VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[iladelf]

Hey folks,

The Behringer I have runs VERY hot! I've looked at the bottom of it; seems to have a "vent" in the upper right-hand corner of the bottom, but it's not very big, and when in use, creates enough heat that it nearly cannot be handled (i.e. physically touched) for longer than a couple of seconds.

Any suggestions or solutions you've run across? I'm guessing I'll have to get some kind of mini fan to either exhale the hot air on blow cool air in; not sure which.

The excess heat can't be good for the thing, long term, so that's what I'm trying to fix.

I also wish it had a power switch so that I could turn it off without unplugging it all the time when not in use. Have ta get a 6-outlet patch cord with a switch to accomplish this, I plum reckon.

[Bruce]

I don't have one of those, but if it's getting that hot instantly, sounds like something's wrong. I wouldn't use it until I got it checked out.


B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Bill Campbell]

It should not be hot. Is the power supply seperate, or built into the mixer?
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[tackerman]

Bruce is right on... if it's so hot you can't touch it I'd quit using it immediately. A fire in the studio is no picnic.

[Yoda117]

I'm with Bruce on this, but check the user manual... it might have a spec sheet with the operating temp. While I doubt it, it might just run hot.

That said, there's a reason that no Behringer products are welcome in my studio... too many issues with heat and power. They've been fined in the US several times for problems relating to these (there is a standard set for devices operating in the US).
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[iladelf]

Hmm, Yoda; thanks for the info (and everyone else).

So, what mic preamp/mixer would you recommend that's not going to break the bank? At GuitarCenter, where I bought this, we tried a tube one, but it didn't do the trick with my mic (an old EV MC100).

I like using a mixer for headphone monitoring. My sound card is the M-Audio 1010LT, therefore I need somefin extra (i.e. a mixer) to monitor with a headset.

BTW, the Xenyx502 specs showed no operating temp. info in the specs. Let's just say, just south of WHITE HOT!

[billelder]

I use the Mackie 1202VLZ and love it. Good reviews and nice mic pre's. I think Sam Ash has them for $200 with only 4 left. Otherwise you'll ned to get the newest model...the Mackie 1202VLZ3 at about $300.

[Yoda117]

My first question has to do with the mic. The MC-100 isn't something I'd use or recommend for VO. It's better for live vocals, as opposed to the RE-20 or RE-27.

That said, any clean preamp with 60 - 65dB or so of gain will do just fine.
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[iladelf]

Cripes! This is the thing I was trying to avoid when getting into this line of work! Every time I turn around...

1. A particular software program I buy doesn't do what I want, then I have to buy new (I try to download trial software first, but not always feasable).

2. A particular piece of hardware doesn't "quite" work right, or do what I want it to do. Since I'm about 90 miles from any halfway-decent supply house, I have to lug my durned PC with all the other extras to the place to test. And then, spend more money replacing the hardware that doesn't "quite" work right.

Makes me wish I would have stuck with a basic PC sound card and mic to begin with. I know in the long run what I'm doing is right, but I may have put the cart before the horse at this point.

Long and short? I'll continue to use the Behringer; I'll attempt to hang it off my table to give it clear air instead of an 1/8" gap against the table, and maybe a cheap $5 minifan from WalMart to stir said air. BTW, I don't mind the existing mic. My nephew and his wife listened to some of my "test" recordings, and thought they sounded fine.

Thanks for letting me vent!

[billelder]

I am certainly sorry for your troubles. I know how frustrating it an be especially when getting computers to cooperate. Being a considerable distance from a computer store can be a real inconvenience...not to mention time consuming! Most importantly I want you to be safe. Like others have said, please be careful around those hot electronics.

[CWToo]

[iladelf]

Well, I seem to have solved the heat issue. I'm letting the vent area on the bottom hang over the edge of my table, and that apparently is giving it enough breathing room to run much cooler. It's still warm, but not fireplace hot like before.

Alas, now a new issue. I'm picking up hum from the mic. A mic cord swap helped somewhat, but it's just plain weird. Moving the mic around can make it better, worse, or almost disappear.

May have to fiddle with it in post once I get some good recordings done. I'm using Magix Music Studio 12 Deluxe (recommended here). For me, the recorded sound quality is the best of anything I've tried so far, but is going to have a learning curve, plus their manual (500+ pages) ain't that damn good and their phone tech support I have to give a thumbs-down to. I got put on hold for several minutes (a quite curt person fielded my call) and promptly put me back on hold for 10 minutes when I mentioned Studio 12 Deluxe. At which point I hung up. Their website forum ain't much better, since it apparently is a German software piece. You can find the English one, but I couldn't find out a thing about what I was looking for.

Trial and error will win the day, I guess. Or yet another piece of software.

[billelder]

What kind of hum? Is it low pitch or high? does it sound like a ground hum or does the pitch change as you move the mic? What kind of monitor do you have? Is it tube or LCD? If tube, how close is your microphone to the computer monitor? Does turning off the monitor make the hum go away?
Sorry you're having these problems.

[Deirdre]

Fixing noise in post is not a great solution because the removal of certain frequencies nearly always leads to audio artifacting on one kind or another.

The goal should be the cleanest recording in the first place.
That's what's worth spending time on.
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[Vance Elderkin]

A (possibly) dumb question...do you have flourescent lights in the room where you're recording?