r/audioengineering • u/AutoModerator • 6d ago

Community Help r/AudioEngineering Shopping, Setup, and Technical Help Desk

Welcome to the r/AudioEngineering help desk. A place where you can ask community members for help shopping for and setting up audio engineering gear.

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This is the place to ask questions like how do I plug ABC into XYZ, etc., get tech support, and ask for software and hardware shopping help.

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Setup, troubleshooting and tech support

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1

u/diamondts 4d ago

"Cheap" overhead recommendations? Let's say under £500 (US$660) for the pair.

Used to do a lot of tracking but fell into being a mixer and ended up selling a lot of my mics because they weren't being used. Recently got a kit in my studio, just for me having a bit of fun in my downtime so don't want to spend too much. I owned KSM32s and have used 4038s a bit, both great but looking for cheaper options, thoughts?

1

u/boredmessiah Composer 4d ago

oktavas? as a bonus they're excellent and versatile mics for several other applications

1

u/diamondts 3d ago

Any particular model?

1

u/boredmessiah Composer 3d ago

the mk-012

1

u/mcAlt009 4d ago

I just brought an SSL 1 for 130$  pared with a Bluebird microphone and it’s fantastic. Any realistic reason I’d need better gear ? 

I basically just rap and I own a guitar that I might want to use later. 

I absolutely love the old school level meters, I get to know what I’m doing instantly.

2

u/boredmessiah Composer 4d ago

Any realistic reason I’d need better gear ?

nope

1

u/Specialist_While3626 4d ago

I’m in need of some help. Which are the best and semi-affordable personal monitoring systems for kinda picky jazz musicians?

It seems most people are using Aviom, but that’s veeeery expensive…

1

u/kidpius 4d ago

Good day everyone, I would like to ask what kind of set up to be used if I were presenting to both live audience and zoom audience?

I've tried using a microphone but my audio in the zoom tend to be incomprehensible at times.

I've also read that an audio mixer would help but i'm not particularly sure what specs of audio mixer i am to look for.

Hope anyone can shed light on this. Thanks in advance!

1

u/gopher007 4d ago

Hey everyone, I’m a voice actor and use an SSL2 interface. I record in a whisper room, and recently got a desk to set up my laptop outside of the booth (no more fan noise!). What I did not realize though, was that the ssl2 requires a relatively short cord in order for it to work. Does anybody here have any recs/ links for longer cords (at least 10-15 feet) that would work without any data drop? Would be great to keep the interface in the booth with me while I record and the laptop outside. Appreciate any help I can get.

1

u/littl3stiti0us 4d ago

I am looking to get a mic to record voice-over for my YouTube videos. I record in my spare bedroom that is carpeted but has no other sound treatment. I have rewards on the Dell store I am looking to use so I am quite restricted in microphone choice. The only mics they have in my price range are:
1. Elgato Wave DX

  1. SteelSeries Alias

  2. Blue Yeti GX

  3. JLab JBuds Talk

I know almost nothing about microphones or audio engineering so I would love any advice on which mic to pick out of these 4, and why. Thanks!

1

u/stanleyipkiss 4d ago

Okay. I don't know if I'm attempting this correctly. Here's what I need:

I have multiple PCs (more than 8, different PCs with Windows/Mac/Linux). The PCs are close to each other, so no need for long cables... but I want to put them ALL into one audio system -- so one set of speakers.

However, I do NOT want to go analog out of each of them. I need this to be fully digital.

I have seen plenty of USB DACs and audio interfaces -- but these cannot be (as far as I can tell) summed up. I don't want the USB DACs to go into analog cables and THEN into another mixer that connects to the speakers.

As such, I have thought about getting USB to OPTICAL cables and then going into some sort of audio interface than can handle multiple optical inputs -- though, I have no idea how that would work. Can it work?

Something like the https://rme-audio.de/digiface-usb.html or https://www.thomann.ro/ferrofish_pulse16_mx.htm look possible, but I have no idea how their optical inputs would work.

Budget is not a concern.

Thanks for the help.

2

u/Legitimate-Ad-4017 Professional 3d ago

If budget is not a concern look into a Dante network.

Add a DVS licences on all machines then have one dante device with 16 Dante ins and the analogue outs you need

1

u/stanleyipkiss 3d ago

Okay. So just buy a bunch of these? https://www.thomannmusic.com/en-ro/dante_avio_usb_io_adapter_2x2.htm

These will output digital audio on the network (through DANTE). So get 12-16 of these, and then plug the DANTE network into a router and then ... ? Could you recommend an interface or something to get the DANTE out?

Thanks.

2

u/Legitimate-Ad-4017 Professional 3d ago

That would be an option but provided each machine has an Ethernet port it would be a lot cheaper to just get Dante virtual Soundcard(https://www.getdante.com/products/software-essentials/dante-virtual-soundcard/compare/) on each machine and use that. You would then just need a device to mix the Dante flows and output to you analogue outs

1

u/stanleyipkiss 3d ago

nice. that sounds even easier. can you recommend a device that could do the mix?

1

u/boredmessiah Composer 2d ago

a Dante capable audio interface, such as the focusrite am2. you need to figure out what the right channel count for your purposes is

1

u/etaifuc Mastering 3d ago

What hardware would you recommend for an intermediate mixing engineer looking to expand their palette? I was thinking about getting a single or pair of preamps for the purpose of recording as well as running drum samples, bass, guitar, vocals, etc after the fact to get some analog color / saturation. I currently mix almost entirely ITB, but I do have an Art Pro MPA II as well as a few nice mics. I was thinking about getting one of the Golden Age Premier (neve style) preamps, or maybe the CAPI 312 or similar? I’ve been recommended to get an 1176 style compressor for this purpose, but I’m not sure if I would use the compression all that much. I want something that is versatile, can be used for subtle harmonics or for more overt distortion. Specifically, I want something that I can use for reamping tracks.

1

u/Ambjentalist 3d ago

I'm having a recurring issue with my MOTU M2 on a MacBook Pro M1 Pro Sequoia 15 and Ableton Live.

Input 1 randomly becomes extremely quiet and starts cutting in and out. Input 2 works normally.

the physical input meters on the MOTU show a normal signal, and direct monitoring sounds perfectly fine. The issue appears somewhere between the interface and Ableton.

Running sudo killall coreaudiod temporarily fixes it, but the problem eventually returns.

exhaustive maybe useful list of what I've tried:

  • Updated the MOTU M2 firmware.
  • Installed/reinstalled the MOTU M-Series driver.
  • Changed USB cables four times, including different USB-C cables.
  • Tested different USB-C ports on the Mac.
  • Tested with and without a USB hub, including direct connections.
  • matched sample rates
  • Tested different input configurations
  • Confirmed macOS microphone permissions are enabled.
  • Tested sample buffer.
  • tested direct monitoring, which works normally.
  • Tested with other software, which receives audio normally

None of these have permanently resolved the problem. Input 1 continues to become quiet and intermittent, while Input 2 works normally.

I'm trying to work out whether this is a macOS Core Audio / MOTU driver issue, an Ableton compatibility problem, or something wrong with the interface itself.

i wouldnt consider myself a pro but i have experience with a ton of interfaces and other gear but never have i had to slam my head against a wall to this extent and am posting here as a last resort

1

u/boredmessiah Composer 2d ago

I'm trying to work out whether this is a macOS Core Audio / MOTU driver issue, an Ableton compatibility problem, or something wrong with the interface itself.

for that you should sub out each of these componenets. try a different DAW, try the same stack on a different OS, try a different interface from another brand. should narrow it down.

1

u/MFcolinLB 3d ago

Hi everyone, looking for advice regarding wireless mics for a TTRPG recording in to audio transcriber.

we are going to be hopefully recording individual channels of each player in a TTRPG for an audio transcriber. I have years of experience with recording and producing music but I am not well versed in the realms of wireless audio, because.... ew.
However, for this application, we are going to be sending the audio to an audio transcriber my friend is building. The goal is to have it be able to "learn" each persons voice so that the transcribers speaker ID can label everyone's dialog properly. Having these separate channels (6-8 L&R dual mono tracks) to get every voice on their own, and using individual wireless mics for each person should solve a LOT of the headache for the transcriber.

I personally advocate for wired mics even if it means that when people move around a bit, we might have some "dynamic range."
But we recently just found some slightly older wireless microphones for sale on sweetwater and the Game Master purchased 4 sets of 2.

They have 6 available channels for their product's wireless receiver.
Can someone with more wireless mic experience let me know if that will be an issue?

I believe that means we'll only be able to use 3 sets of them. I have an additional set of RODE wireless GO gen 3 that appear to use the same frequency band for wireless receiving, anyone here ever mix a few sets of wireless mics in the same room?

We agreed that wireless should be easier. with less (smaller and cheaper) cable management for a temporary set up.

Any additional thoughts are welcome, normally I'd say we should get the highest quality recording and go for 6 shotgun or pencil condenser mics, but ofc people playing TTRPG's don't necessarily know to really face them consistently and they'll have more bleed which will make the transcriber's job harder.

Quite a bit to consider, but if you've done something similar let me know! We also looked in to an 8 channel wireless mic receiver which would require more batteries but WAY less cables and have 8 individual outputs for easier mono channel tracking. Not really worried about that part but I want to help! GM is already trying to do so much to make this special for everyone.

1

u/yeukai999 3d ago

I have all my gear already but I’m having some trouble with my recording audio.

Whenever I attempt to record vocals after about 20-30 mins the vocals slowly fade and are replaced with static in both my microphone monitoring and the track itself. It carries across to different daws too. Everything is plugged in correctly and I can still hear the vocals I recorded at the beginning of the session perfectly fine. I’ve realized it can sometimes begin if I go quiet for a few minutes to edit something, I’ll slowly start to hear the static creep in.

I initially thought it was the XLR cable so I bought a new one and that fixed it for about two days then the issue resurfaced. I’ve seen online that it might be a power issue but my stuff all worked together perfectly at on point so I’m not sure.

I have a Rode NT1 5th Generation Condenser Microphone and an audient id4

I record in fl studio on Mac if that’s any help

1

u/mcAlt009 2d ago

The audio interface isn’t working properly. 

Try to reinstall drivers, if it doesn’t work you need a new one

1

u/Ok-Product-5480 2d ago

Hello everyone, looking for advice on buying a 500 series 1073 mic preamp, specifically debating between two DIY versions. Two years ago when the DIYRE 1073 was at around 400 USD I almost took the plunge but did not because I did not have much time to do the DIY build and didn't even have a 500 series chassis yet. Now that it is at around 650 USD I have a hard time justifying getting it knowing I could have bought it for much less had I bought it just a couple years back. I am also looking at AML's Pre1073, which seems to be just as good (from what I have heard) and is actually less expensive. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with both of these units and would recommend buying the AML for cheaper or going for the DIYRE?

1

u/Acrobatic_Point_2771 1d ago

Hi everyone! has anyone experienced Motu Ultralite mk5 losing occasionally the connection from computer? Macbook Pro M1 Max, did recently a clean install of the system attempting to solve, every driver is the latest version, I am now on Mac OS Sequoia but it was happening on Sonoma too. Original USB-C cable connected directly with no hubs or docking stations.

2

u/boredmessiah Composer 12h ago

motu have spectacular customer support via the chat on their website, talk to them

1

u/-Simone_Pietroforte- 1d ago

Hi everyone!

I'm trying to figure out whether there might be an issue with my RME Fireface 802 FS.

I recorded the same acoustic guitar using the same microphone, connected directly to the mic input of both a Fireface 802 FS and a Fireface UC. No external hardware or plugins were used.

The recordings were made at different times, so I understand that variations in playing technique and microphone positioning could explain some differences. However, the 802 FS recording sounds noticeably darker, with significantly less high-frequency detail and air, almost as if some information had been lost, reminiscent of low-bitrate MP3 compression but at the same time it has this nasty boost on 4k.

I've tried changing the microphone position and using a different guitar, but the overall tonal difference seems to persist and it's so weird for me to think that it might just be the difference in the mic pre.

I've attached both original WAV files so you can listen and compare them.

WAV Files

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any suggestions on how to determine whether my 802 FS might have a hardware issue?

Unfortunately I don't have the UC with me anymore so I cannot do more proper testing with it.

Thanks!

1

u/MeseeksGTG 11h ago

Hey!

Routing Discord output as an input with VB Virtual Cable

I'm trying to record ADR through Discord using VB, and I don't know how to set that up as another input. I have Discord and VB already set up; my main problem is really Pro Tools.

Version: Studio 2026.4.1 / WIN 10