microphone settings?

[John Ferguson]

WOW! That Mic Port Pro looks fantastic! I’m tossed between first just getting the Mic Port Pro and trying it with a few mics I have. I have a 30 year old Audio Technica mic and another Samson mic. Both with the “standard” 1/4″ jacks. Geez, I think I have a few Radio Shack 49.00 mics too.
I was looking on ebay for both the mic and Mic Port. Only found the mic itself. I’m wondering if maybe just better off going new with the mic though.
By the way Emmett, if you want to hear a sample of what I think is kinda a megaphone sound, post me you email or email me direct at jfergus1@tampabay.rr.com

You guys are great help!

[John Ferguson]

Well Guys, based on your recomendations, I’ve ordered both the Mic Port Pro and the SM57! Please don’t tell me the voice on the sample sounded fine! LOL!

[Emmett Andrews]

I’ve never spoken to anyone that regretted buying an SM57. They hold value extremely well too, so if you want to sell it in a year or two, you’ll still be able to sell it on eBay for a decent amount. They sound great and they last forever. I know of at least a couple of commercially released albums that used an SM57 on vocals. It’s not common, but it does happen. I guarantee no one ever used your Samson on a commercial release. Let us know what you think!

[John Ferguson]

Hey Guys… Got the SM57 and MicPort today. In a word, WOW!
I just had to test things imediately and without voice went in and did a bit and a MAJOR difference. The sound is so full and rich! A couple of things I see are that I really need to either boost the gain on the micport to about 75% or after the recording boost the vocal volume in Audition about 15db. I’m thinking I’m doing something wrong? Also with the Samson in Vista Control Panel/Sound/Recording/I had a “Levels” tab and “Advanced” tab. I could adjust the mic gain there. I do not have that tab now assuming it’s because the micport has the dial? In the Advanced tab drop down box where you select the sample ratem the only options are 1 channel, 24 bit, 44100 Hz (Studio Quality),96000 Hz (Studio Quality) and just 96000 Hz. It was defaulted to 96000 Hz. I’ve tried the other but it says not supported. Still all 1 channel, although in Audition when playback it plays 2 channel.
My main concern is the if I’m using the correct word, the gain is so low.

[John Ferguson]

I forgot to add that I did press the phantom power button on the bottom with no change so I left it off.

[Emmett Andrews]

Yes, the gain is low with dynamic mics on the MicPort Pro. There isn’t much you can do about it. There should be a switch on the device to 44100. You’ll just have to boost the gain from inside Audition after you record. This isn’t ideal, but it should still be much better than what you were previously using.

[John Ferguson]

Thanks for replying Emmett. Ok, no problem. As long as it wasn’t something I was doing wrong!
When you say, “There should be a switch on the device to 44100” On the bottom is the button that says 48v 24/96.
I tested with it on and off and no difference. Do you think I should use it in the on position still?

[Willie Toth]

Signal tp noise ratio is so important when recording audio this is why a good mic pre is a must … When you boost your gain you may get some noise but you should be able to remove it by capturing “JUST THE NOISE” and saving that as a FFT then using it on the whole file … You should be setting your session settings on 441 the sample rate on the mic isn’t an issue ………….. WILLIE

incidental poet

[Emmett Andrews]

I believe Audition would be the slave for the wordclock in the Micport, which is why it would only allow for 96k. Somewhere on the unit should be a switch…Or in the software that came with it (if any did). If the sample rates don’t lock, you will get really, really awful recordings…How low is the gain? If you record at 32-bit float, you will eliminate many of the noise floor issues because your digital floor will be at -144dB instead of -96dB. You will have to convert later, but it’s probably worth it.

[Emmett Andrews]

I believe Audition would be the slave for the wordclock in the Micport, which is why it would only allow for 96k. Somewhere on the unit should be a switch…Or in the software that came with it (if any did). If the sample rates don’t lock, you will get really, really awful recordings…How low is the gain? If you record at 32-bit float, you will eliminate many of the noise floor issues because your digital floor will be at -144dB instead of -96dB. You will have to convert later, but it’s probably worth it.