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  #1  
Old 08-26-2019, 06:31 PM
jchabalk jchabalk is offline
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Default PORTABLE: Dynamic Mic on Mac / iPad

I have an AT4050 mic and am trying to figure out a relatively portable recording setup. Most of the time i just set it up / take it down in my room at home but i'd love to be able to take it with me too.

I just picked up a Yamaha AG-03. It appears to do exactly what i want but i can't get over the fact that i've got the gain cranked pretty high and am hearing that in the recording (although in the headphone monitoring mix it sounds really good).

I'm a complete amateur when it comes to recording and am trying to learn at the same time here.

I'm using garageband primarily and will also tryout cuebasis (works with the AG03). I'm interested in being able to effectively record single-mic acoustic guitar + vocals

Pros:
  • Ease of use with Mac / iPad
  • no connector drama on ipad (usb battery to ag-03; usb cable to camera connection kit on ipad; done)
  • +48v phantom
  • mic and instrument input
  • onboard eq, reverb

Cons:
  • I'm really cranking the gain. Mixer at 0DB, gain knob at 2 o-clock
  • sounds gainy, and low volume on playback in garageband.

I just ordered a PreSonus Audiobox iTwo to try out too, i'll report back on how that goes. I'm working within the return window for both of these trying to figure out a good solution.
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  #2  
Old 08-26-2019, 10:02 PM
Chipotle Chipotle is offline
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Did you switch off the pad on the mic channel?
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  #3  
Old 08-27-2019, 12:09 AM
jchabalk jchabalk is offline
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Yes, i don't have the pad on the mic or on the mixer enabled.

I've been watching videos and maybe the low level i'm getting is ok. i expected that a reasonable level would be achieved somewhere near the middle of the gain level rather than as high as i have it.

I also probably need to make sure the compressor is set up properly - which might help my situation.

The weird little Yamaha DSP app shows the level around -30db getting maybe as high as -18db. As i turn up the gain a little more it'll start clipping the louder bass notes though.

In garageband it's difficult to tell but it sounds good on playback at the right output volume. I probably just need to rely on the normalization of exporting the track.
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Old 08-27-2019, 06:34 PM
jchabalk jchabalk is offline
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I got the presonus itwo today, here are my initial impressions on it:

Through a few quick tests it sounds basically the same as the yamaha does, which is to say it sounds good. I again had to crank the gain pretty close to all the way to get a good signal out of it but the signal is pretty clean and sounds great.

The unit itself is kind of big, light, and hollow, it feels durable enough but alsos feels a little cheap. The yamaha is pretty heavy and stays put on the desk, the knobs and slider(s) on the yamaha do feel a bit fragile though. If i was tossing one in a bag and letting it bounce around a little i think the presonus would fare better.

Overall i like the mixer form factor of the yamaha a lot more, it's more usable on a table or desk in front of you.

The presonus doesn't have the on-board eq, compression, and reverb that the yamaha does which is a pretty nice feature when you just want to set up and go without screwing around in GB.
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  #5  
Old 08-27-2019, 09:38 PM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jchabalk View Post
I have an AT4050 mic and am trying to figure out a relatively portable recording setup. Most of the time i just set it up / take it down in my room at home but i'd love to be able to take it with me too.

I just picked up a Yamaha AG-03. It appears to do exactly what i want but i can't get over the fact that i've got the gain cranked pretty high and am hearing that in the recording (although in the headphone monitoring mix it sounds really good).

I'm a complete amateur when it comes to recording and am trying to learn at the same time here.

I'm using garageband primarily and will also tryout cuebasis (works with the AG03). I'm interested in being able to effectively record single-mic acoustic guitar + vocals

Pros:
  • Ease of use with Mac / iPad
  • no connector drama on ipad (usb battery to ag-03; usb cable to camera connection kit on ipad; done)
  • +48v phantom
  • mic and instrument input
  • onboard eq, reverb

Cons:
  • I'm really cranking the gain. Mixer at 0DB, gain knob at 2 o-clock
  • sounds gainy, and low volume on playback in garageband.

I just ordered a PreSonus Audiobox iTwo to try out too, i'll report back on how that goes. I'm working within the return window for both of these trying to figure out a good solution.
A couple of comments.

First, your mic is not a dynamic, it's a condenser mic.

Second, I didn't see any reference to how far back from the mic your source is. Someone had a same problem a few years ago and after a couple dozen back and forth posts he said the mic was 3 feet from his guitar.

It might seem obvious, but sometimes that's not the case.
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Old 08-27-2019, 11:12 PM
jchabalk jchabalk is offline
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Thanks for the comment! Apologies for screwing up the thread title, you're right, of course.

I've been playing with the distance and placement. I'm definitely not 3' back, i've been varying the angle and placement of the mic while i'm testing but i'm measuring in inches, maybe out to 12" but also 3-4 inches out.

I was using it some more today, and as part of that i played back the short recordings i made the other night and what i'm getting from the yamaha sounds really good. Part of that is getting the eq into a subtle but effective state too.

I'm going to keep going with these
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Old 08-28-2019, 06:53 AM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jchabalk View Post
Thanks for the comment! Apologies for screwing up the thread title, you're right, of course.

I've been playing with the distance and placement. I'm definitely not 3' back, i've been varying the angle and placement of the mic while i'm testing but i'm measuring in inches, maybe out to 12" but also 3-4 inches out.

I was using it some more today, and as part of that i played back the short recordings i made the other night and what i'm getting from the yamaha sounds really good. Part of that is getting the eq into a subtle but effective state too.

I'm going to keep going with these
A mic position that's 6" to 12" back should give you plenty of signal into your interface. A gain setting of 2 o'clock doesn't sound unreasonable, it depends how the manufacturer designed the interface as to what the output signal gain will be for any particular knob position.

After that, make sure that whatever DAW you use isn't set up to attenuate your input signal. If your interface has a clipping indicator then adjust the gain to slightly lower than that clipping point. At that level you should be looking at somewhere around 0 db being shown when you look at the waveform display.

If you have that then the output gain structure has to be checked to find out why your playback volume is low. Make sure you have no attenuation of the output signal in your DAW settings. After that it's all in your monitoring amp gain control.
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  #8  
Old 08-28-2019, 09:32 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jchabalk View Post
I have an AT4050 mic and am trying to figure out a relatively portable recording setup.

I'm using garageband primarily and will also tryout cuebasis (works with the AG03). I'm interested in being able to effectively record single-mic acoustic guitar + vocals
Hi jchabalk

I tried to record 'simply' with my iPhones and iPads thinking it is usually with me, and has capability to capture high end audio. I found myself dragging around a lot of gear and it wasn't as simple and straightforward as I hoped.

I eventually opted for a Zoom H4n (which has XLR inputs, with phantom power, and ¼" inputs), using whichever mic was appropriate. It didn't matter if I recorded on the iPad or H4n, the recordings were still going to need editing in post (which is faster and easier on a computer). My setup is faster and more reliable with the Zoom than with the iPad.

With an external recorder, I'm recording to SD cards which go directly into my computer for editing.

I'm just offering this as a suggestion. I didn't like the mess of small (and often unreliable) dedicated cables, chargers, and the interface and other hardware I was using. It rapidly became very un-simple.

If I were jumping into mobile recording today, I'd start with the Zoom H6 or Zoom F series field recorder, or something like a Tascam DR-60DMKII field recorder.

I realize you may just be exploring the idea of using your existing gear, so exploring the software/hardware options of the iPad is intriguing.

For me, real-world recorders where I can quickly set up and adjust volume, and hit a single record button and go produce superior results with less work. And they are portable since I only need a single mic/stand, cable and the recorder (and a change of batteries for backup).

Hope this adds to the discussion…

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