I have it opened up and nobody can seem to locate the fuse.

Hi everyone. First post here. I have a little home studio setup in my room... condesor mic, padded walls and a vox guard to try and get better sound. Im having a few issues that I cant address.

1. When I am recording, the sound is amazing through the headphones, both music and vocals. But when I record and playback, it sounds nothing like it did quality wise. Its like the gain is turned up so much that it makes vocals sound like raw voice rather than the pure quality.

If I turn the gain all the way down, i cant hear myself in the headphones, but still records. Could this be a microphone quality issue? Or would it be because recording through a USB mixer that I lose quality? Could it just be some simple settings to do with equalizing or anything? Could Audacity just not like me?

Like I said, when I sing through the Mic, it sounds amazing through my headset. If I record my vocals. its like the quality disapeared and its too high pitched (and i have a deeper voice) or it sounds like a raw voice...

Any ideas?

Thank you,
Markhowdy

As title says I am looking for comments on using my Sterling Audio Condenser Mic ST 79 for vocals. So far I have not gotten good results...Anyone have any input on this. Acoustic Guitars it does well for me. .But Vocals another matter. What would anyone like to suggest . .my budget is less around 500 Dollars. .I paid over that for this Sterling Audio so price did not help me out. I also have the MXL 90 mic which as most of you know was a pretty cheap mic but. good for guitars but just another bum vocal mic. I have the SM57 and 58 but do not really like the effect they have on my vocal I am a tenor vocalist mostly. and I get very dynamic too. not screaming more like 50's rock and roll with some Roy Orbison type of vocals. Too bright are many of them for me. .Makes me sound more like Jerry Lewis and the HEY LADY yell he used to do in the movies. HELP

Hello all, I have, what I hope will be, a simple question:

I have an MBox 2 hooked up to my MacBook Pro via USB. I have my PreSonus TubePre hooked up to my MBox 2 via 1/4" cable (Unbalanced out from TubePre to Line (TRS) input 1 on MBox 2). I have my Sterling Audio ST59 mic plugged into the Microphone input in my TubePre. My Mbox has power, my TubePre has power and the phantom power (+48V) is turned on on the TubePre for the mic. When I open Pro Tools 8 LE, no sound seems to be registering through the microphone. When I hit record, the tracking bar moves but it doesn't seem to be recording anything (no colored block appears following the tracking bar as it moves). Help? Maybe I need to change some inputs somewhere? Do I have things hooked up incorrectly? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi, I'm in the market for a condenser mike and am trying to decide which one to get. I've read a lot on here and reviews on musians friend and sweetwater about the ST55, 66 etc. Today I went to a music store and had the chance to listen to the RODE NT2-A and the AT3035. It seemed as if the AT was a bit brighter maybe, the RODE had some neat features like dual diaphram, and other knobs. A friend of mine that I met today recommended the C1, said he'd tried it before and really liked it, but it wasn't in the store as I guess they aren't importing them into Korea anymore or something so I couldn't have the chance to listen. The guy in the store said the C1 was made in China and he wasn't all that excited about that, while he said the RODE was made in China. Also the ST mikes I'd need to order online as they are not available here in Korea apparently, though I've read good things. I'd be interested in the differences between the ST55, 66, 77 as well.

I'd be recording mostly vocals and sometimes acoustic instruments like guitar, maybe some hand percussion from time to time. I'm currently using Garage Band on a MBP with a MOTU 8-Pre interface, and for vocals I use either a 58 or sometimes my D112 as it seems to be a bit more warm with my voice.

Can anybody help me with opinions on these mikes? By the way, I already asked some questions about the ST55 as a reply to the Sterling Audio Thread, but figured that since I now was looking at some other mikes as well that a new thread might be better and easier for people to spot since I didn't know how current that thread was. I apologize if anyone has to wade through some of the same stuff twice.

Hello microphiles,
there are two microphones i have been looking into after deciding on a dedicated vocal microphone. I since have used an sm57 for scratches and an earthworks tc25 omni ( part of drum kit) for better vocals which to me sound okay. I have also been using a studio projects c1 borrowed from a friend. All sessions are recorded in a sorta dedicated closet treated with a mattress, carpet,and some blankets with one side being the thin wood closet door that will be mattressed up soon enough.
After reading the recent under 1k mic thread, I have been close to purchasing the bluebird(300$), until a friend at gc recommended a sterling audio mic at the same price. Eventually i was suggested the st69 tube mic with own power supply(600$)
My voice is that of a male tenor in academic training and have influences from Andrea Bocceli, Josh Groban, Jeff Buckley. And interested ina mic dedicated for this kind of sound.
I am currently one step from buying a vox mic. However, advice from the .org would be taken into consideration. Many have praised the bluebird at 300$ ... While the sterling has been praised by a Neumann tlm and sterling st69 owner ranged at 600$.
Is the bluebird in the same level as the ster. St69? Or is praise froM the bluebird only coming from a lower budget limited crowd?

Does anyone have any experience with this mic? I see that they are dumping them at Musiciansfriend/GC for $199 where they were $599 until recently. I already have a Groove Tubes GT55, which I like. However, it is the only condenser mic I've ever owned besides an MXL 990 which I did not care for. I mean, if it is good but they are discontinuing the model, I am interested, but if they are dumping them because of quality problems or just poor sound, I'm not so hot on it. I'm probably not going to do anything unless somebody comes back raving about the quality or especially has heard it in direct comparison to a GT55 and finds it vastly superior. I get turned on by huge discounts... if it really is a value that is.

Hi, I am new here. I own an Oktava MK-012-01 microphone, that I am not too satisfied with. Even without the -10 db filter, it records very quiet, and I have to use Wave Pad to increase the volume.

I was in Guitar Center today (not looking to buy a mic) and started talking with one of the guys. He said the Oktava was very poorly made and that a loud noise could distort the element causing it to malfuntion like that.

So, I started asking about other mics. I have heard a lot about Shure, but he said that unless I bought the $350 Shure they were not as good as some of the lower cost mics. He showed me a few things, but then said there is one that is really great, but it is a little more than the ones I was looking at (which were around $200). It was a Sterling Audio ST55. Turns out it was not more, only $199. The guy said Sterling Audio was the new name of Groove Tube, which I have heard of. I bought it.

Now, Groove Tube says nothing about a name change on their site, and the www. sterlingaudio.net site is under construction. Has anybody heard about this mic or this company? I hate forum posts that ask what is the best . . ., so I will not ask that, but can somebody tell me for around $200 what is a good mic for recording acoustic guitar (actually I play a Greek bouzouki which is like a long neck acoustic mandolin, but a lot of people don't know what that is). I have heard the Shure SM81 is great. I could spend the $350 that costs, but is there something better at that price point?

Hello all. I am a musician who owns a small home studio and am recording a very interesting project. It's my own project; a conceptual album in a progressive rock style ala Pink Floyd meets Dream Theater. I'm working hard composing, tracking, arranging and later on will be busy mixing. I'm working on Sonar and own quite a few "mastering" pluginssuch as the iZotope Ozone, the BBE Sonic Maximizer, the Waves L1 etc and they work nicely but for this one project "my baby" I'm thinking about sending my mix to a Mastering facility for a professional to do the job. I've looked around and done my homework and ideally, I would have George Marino from Sterling Sound do the job. I have heard his job and love it. I don't know how much it would cost me to have Mr Marino master my project but I would assume that it is way out of my budget. I was checking out the website for Sterling and found that they have something called "After Hours"; where they master a project for independent musicians (I fit that profile) for $1,200 (it's a little pricey but still not out of my league). So, the purpose of my post is to find out if any of you are familiar with After Hours or have any comment about my idea to possibly spend 1200 on a mastering job by Sterling Sound. Any ideas? Thanks so much in advance,

Carlos