Microphone Gain Question

FrankSwift

New member
Hi, i have a quick question, when recording my vocals i've noticed that the gain knob on the audio interface is always too low until it reaches about 90% full when it jumps massively and its really hard to tweak this to get the vocal just right and not too high (above 90%) which introduces too much noise.


Right now i'm using a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and i have tried both a Rode-NTK and also a Shure Beta 58 microphone and they both have this problem. Prior to getting the Scarlett Audio Interface, i used both a Focusrite Voice Master Pro going into an E-mu 1820m Audio Interface as well as plugging the mics straight into the E-mu Audio Interface itself.

The main problem is that you have to get the AMP volume up to like 90% where you have to nudge it just slightly to get the desired volume without it being set too high and introducing more background noise.


Is this normal?
 
Yes, as i said before, i've used two different audio interfaces, both which i made sure to run the latest drivers. Also i've used both a Condenser mic as well as a Shure performance mic and both have the same problem.


Anyone with any ideas on how to solve this?
 
You didn't mention whether the other audio interface gave you the same issue. You just mentioned that you used a different interface before.

Can you confirm that you had the same issue with both audio interfaces and with all three ways of amplification? (Scarlett, Emu, and Voicemaster)

Also, what DAW program are you recording into?
 
I'm not familiar with Ableton, but Cubase allows processors in the inputs in software. These processors are applied to the recording. Any chance you have something like this in Ableton, like a gate, or compressor?
 
I think it's curious that a mic with a high output level (the NTK) and a mic with a low output level (the SM58) need (nearly) the same amount of amplification and show the exact same behavior.
 
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I don't think there's anything wrong here, it's fairly usual that the gain range is clumped towards the top end.

It's even stated in Focusrite's own FAQs:
Focusrite said:
The Saffire and Scarlett microphone preamps provide between +10dB and +55dB of gain to the input signal before the converters. The gain required to obtain an acceptable signal level will depend on several factors including the input source and the type of microphone.

For example, signals with a high SPL like those from acoustic drums and guitar amplifiers aren't likely to require much amplification so it's normal to set the gain on the lower range. This is particularly true if a sensitive condenser microphone is utilised. Quiet signals such as vocals will require more amplification, particularly if used with a dynamic microphone.

The gain change by the potentiometer isn't linear and it's not unusual to require setting the gain towards the high extreme to get a reasonable signal level.
 
The NTK's sensitivity (25.00mV) is much higher than the SM58's (1.85mV), so if both need the same amount of amplification to reach (nearly) the same level there is likely something wrong.
 
The NTK's sensitivity (25.00mV) is much higher than the SM58's (1.85mV), so if both need the same amount of amplification to reach (nearly) the same level there is likely something wrong.

Yeah, but the key here is that the adjustable range is at its most extreme towards the end of the physical knob's travel - which means the last few notches are going to make a much bigger difference than the rest of it. I'm thinking it's not the exact same amount but rather "looks kinda the same amount by looking at the knob position" kind of situation...
 
Yeah, but the key here is that the adjustable range is at its most extreme towards the end of the physical knob's travel - which means the last few notches are going to make a much bigger difference than the rest of it. I'm thinking it's not the exact same amount but rather "looks kinda the same amount by looking at the knob position" kind of situation...


Yep thats pretty much what is happening. It's not exactly the same between both mics, but as you turn the knob, the volume doesn't increase gradually then goes super loud very suddenly.
 
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