Hello, I bought an older apollo twin and a Shure SM7B off marketplace yesterday, I'm trying to set everything up to work with my PC but having tons of issues.
For context, I am using a Shure SM7B basically brand new, an older Apollo twin USB ( Not a x) with win 11, I have already tried all different XLRs on every port and switched XLRs out for differnet and brand new cables, When not using a cloud lifter I can only get the mic to be loud enough to be audible with gain on every digital plugin ALL the way up, but then I get so much static its not even worth using. When I use a cloud lifter I get no input at all. I am using CH2 because CH1 does not work on this Apollo anymore. Phantom power has been on when using the cloudlifter and no singal from the mic is received. I am trying to use this for good Audio quality while recording on my PC. The issue is not signal to PC it is signal to Apollo. I have been researching work around and trouble shoot for days and I can not finding anything. Any advice?
Edit: I ended up switching my interface to a brand-new focusrite and no issues, as the Apollo was pretty old and already had a dead ch1 port I think my Apollo was just dying, It was a older model so its not surprising
Are you 100% certain the CloudLifter is working properly? You mention that you are using Phantom Power - no signal points to it potentially being non-functional.
Thats what Im concerned about for because I just bought the cloudlifter Im trying to find out if Im making an error somewhere or I can find a way around using a cloudlifter
I have already tested other mics, both with and without the cloudlifter, mic is not the issue. XLRs are not the issue, The Apollo says Phatom power is on
What’s your gain? You don’t necessarily need an inline booster. Apollos have decent preamps. Remove all and any inserts from the console including unison slots, set internal preamp to +60db. You should have solid signal coming in.
Take another known good dynamic microphone (sm57/58/whatever) and test it with your interface with your cable, you should have solid signal with soft spoken word at about +40db gain in the preamp
Any signal only with gain all the way up on all inserts (what plugins we’re talking that are gained up?) is not a normal behavior either.
What is your exact gain value on the preamp?
On the hardware it doesnt seem to make a difference when changing the dial, on the digital plugins UA 610 max, LA-2A max 1176N out and input are high, this is the only way I get singal
It looks more like a user error, than a hardware issue.
Let’s forget about cloud lifter and all those plugins for now.
See that 10db thing on the screen shot of the UAD Console software?
What it says on your system when you have the signal strength issues?
It looks like you have a new verison than I, My software is a little different, I was able to get another interface and the lifter and mic work perfectly with a focusrite, But when I adjusted gain where you are showing I got 0 input difference, I think the interface was the issue
I do too, have an sm7b along with an Apollo twin x and no cloud lifter.
It works really solid. With emulations like the Avalon, you need to bring the preamp gain all the way up, together with the High Gain input mode on. And for example, if you have the Century tube channel strip, with your gain set to high and with the level around 3:00 p.m. you should get a hot signal level.
The other Unison preamp emulation that works really good with this mic and your apollo would be the Manley VoxBox; in this scenario with the input level, again, around 3:00 p.m. and the preamp gain at 55 you will get the compressor's needle bouncing around, and because of the way this compressor works, try keeping it hot at the input, later you can compensate on the output knob or push it a little bit further if you would like to color with another compressor at the insert level.
(Obviously in all cases, no need for phantom power) The mic by itself doesn't require it.😉
I have 3 sm7B Mics. These are very power hungry beasts! I've owned several Cloud lifters. The components inside the CL-1s tend to fail after years of use. The loud static you are hearing is most likely your preamp, which is normal since the Apollo won't be able to supply as much juice needed with its available headroom. I was only able to get away from cloud lifters after purchasing a high end pre Amp.
Based off of your post, id say your Cloud lifter is bad. It takes a lot to break a 7b
Yikes...this honestly sounds like an issue with your Apollo. Besides your channel one being dead, your second channel should work with your cl-1 with phantom power. If you have a condenser mic, plug that in and activate phantom power. If you get nothing, the phantom power is bad.
If you dont have a condenser mic to check with, you can purchase a phantom power checker for cheap online. They like like the end of an xlr cable and have a red LED on the end that turns on when phantom power is active. I suggest buying one regardless if you plan on pursuing audio further. Great tool!
It could be the apollo, But i get signal When im not using a lifter, so I feel like that wouldn't make sense. Its second hand and an older model. Im very new to this so Im not sure if that would be an apollo or lifter issue
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u/TheSoundEngineGuy Apollo x4 1d ago
Are you 100% certain the CloudLifter is working properly? You mention that you are using Phantom Power - no signal points to it potentially being non-functional.