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Diane Maggipinto Spreading Snark Worldwide

Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 6679 Location: saul lay seetee youtee
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:07 am Post subject: |
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i embrace the glaze! it's all good. and delish!  _________________ sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!
www.d3voiceworks.com |
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sirmelja Contributore Level V

Joined: 15 Nov 2010 Posts: 156 Location: Cork, Ireland
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:56 am Post subject: |
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Fran, I have the 4033 as well. Got a used one on eBay for a good price and have been pretty happy with it so far. Of course, it's my first professional mic so I don't have any personal experience with any others
I have to say though that I was not at all happy with it during the early days when it was combined with the MicPort Pro. I had a LOT of hiss and, even after returning the first one for a replacement (great customer service from CEntrance btw), it never got much better. After talking things through with George Whittam, I made the move to the Apogee One and all is now well.
In my experience the M runs very hot. I had to keep the gain knob turned down low to limit it, which caused its own problems with needing to normalize the audio, noise gates, etc. Just be aware that if you start having problems with your new chain, you might want to look to the M first. Hope all goes well though and I'm just being alarmist  _________________ Arlene Cooke
Jamaican and international American/mid-Atlantic accents, but it's all just me!
www.ArleneCookeVO.com
www.JamaicanVoiceOver.com |
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Diane Maggipinto Spreading Snark Worldwide

Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 6679 Location: saul lay seetee youtee
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 12:24 pm Post subject: |
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that is SO interesting, arlene, because the gain on my M is shite! i always have to boost my recordings in post. hmmmmm . then a-gain (ha ha HA!), i have one of the first M s so things have probably changed since their string-and-can days. yep, it's still kicking from circa 2007. _________________ sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!
www.d3voiceworks.com |
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captain54 Lucky 700
Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 12:28 pm Post subject: |
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I have had the M for going on two years now and have used it extensively under all kinds of conditions and that thing has never given me one headache or cause for consternation.
I've used it with a 4033, a Studio Projects C1, an AT 2035 and about 5 or 6 other mics and never an issue
if by "hot' you mean temperature wise, the phantom power in the M warms the unit to a degree, but nothing that would seem to affect the performance.
I've had the mic pre gain anywhere from 1:00 -2:00 since day one and have treated my recording space accordingly and normalizing @ -3db brings it up to the proper level without all kinds of crap in the background. During the winter I've had to leave the furnace on at the other end of the house and have had to occasionally use the gate from the Waves RenVox, but never a complaint from a client that it was too heavy handed. |
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georgethetech The Gates of Troy

Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1878 Location: Topanga, CA
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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I really loved the M a lot until the QC started to slip. That's when I started sending Mac users to Apogee ONE. I still miss the simplicity of it, as sometimes the Apogee Maestro panel can be buggy and just convoluted.
Have a couple clients with the Shure X2u, no complaints yet. The ONE can provide a LOT more gain than the M or X2u, so that's a plus. _________________ If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder |
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Jen Gosnell A Hundred Dozen

Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 1290 Location: Portland, OR
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:05 am Post subject: |
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I first used my M with my Windows system, and then later compared the results of the same M gain setting when hooked up to my new MacBook Pro, and it was insane the different levels in that I was getting. Due to my initial experience with the Windows system, I originally thought that there was a problem with levels into the Mac being too low from the M , so I bought an Apogee One - but as it turned out the performance with it hooked up to the Mac was similar to what I got from the M . So like Arlene, I experienced the levels with the M being really hot, but only when used with Windows (I tried at least two different systems with different versions of Windows).
The support folks from CEntrance were nice to me but they didn't seem to have any answer as to why the performance with the two systems were different. Of course, at the time, I was taking the angle with them that it was a problem with the M and the Mac, not that there had been a problem with the M and my former Windows system. But they never said to me "yeah, that level of gain with a Win system might have produced too-hot levels due to Issue XYZ that we're aware of" even though I sent them a comparative recording and they observed that the Win levels were hot. They just seemed to give up after a while and suggested that I contact Apple for support (whose reps, in turn, recommended Apogee products, lol). _________________ jen@jengosnell.com
https://www.jengosnell.com
Skype: jen.gosnell
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Fran McClellan The Thirteenth Floor

Joined: 15 Feb 2010 Posts: 1314 Location: Middle of Nowhere, PA
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:52 am Post subject: |
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I have noticed that the levels are a bit on the low side with my Mac (haven't tried it on a Windows box yet). As far as noise though, it seems to be working like gangbusters...no hiss that I can hear and less noise overall.
Arlene - dang, I should have looked on EBay first! I usually do that, but I'm such an Amazon junkie that I didn't even think of it this time  _________________ Back into the murky lurk from whence I came
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"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon |
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sirmelja Contributore Level V

Joined: 15 Nov 2010 Posts: 156 Location: Cork, Ireland
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:23 am Post subject: |
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That's great news, Fran!
I actually tried mine both on Windows XP, then on a new Mac, with the same results.
Amazon for stuff I absolutely need new. eBay for stuff I need cheap! I've actually had pretty good luck with electronics there, and so far so good for the 4033. _________________ Arlene Cooke
Jamaican and international American/mid-Atlantic accents, but it's all just me!
www.ArleneCookeVO.com
www.JamaicanVoiceOver.com |
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D Voice Been Here Awhile

Joined: 26 Jun 2010 Posts: 232
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:50 pm Post subject: MPP levels and the TubPre |
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Interesting. I have been having just the opposite problem in Windows XP with the M - usually have to set the M gain level to somewhere between 3 and 5 o'clock to get a decent level.
Fran: any samples with the new mic and the M and the TubePre?
BTW whatever you decide to do, I recommend trying a swap or two with the tube in the TubePre. I really noticed difference in the sound coming through there. Not for all projects, but quite usable for certain things. |
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georgethetech The Gates of Troy

Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1878 Location: Topanga, CA
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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The reason I've found for wacky levels when recording on Windows 7 using the Windows Classic Wave driver is that the recording volume isn't set just with the gain control on the M , but also from a slider control buried deep in the Sound Control Panel. If you don't set the microphone level slider in Windows WAY down to like 15-20%, the levels are incredibly high.
This problem might go away if using the CEntrance Universal driver and ASIO instead (but as shown in another thread, ASIO can also be a PITA).
On Mac, the M Core Audio Driver disables the Sound Preferences Input volume slider, so you don't have the same problem with adjusting input gain from two locations...
Hope that makes sense. _________________ If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder |
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cyclometh King's Row

Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Posts: 1051 Location: Olympia, WA
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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For what it's worth I've never had level troubles with the M and its ASIO driver in Cubase. But given that Steinberg invented ASIO I'd expect it to work well in their products,heh. _________________ Corey "Vox Man" Snow
http://voxman.net |
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Fran McClellan The Thirteenth Floor

Joined: 15 Feb 2010 Posts: 1314 Location: Middle of Nowhere, PA
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 5:17 am Post subject: |
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@D - Sorry for the late response I haven't tried the new mic with the TubePRE yet, but I am interested in trying to swap the tube out like you suggested (even though I have NO idea how to do that...yet . Time for me to search YouTube for a "how-to" video) _________________ Back into the murky lurk from whence I came
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"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon |
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