Hey guys

I recently bought a Rode NT1-A condenser mic and initially the guy at the store suggested a 12V rapco phantom power adapter to go with it

Of course after my initial setup I realized I had to have my lips practically touching the mic just to make a sound!

I also then realized that 12v was way too weak for the rode mic and realized I needed around a 48v phantom power.

So I then went back and after talking to some of the employees they suggested (since I'm very new to all of this) to start with a xenyx 802 mixer (which includes 48v phantom power)

Usually when I record, I use acid pro 6.0 and record using my pod xt live.

Now when I try hooking my condenser mic to the mixer and then to my amp directly I still have to do the thing where I have to be RIGHT up to the mic hear any sound coming back. If i turn my amp up too loud I get some feedback.

I figured when investing into a rode nt1a that I could be even 6 inches away and still get a clear sound as oppose to be practically breathing on the mic to hear anything.

I also own a low/high frequency converter to give my mic an extra boost as plugging a mic into a pod xt live doesn't give you much in regards to volume options.

So using a rode NT1-A, a xenyx 802 mixer, and a pod xt live to record stuff onto my comp with acid pro 6.0 how do I make this work?

Basically I'm just trying to figure out how I don't have to breathing on my mic just to get a sound. All the pictures in the inlay card show vocalists being a foot away and still able to sing (though maybe that has to do with them being in a proper studio as oppose to my room)

ANY help would be appreciated, as everytime I turn up the volme on my amp after a certain point I get feedback

THANKS a ton guys!

The microphone needs a pre-amp.

I would take the mike back to the store where you got everything from, kick the clerk in the nuts, then go to a different store and buy the NT1 and a decent preamp with phantom power.

EDIT: Also make sure you are setting the mike with the little diamond toward you, so you are not trying to sing in backward.

hahaha

I am using the xenyx 802 as my pre amp, since its got the phantom power, but since it's pretty low end i take it that I should invest in a better phantom power?

The NT1A is a "hot" mic. The XENIX mixer is just fine for working with the NT1, as well. There are a few things you're going to want to check:

1) Make sure that the "trim pot" for the channel that you've plugged the mic into is turned up some. If it's all the way counter-clockwise you're not going to get any sound.

2) Make sure that the channel fader, for the mic channel, is up a good ways.

3) Turn your "effects send" knobs all the way counterclockwise to ensure that you don't have some effect causing issues - that is if you have one of the XENIX units that have effects built into it.

4) Make sure that the "Master" controls are turned up so you get some output.

That should get you there... I, personally, don't think it's either the mic or the XENIX mixer. Interesting point to note is that the RODE mic's sound really nice with the the Behringer "Invisible Mic Preamps" for some reason. Those preamps seem to add some nice depth to the RODE... heck and that's comparing the same RODE mic plugged into a Groove Tubes ViPRE.

Dar

thanks a ton dar!

I was able to get it to be a bit louder, however when plugging my mixer into my amp I still cn't quite get it as loud as I like because if I turn it up past a certain point I get some nasty screeching feedback from my amp.

But it's def sounding much better than before!

Usualy when I record I record my guitar/mics through my pod xt live and then into my comp using the USB

But I understand that for the xenyx 802 that there is a USB interface I can buy so I can hook it up to my comp

Is that a better bet as oppose to going through my pod xt live?

thanks again!

Well... if you're plugging this mic into the XENIX mixer and then into a guitar amp, especially one with an open-backed cabinet I would probably expect nothing less than feedback. This mic has a sensitivity rating that is much higher than many mics out there. The sensitivity of a microphone basically describes how "hot" the output is, with a standard input signal level. The NT1-A is relatively hot. In reality, a large diaphragm condensor is really not meant to be plugged into a guitar amp, and in most caes, not really meant for live sound applications, as such. They are, largely, studio mics.

I guess the question, now, really becomes, what exactly are you trying to do with this microphone that it requires being plugged, eventually, into a guitar amplifier? Also, even in a recording situation, if this mic, or similar type of microphone, is "live" in the same room that you're trying to monitor in, you're going to get feedback from the thing. In most cases, if you're using this to record an instrument, or voice, in the same room that you're monitoring in, you're going to want to do the monitoring through headphones so that the mic doesn't feed back.

Those are just some thoughts... if you're using the PODXT to provide signal processing (i.e. delay, reverb, chorus, etc) to voice, you can plug the mic into the XENIX. Plug the output of the XENIX into the PODXT input... and the PODXT output (either TRS or USB) into the computer to record. When monitoring, under these conditions, I would use headphones to prevent any feedback from occuring during the recording process. If the mic is in another room, then you shouldn't have much to worry about...

Hope that helps.

Dar

Thanks big time for the tips!

I'm basically just tryin to do at home cover songs/demos

I only plugged into my guitar amp to hear the mic

of course, I should've just used headphones like you said


thank you so much for the help Dar!

I have some quick questions....


1) My XENIX 802 powers in automatically once the ac adapter is plugged in so there is no on/off button

If I'm using a condenser mic, which obviously requires phantom power, do I turn on the mixer first and THEN turn on phantom power (it has a phantom power switch) and then hook the rode NT1-A into my mixer?

I have heard phantom power mics are sensitive and I don't want to damage my mic so I'm trying to figure out the right procedure in setting up equipment

2) I am sure everyone has different recording techniques and I've decided I like to record a acoustic guitar track and then copy the track 3 times over with one track panned to the extreme left, the other to the extreme right, and the final track stays in the center

It sounds a bit "bigger" to me when I do this but since I'm a novice at this I could simply be fooling myself

Does anyone else use any hard pans for the same track for left and right?


thanks!


oh and quickly, if I plug my Shure SM 58 into my XENIX while using my Rode NT1-A at the same time, will the phantom power damage my non condenser shure mic? Is it ok to do that?

With regards to the phantom power... typically, either way, with the XENIX is going to provide similar results. There is no one "right way" to do provide phantom power. The NT1-A is a pretty "resiliant" mic in that sense. Many mics can be damaged by phantom power when you pull the XLR plug either from the mic, or the mixer while powered up. In some cases, when things aren't correctly protected, this will destroy either the mic, the preamp, or both. Just powering up with everything connected should not make a difference.

If you want a "wall of sound" which is what the L / C / R copies of the track are providing, you can do this several different ways... the Randy Rhodes approach was to record three separate tracks of the "same" thing. Just playing it three times as closely as possible to the original. The best take was panned center... and louder... the other couple of takes were panned L / R and slightly lower in level than the center channel. This provides 1) Natural chorusing... 2) Natural delay cuz you can't play the same thing twice - exactly the same... 3) Depth... 4) Interest / character as the song progresses and minor variations make themselves know.

Just panning the same track L / R / C will lose the depth, the chorus, the ambience and the character that you're going for in a track, like this, where you're trying to create a "wall of sound" to "fill out" a mix.

Another way to do this (ala early Van Halen) is to add slight delays... record the first track and play it back dry. Then insert a delay effect (10-50mS) and pan it right... insert another delay with a different time (say you chose 22mS for the first one... then choose 34 mS for the second one, as an example) and pan that left... this, again, provides some "difference" and character. DO NOT mix any of the "dry" signal into the delays. Make the delays 100% wet.

When doing this, mix ALL tracks to the center and add a delay at a time. Change the delay values until the sound is "full" and "deep". This ensures good mono compatability for the mix. If you don't do this and it gets played back in mono you're going to find that the guitars will "wash out" and sound pretty bad.

And, finally, yes, you can plug both the NT1-A and the SM57 into the XENIX, together. No harm will come to the SM57...

That should get you where you need to be... Let me know if you have any questions.

Dar

Dar, you are the man! thanks again