We've used an xlr to usb cable which claims to work on all dynamic mics but can't seem to get this working on PC or mac!

A chap at our local maplin store said this would work

[="http://www.maplin.co.uk/behringer-usb-guitar-interface-222445"]Behringer USB Guitar Interface : Audio Recording : Maplin Electronics[/]="http://www.maplin.c…"]Behringer USB Guitar Interface : Audio Recording : Maplin Electronics[/]

as far as I can see these are the same

[[url=http://="http://www.ebay.co…"]Guitar To PC MAC USB Interface Audio Link Cable Record USB Guitar Link Cable UK | eBay[/]="http://www.ebay.co…"]Guitar To PC MAC USB Interface Audio Link Cable Record USB Guitar Link Cable UK | eBay[/]

Our local(ish) music store said we need

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.maplin.c…"]M-Audio M-Track Two-Channel USB Audio/MIDI Interface : Digital DJ : Maplin Electronics[/]="http://www.maplin.c…"]M-Audio M-Track Two-Channel USB Audio/MIDI Interface : Digital DJ : Maplin Electronics[/]

all we want is our little en to be able to record herself, maybe her keyboard, upload to you tube and maybe edit etc...

any/all help appreciated

thanks everyone

The M-Audio device from Maplins that you mentioned will work if you use an XLR-XLR cable and not the XLR-jack plug lead supplied with the microphone. The quality will not be great but you should get some acceptable sound through it. The guitar interfaces you listed will not work for microphones.

If you want to record the keyboard using the M-Audio box, you will need another (different) lead. You didn't tell us the make and model of keyboard, but it's likely it has only a stereo headphone jack from which you can take an output. The problem here is that the keyboard gives you both the left and right channels on one stereo jack, and you need to split these to two mono plugs. The type of cable you would need to do this is called an insert cable, and has a stereo jack plug on one end and a pair of mono jacks on the other end. Plug the stereo jack plug into the headphone output on the keyboard and take the mono jacks to the guitar jack inputs of both channels of the M-Audio box if the microphone is not in use. If you want to record vocals and keyboard together, choose one plug (L or R) from the keyboard and record that on one M-Audio channel at the same time as the microphone on the other channel. You will lose some keyboard information, but it's nevertheless the simplest way of working.

If you record vocals on one channel and keyboard on the other, you will need to set up two separate mono channels in your audio software so that both sources are centred rather than a stereo channel. You can mix the channels as you like, for example, adding some stereo reverb to the vocals or to the keyboard to widen the sound image.

Boswell, post: 407789 wrote: The M-Audio device from Maplins that you mentioned will work if you use an XLR-XLR cable and not the XLR-jack plug lead supplied with the microphone. The quality will not be great but you should get some acceptable sound through it. The guitar interfaces you listed will not work for microphones.

If you want to record the keyboard using the M-Audio box, you will need another (different) lead. You didn't tell us the make and model of keyboard, but it's likely it has only a stereo headphone jack from which you can take an output. The problem here is that the keyboard gives you both the left and right channels on one stereo jack, and you need to split these to two mono plugs. The type of cable you would need to do this is called an insert cable, and has a stereo jack plug on one end and a pair of mono jacks on the other end. Plug the stereo jack plug into the headphone output on the keyboard and take the mono jacks to the guitar jack inputs of both channels of the M-Audio box if the microphone is not in use. If you want to record vocals and keyboard together, choose one plug (L or R) from the keyboard and record that on one M-Audio channel at the same time as the microphone on the other channel. You will lose some keyboard information, but it's nevertheless the simplest way of working.

If you record vocals on one channel and keyboard on the other, you will need to set up two separate mono channels in your audio software so that both sources are centred rather than a stereo channel. You can mix the channels as you like, for example, adding some stereo reverb to the vocals or to the keyboard to widen the sound image.

Hi Boswell

thank you for your reply, sorry to be a pain but could you explain why the m-audio wont work via xlr-1/4 jack as this is how the shop is telling me to connect it? And what do you class as acceptable sound? Our daughter is looking to sing, upload to you tube etc... Also the keyboard is a Yamaha YPT220 which dose have headphone out and also 2 midi ports, hope this helps.

thanks again

Brett

It's no problem - that's what were are here for. Sometimes it's difficult to judge the appropriate technical level of reply from opening posts.

There are two reasons why you ahould use the XLR input on the M-Audio unit for a microphone. Firstly, the jack input (like those found on most similar interfaces) is meant for a guitar or other device that outputs a moderate-level voltage, so it does not have that much amplification. The XLR input is designed for microphones that have a relatively low voltage output and so need more amplification. Secondly, the output from a microphone is normally balanced (has + and - signal leads along with a ground connection). The guitar jack on the interface is unbalanced, that is, it just has one signal connection and ground.

If you used a lead that had a 3-pin female XLR on one end and a TS jack plug (unbalanced) on the other, it would work electically, but you would probably not get enough amplification and so the vocal signal would be weak.

Don't worry about the sound quality. Once you get the wiring and connection details sorted out correctly, the sound will be fine for YouTube uploads and similar.

The headphone output from the YPT220 keyboard is as I assumed in my first reply.

Boswell, post: 407794 wrote: It's no problem - that's what were are here for. Sometimes it's difficult to judge the appropriate technical level of reply from opening posts.

There are two reasons why you ahould use the XLR input on the M-Audio unit for a microphone. Firstly, the jack input (like those found on most similar interfaces) is meant for a guitar or other device that outputs a moderate-level voltage, so it does not have that much amplification. The XLR input is designed for microphones that have a relatively low voltage output and so need more amplification. Secondly, the output from a microphone is normally balanced (has + and - signal leads along with a ground connection). The guitar jack on the interface is unbalanced, that is, it just has one signal connection and ground.

If you used a lead that had a 3-pin female XLR on one end and a TS jack plug (unbalanced) on the other, it would work electically, but you would probably not get enough amplification and so the vocal signal would be weak.

Don't worry about the sound quality. Once you get the wiring and connection details sorted out correctly, the sound will be fine for YouTube uploads and similar.

The headphone output from the YPT220 keyboard is as I assumed in my first reply.

Thank you very much, that is making a lot more sense, so I need an xlr-xlr cable, m-audio mixer or similar? (Suggestions welcome) and the keyboard has midi and headphone out so which is the best connection to use? 1/4-1/4 jack and connect like you would the guitar? Or would we use the midi port?

thanks again

Well, recordist usually want the best for their money. Looking for the cheapest is not what I'm used to.
If I understand your needs, Keyboard and vocal recording. You need at least a 3 inputs (to get the keyboard in stereo)
The cheapest unit I found is the Alesis MultiMix 4 USB (79$) at sweetwater. 2 xlr input for mics and 2 input for line level recording.

XLR and 1/4in plugs are not made to receive the same levels.
Most XLR inputs have a preamp that is made to grab a very low signal from mics.
1/4in inputs are made to receive line level signal (same as a CD player)
Your keyboard phone outputs is an amplified signal made to drive headphones. You will need to put the keyboard level very low so you don't overdrive the inputs (and get distortions and a lot of noise)

pcrecord, post: 407796 wrote: Well, recordist usually want the best for their money. Looking for the cheapest is not what I'm used to.
If I understand your needs, Keyboard and vocal recording. You need at least a 3 inputs (to get the keyboard in stereo)
The cheapest unit I found is the Alesis MultiMix 4 USB (79$) at sweetwater. 2 xlr input for mics and 2 input for line level recording.

XLR and 1/4in plugs are not made to receive the same levels.
Most XLR inputs have a preamp that is made to grab a very low signal from mics.
1/4in inputs are made to receive line level signal (same as a CD player)
Your keyboard phone outputs is an amplified signal made to drive headphones. You will need to put the keyboard level very low so you don't overdrive the inputs (and get distortions and a lot of noise)

Hi pcrecord i understand you get what you pay for but as she is only 13 we thought we'd get her the basics to see if its something she really wants to get in to, then we will get her some better equipment. I've seen midi to usb cables in our local music store would this allow her to record her keyboard and just use the pre amp/mixer interface just for her mic? Or am I complicating things now :/ I'm quite good when it comes to computers, home hifi and car audio equipment but when it comes to musical equipment i really haven't got a clue haha hence being here picking your brains :)

thank you

You could have, one preamp to usb unit for the mic and a midi to usb device to record midi information from the keyboard.
But wait, Midi is not audio. Midi is a language what music tools use to send informations to each other. Your midi output from the keyboard is sending notes, velocity, wheel informations (computer like information) but it's not an audio signal. What this meens is you need a midi recording software to grab thoses information and the playback may be sent to the keyboard, a rackmount synth, or a virtual instrument in your computer. The advantage is that you can easily manipulate the performance, (change notes, quantise them, do copy and paste, etc..) and then record it in audio.

All that said, if you really want to record in midi and audio (vocal) at the same time, it's better having one unit with audio and midi in it. Using 2 units can create sync problems.

The Alesis MultiMix 4 USB or equivalent still seems like a good choice for you at the time.

MIDI is not an audio signal, it's a sequence of numbers representing things like the pitch, amplitude and length of sounds to tell a synthesiser what to generate. Unless you are set up to use a separate synthesis process (in your computer, for example), you really do need the audio from the headphone output of the keyboard. That's not to say that you can't record the MIDI character stream in addition to the audio to give you more scope for generating extra sounds when mixing, but in order to record the sound that you would hear on headphones, you can't use the MIDI output.

About the simplest and cheapest unit that would record a mix of the microphone (in mono) and the keyboard in stereo is the Wharfedale [="http://www.dv247.com/mixers/wharfedale-connect-502-usb-mixer--92977#reviewtabinfo"]Connect 502 USB mixer[/]="http://www.dv247.co…"]Connect 502 USB mixer[/]. It's available from Digital Village (DV247) for under £50. You would also need an XLR-XLR cable, a TRS jack to 2x mono jacks (insert cable) and a USB lead. The [[url=http://="http://www.alesis.c…"]Alesis Multimix 4 USB[/]="http://www.alesis.c…"]Alesis Multimix 4 USB[/] is similar but with two microphone inputs at a slightly higher price.

Since most mixers and interfaces at this level only send a 16-bit two-channel mix to the PC, there is no real flexibility in mixing after the event. However, if you pan the vocal off to one side and the keyboard off to the other, you would get a pseudo 2-channel output that you could mix later at least to change the balance between the vocals and the keys.