Recording Volume Not Steady

[ynysmix]

I do not suggest this to be a Mixcraft problem. I just wonder whether others have experienced this or have found solution.

OK. PC, Roland DUO-CAPTURE MK2 UA-11 USB sound card interface (all buttons out). Dynamic mic (Samson Q7), Mixcraft 7 64 bit. When recording vocal track, I tend to break it up into bits at a time, rather than all in one go. But I find that signal may be strong at the beginning say, at a later stage it has become quite low. In other words, the gain seems to come and go. Faulty mic? Faulty sound card? Some weird feedback or noise effect. It is a nuisance which I generally correct afterwards by adding little button to the volume track in mixcraft and dragging them up or down as required.

Any advice appreciated

Regards
ynysmix

[aj113]

In my experience it's usually down to the performer.

[ynysmix]

Right swapped the Q7 mic to samson R10s and found recording signal stability definitely improved. This could suggest Q7 is faulty (I swapped cables too but did not help). But maybe there is one other point to be considered. (Unlike the R10s)The Q7 is actually designed to be XLR mic but I am using it via converter to plug into 1/4 inch soundcard input jack. Could it be that it really needs to plug into genuine XLR socket interface? Or should it not make any difference?

[rrichard63]

... The Q7 is actually designed to be XLR mic but I am using it via converter to plug into 1/4 inch soundcard input jack. Could it be that it really needs to plug into genuine XLR socket interface? Or should it not make any difference?

Often (but not always) the answer is yes, this will make a difference. Inputs on sound cards that have a 1/4 inch jack are usually not designed for microphone signals. I would try putting a microphone preamp in between the mic and the sound card. Make sure the preamp output doesn't overload the sound card input.

[Mark Bliss]

Its really hard to assess without a bit of guessing, even if much more info were provided.
It may be a case that is best diagnosed by a process of elimination IMO.

Richard is correct that some interfaces automatically switch to an instrument level when you plug in a 1/4" jack, while the XLR is set to mic level. You need to research that.
Another thought that comes to mind, is that every extra connection increases the odds of a problem with connection integrity. And many adapters are very low on the quality scale.

I am not familiar with that interface, and especially- what "all buttons out" might mean. And you describe level problems, then mention "feedback" and "noise"
That doesn't really help us help you.

My initial interpretation was that you were attempting to record bits and pieces at different times, which can be another problem altogether.

[rrichard63]

... Richard is correct that some interfaces automatically switch to an instrument level when you plug in a 1/4" jack, while the XLR is set to mic level. You need to research that ...

I was assuming that s/he is using a 1/4 jack because the sound card or interface doesn't have a XLR mic input. In that case, the 1/4 inch jack would be either line level or instrument level (for electric guitar), or switchable between the two. Level matching aside, neither is the right impedance for most microphones.

[Mark Bliss]

Yep. Forest, meet trees.

I was confused by the wandering description and mention of one mic with, the other without. Got lost.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

[Mark Bliss]

Evaluating this further, I see the described interface does indeed have no XLR input connectors, but has a mic/instrument input and a Hi-Z switch to allow a choice of input impedances. Still, valid point though.