Interface preamp gain vs windows input volume
 

Hi folks, I've been recording some acoustic guitar with an sm57 and noticed that it sounds much better with my interface preamp gain maxed and windows microphone level around 50% compared to interface gain at 70% and windows mic level 100. Having the windows input level high introduces so much noise. This really isn't what I expected, can anyone explain why this is?
Cheers!

(Interface is a behringer U-phoria umc22)

Yes, the Win default is 100%, which is fine for internet video playback, etc, but not so good for music recording.
Your Behr should be set as both the input and output device in your software. And you should not need to crank the gain to 100% on the interface. If you are recording, shoot for -18 to -12 dBFS (decibels full scale) levels.

Can you clarify what the Windows microphone level has to do with a USB audio interface?

Fran

I have my speakers set as output btw.

Hello, LeftHandedMorty!

I'm a beginner too and I'm having this same trouble here. I have bought a B1 mic condenser this week and now I'm trying to find the best setup to record with it. If I turn up the gain on Scarlett Solo interface, I listen too much noise (crackly). But If I keep the gain low, the volume recording stay too down.

Move the mic closer to the guitar. 2"-4" will be good range for the Scarlett. I just got the 2i4 and the gain is weak too. The 12th fret is a good spot to try.
If it is too "trebly" try move the mic to the bridge or slant it to point more to the soundhole. Avoid putting the mic directly in front of the soundhole because the recording could get too boomy. Experiment with the mic placement to find the best sound.

Is behringer U-phoria umc22 set as default recording device in Windows?

Thanks to help, Tbman.
I will do these tests with the B1 mic. But and the gain on scarlett solo? Do you keep at the middle to avoid noise?

Your speakers should be plugged into the interface, not directly to the computer.

Hmm no.......

There seems to be some genuine confusion here or am I missing something? A properly configured interface should, in total, take the place of any Windows sound device. I would think you’d want all audio to be routed to and from the interface. That’s primarily why we invest in interfaces in the first place. That would not only be applicable to the DAW but also any audio generated from the computer in other scenarios ie: YouTube, iTunes ect.

Eliminating anything “Windows” would have to do with audio would most likely be my very first step. I dunno and like I said maybe I’ve missed something here?

The recording interface should just be used as that. There is no need to plug your speakers into it also.

Naw Barry that’s simply not the case. An interface (among others things) is about the quality of the conversion. Analog to digital conversion going in, and equally as important, digital to analog conversion going out. If one buy an interface to improve the quality of A/D and D/A but chooses to ignore the D/A stage the whole process is compromised. As I mention I’d never use anything Windows has to offer by way of sound. That’s clearly not their gig :)

No sense in buying an interface only to degrade things (and severely so) at the output stage. I’d refer back to Fran’s question (which no one responded to) earlier in the thread. There really does seem to be some fundamental misconceptions goin on here and we’d do well (for all who might be new here) to clear up :)

Uhh...I was wondering the same.

Nah, no good. Keep the speakers separate.