VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Gp]

I used a mackie 1402 vlz pro for 3 years before I found out that it had a bad output and bad pre's. ( purchased it new) I just wondered why I had no volume and noise when I cranked the gain. It never changed sounds much regardless of what outboard pre or sound card I used. I had no idea....then one day with help it was tracked down. I ended up taking to the place I bought and they tested it. It was a couple months away from being out of warranty. Mackie replaced it...free of charge.

[ronphi]

I pretty well eliminated the computer itself when I tried it with my wife's laptop. Nothing plugged in but the mic and mixer.

Tests: All fans off, air handling off, TVs off, room door closed, computer compartment door closed.
1) Nothing plugged in. -72 db
2) USB cable only -72 db
3) Mixer turned off -72 db
4) Mixer turned on (all pots down) -72 db
5) Mixer on (all pots u -72 db
6) Mic plugged in - phantom off, pots down -72 db
7) Phantom on - pots down -72 db
8.) Built-in preamp up to full -72 db
9) Pre up full, channel up full -72 db
10) Pre 50%, Channel 75%, Main Mix 75% (this setting gives me approx -12 db voice) -45 db to -30 db
11) HPF on drops to -50 db to -55 db
All meter readings from Sound Forge. Mixer shows an occasional bump to -20 db when SF meter reads around -30db. Mixer and SF don't track. I am guessing it is the difference between digital and analog metering. 0 - +1 on mixer gives approx -12 on SF.
Similar readings when using condenser mic.

I am having a bit of difficulty with the web site I am building. The audio clips are only playing the first 3-4 seconds. These links are to a public FTP site. In order to hear them you will need to download the file. Sorry about this. I need to contact Microsoft about the site problem.

Here is a link to the noise recording. I havae amplified it to better hear and analyze the noise.
This is the Dry voice with noise under.
_________________
Ron Phillips

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urging for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

[Bill Campbell]

Ron:
I downloaded your files into my editor. Definately noisy.
I don't think it's a USB issue.

Sounds like a mismatched level to me.

1) Have you tried the other mic inputs?

2) Could be a bad connector in the mic cable. Try or buy another one.
Good quality, short as possible. XLRs use phase cancelling to keep noise down. Connectors do go bad while plugging and unplugging.

Beyond that, perhaps there's something wrong with the Alesis mixer.
It's not unusual for these low cost mixers to have a problem.
While the equipment is pretty good, the quality control can lack.

Best of luck. I know these things are frustrating.

Bill
_________________
www.asapaudio.com

[sdelgo]

What are the specs of the computer? hard drive speed? Did you route all non-pro sounds to another aouput source on the computer? Do you get the same sound using cubase instead of sound forge? ASIO drivers updated?
Also... try connecting a cd player to one of the inputs and see how that sounds with a cd playing to eliminate the mic/cable.
a few things to check

Steve
_________________
you'll always have something on your plate... if you keep your bearings straight.

www.steviedproductions.com

[ronphi]

Bill, I have tried the other inputs with the same result. I am using a 20' Quantum Audio Designs Q-3100, oxygen free, balanced line/mic cable. I will look for a shorter one to try.

Steve, I am not sure what specs you are asking for. The drive is WD400BB-75CAA0 (Western Digital). I found two speed specs. One says 5400 and the other says 7200. It is an older drive. Not shown on the WD site, but of course it is an OEM product from Dell so it might not show up on the WD site.

I don't know how to route the non-pro sounds to another output.

I don't have Cubase but I have tried both Sound Forge Audio Studio and the full Sound Forge 8 as well as Audacity. I have a copy of Adobe Audition I will try. What version of Cubase would be good for simple VO?

Not sure if my sound card is ASIO compatible. I have SB Live (again pre-installed by Dell).

I really don't think it is computer, mic or cable related. I have the same problem with a dynamic mic (with a different cable). The only difference in settings on the mixer is that I have to jack up the pre, channel and master gains to almost max to get the voice level I have with the Rode. It is no better when I use my wife's laptop. My gut feeling is that it's the house, but I know the mixer may be the culprit. I am going to try an earlier suggestion to use my car as a booth. This should tell me if it is the mixer or the house.
_________________
Ron Phillips

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urging for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

[sdelgo]

Try this link... there is a "how do I set up my multilink" setup link toward the bottom of the page.

Steve

http://www.alesis.com/support.php?cat=Multimix
_________________
you'll always have something on your plate... if you keep your bearings straight.

www.steviedproductions.com

[ronphi]

Well, "DUH" Steve. I had Sound Forge already installed when I purchased the mixer so I didn't even know I had Cubase. I have it installed now. I need to run through the setup and get a quick tutorial on the software but after doing the setup for the mixer I still have the noise. Further testing is required on my part though.

Thanks for the link.
_________________
Ron Phillips

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urging for investment in the radio in the 1920s.