New recording gear day

rhancox · #1 04-13-2010, 09:24 AM

Me and my new recording gear are in the same state. The big brown truck should be delivering tomorrow.

The gear:

Focusrite Saffire 6 USB
MXL 990/991 condensor mic set

Can't wait to try it out.

Livingston · #2 04-13-2010, 09:31 AM

Congratulations...please post a review if you have a chance. I'd be interested to hear more about the mics and USB audio interface.

Darryl

rhancox · #3 04-13-2010, 01:07 PM

No problem.

There's not much information that I've been able to find on the web about the Saffire 6. Just a handful of reviews on the MF website and then the Focusrite site. I did have a guy at Guitar Center rave about the mic preamps, which is one of the reasons I settled on this unit.

I decided on the mics because of the deal, since I only had a $350 (wife-imposed

) budget. I've heard some videos on U2'b from people using the mics. Decent sound for the price.

rhancox · #4 04-15-2010, 08:56 PM

Wow!

First off, I'm no expert and I only have my previous setup (Omega and one condenser mic) to compare it to, but wow!

The MXL mics are much better than the other mic I had (ProAudio something-or-other). Very clean and sensitive. Add to that the mic pre-amps in the Saffire 6 and man, just a super clean sound, to my untrained ears anyway.

Here's a sample recording I did

The mic stands I ordered did not come in the original shipment. They are on their way. So I had to lay the mics down on the edge of my desk, hanging over slightly. The 991 (pencil mic) is on the left, pointing to the 12th fret area, and the 990 is on the right, pointing at the bridge area. I thought the 990 might be too sensitive for my primitive setup but I had the gain set the same for both mics. I sat with my guitar about 6-8 inches away from the mics. I used the Focusrite Compression and Reverb plugins for effects, keeping them to the "factory presets".

I'm really impressed so far, but this is just a simple little test. Comparing to my previous setup, I would have to crank the mic gain all the way to get any kind of decent sound, even with phantom power and the 20db pad turned off. This setup just seems miles above what I had. I can't wait to do some real recording, which I will share when the time comes.

rick-slo · #5 04-15-2010, 09:03 PM

Sounds good. Congrats

TBman · #6 04-16-2010, 03:26 AM

I have that mic set. Its a good value for the money.

Fran Guidry · #7 04-16-2010, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhancox

...

I'm really impressed so far, but this is just a simple little test. Comparing to my previous setup, I would have to crank the mic gain all the way to get any kind of decent sound, even with phantom power and the 20db pad turned off. This setup just seems miles above what I had. I can't wait to do some real recording, which I will share when the time comes.

Please understand that phantom power doesn't "add power" to anything. It is needed to operate mics that require it. It is not needed and has no effect (that's the phantom part!!) on mics that don't require it.

Fran

RRuskin · #8 04-16-2010, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

............It is needed to operate mics that require it. It is not needed and has no effect (that's the phantom part!!) on mics that don't require it.

Fran

With the exception of some ribbon mics that phantom power will destroy.

rhancox · #9 04-16-2010, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

Please understand that phantom power doesn't "add power" to anything. It is needed to operate mics that require it. It is not needed and has no effect (that's the phantom part!!) on mics that don't require it.

Fran

I understand. I was just trying to make sure I didn't get any responses like, "hey does that Omega have phantom power?", with the thinking that I wasn't doing something right with my old setup making my comparison rather moot.

One thing I realized last night while recording with the Saffire is that you get one track coming across the USB bus. The Omega would give me at least two that I know of (all I ever tried). With the two mics I record in stereo on one track. I'm pretty sure that means that when I plug my guitar into one jack and a mic into the other, I'll get one track with the guitar on one side and the mic on the other. I know I got two tracks out of the Omega. They may have been mono or one side of a stereo track, but I could get two.

Not a huge deal for what I want to accomplish, as the increase in sound quality more than makes up for it.

Fran Guidry · #10 04-16-2010, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRuskin

With the exception of some ribbon mics that phantom power will destroy.

Actually, I think you'll find that damage could only occur if a cable was inserted or removed while power was applied. If this situation is avoided there will be no impact on ribbons or other passive mics.

That's why they call it phantom.

Fran

RRuskin · #11 04-16-2010, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

Actually, I think you'll find that damage could only occur if a cable was inserted or removed while power was applied. If this situation is avoided there will be no impact on ribbons or other passive mics.

That's why they call it phantom.

Fran

1. It's always wise to have the phantom off when plugging in any mic - just in case.
2. I was told that older RCA ribbons would be damaged regardless of when the phantom was applied. B&O ribbons are also susceptible to being damaged.
3. In the studio, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

shawlie · #12 04-17-2010, 01:46 AM

Your sample sounds really nice, have fun with the new stuff! Looking foreward to a new song with you using it.

Livingston · #13 04-17-2010, 01:12 PM

Thanks for reviewing the new gear and the recording was a bonus. Thanks for taking the time.

Ty Ford · #14 04-19-2010, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRuskin

1. It's always wise to have the phantom off when plugging in any mic - just in case.
2. I was told that older RCA ribbons would be damaged regardless of when the phantom was applied. B&O ribbons are also susceptible to being damaged.
3. In the studio, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Hello Rick, Good to see you here. I have plugged in RCA ribbon mics to preamps with phantom power turned on and had no problem. It CAN be done successfully, BUT, destruction happens when the mic cable XLR pins connect in a specific order to the preamp and cause a current. It won't happen every time, but it only takes ONE time to pop the ribbon.

Bear in mind that there are now ribbon mics designed that require Phantom Power to power a small amp chip in the mic. Royer, Cloud and Audio-Technica all make them.

Regards,

Ty Ford

RRuskin · #15 04-19-2010, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

Hello Rick, Good to see you here. I have plugged in RCA ribbon mics to preamps with phantom power turned on and had no problem. It CAN be done successfully, BUT, destruction happens when the mic cable XLR pins connect in a specific order to the preamp and cause a current. It won't happen every time, but it only takes ONE time to pop the ribbon.

Bear in mind that there are now ribbon mics designed that require Phantom Power to power a small amp chip in the mic. Royer, Cloud and Audio-Technica all make them.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Like I said; Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. I'm guessing that AEA had that in mind when they made the TRP Dual-Mono Ribbon Microphone Preamp without on-board phantom power. I'm fully aware of the newer active ribbon mics out there.