a laptop?
or would it be worth just sticking with the soundcard i get??

You won't get a laptop with a 1/4 inch jack, as laptops are fitted with 1/8 inch as standard. You could either get a 1/8 to 1/4 adaptor, or use a mic such as the Rode NT4 or a Sony MS957 that come with a 5-pin XLR to 1/8 inch cable as part of their accessories.

What I would be certain to specify on the laptop is a FireWire port, so that when you want to move up to a better interface, you have somewhere to plug it in.

"What I would be certain to specify on the laptop is a FireWire port, so that when you want to move up to a better interface, you have somewhere to plug it in."

hmm?
not great on technical info!
what do you mean?

many thanks again!

FireWire is another way of connecting external devices to a computer, as are USB or RS232 serial or even a printer interface. Each of these types of connections ("ports" or "interfaces") has its advantages and disadvantages. Computers come fitted with various sorts of these external connections. Most laptops these days have several USB ports and some have FireWire ports as well.

If, in the near future, you want to improve on the audio quality over that provided by the built-in sound card and its microphone jack, then you can get very good quality audio interfaces that connect to the computer using FireWire. If you are choosing a laptop, it makes sense to get one that has a FireWire port so you are ready for the next big step up in audio quality.