RexRed

Love is respect and equality... 💗 I hope you enjoy this new song awesome Cakewalk peeps!

Mp3 compression has allowed us to upload music over phone line internet and, as our connections have evolved, share songs with our fans. But now that fiber internet and broadband have become common in many places, is it not time for lossless file formats to become the standard for music sharing websites? The mp3 algorithms are not that good actually. Each time I hear my songs that are stored on internet websites, the mp3 decode algorithms interpret and play them a different way. When will the internet no longer need to compress our music?

I am wondering, do electric guitars also make use of the TRS noise eliminating feature? Can I use a stereo TRS cable out of my recently made Les Paul "copy" guitar and into the direct in of the GAP Pre 73 MKIII? Will it eliminate hum in the same way?

These balanced TRS inputs are another thing I have just never even heard of until now. Getting the local FM radio through my signal is not a good thing. I use a Pyle noise eliminator as it is. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BARTW42/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title Otherwise my speakers would be receiving alien messages from over vast distances across space (mostly hum, the universe and big bang noise)! So perhaps a balanced connection ever for a 3 foot cable may be a wise choice. It is kind of disconcerting having my signal canceled before it reaches the A/D converter. I think A/Bing the two cables would be a good experiment. If there is no audible noise then I may go for the unbalanced option. From the back of the preamp to the audio interface it would be a 3 foot cable. I assumed the balanced cable had a shielding ground wire of some sort that protected it from interference. Thank you very much Msmcleod for explaining about the real process that goes on. Phase works! I can hear a slight bit more clarity coming from the NEVE.... Is that all due to the GAP Pre-79 needing a transformer upgrade? I am sure that the GAP Pre-79 will probably give me the clarity I am needing before my A/D converters. But, these very pricy preamps sure are a tempting prospect. Way out of my budget range for now though. These NEVE preamps and $7000 Bluetooth microphones with multiple cardioid patterns that I can change on my Android phone will have to wait. And, I wonder how much use that precariously perched reel to reel in the video really gets or is it just for show... lol My Fostex 80 is prettier... 😁

I found this response on a Google search. DJ_Vintage Dec '17 The “standard” difference between TS and TRS is not mono/stereo but rather unbalanced/balanced. Unbalanced is fine for instruments to their amps and such. Anything else carrying a low-level audio signal will benefit from using a TSR/balanced cable to prevent outside interference, especially over longer distances (more than 2m or so). Not all gear has the option to send/receive balanced signal, in which case it makes no sense to use balanced cable and simple unbalanced/TS will do the job. With all that said, you CAN use a TRS cable to hook up a stereo source that uses a single TRS output (highly unusual I think) to another stereo TRS input. Most audio/PA gear I know will use Jack inputs only for single channel (i.e. mono) use. The only exception here are the FX Send/Return connectors on PA/Recording mixers that use TSR to send AND receive back a mono signal going into and back out from an outside effect unit. So, can you use TRS cable for stereo signal yes, but it is highly unlikely you will find gear that uses that cable in that way. The other way around now, to answer your question. Can you use TSR cable for mono signal? If you read what I said so far you will already have come to the conclusion that the way TSR cable is NORMALLY used IS for mono use, but balanced. So your question should really be “can you use a TRS cable to make a mono UNBALANCED connection?”, for example between two pieces of gear where at least one has no balanced input or output. And the answer is yes, no problem. The R(ing) lead in the cable is simply not used. Can you tell us what you are trying to connect to what. And why Jack? XLR is -by far- the preferred connector in PA, not in the least because it’s got a locking feature to prevent accidental disconnection. Clearly a lot of controllers will have (balanced) Jack master/booth output for cost and/or space reasons. Comment: This is very good to know.

Why did this guy use stereo (balanced) cables to connect a mono signal? I am wondering if my Behringer UMC 1820 input 1 is a balanced TRS.

I am so excited about this new phase of my musical journey. Especially where there is science behind what I am doing. Before I was kind of poking in the dark. Now it seems I am being precise. Using this technology to boost my signals seems like a really solid approach. Before I was maxing out knobs not really thinking about the consequences to my sound signals. And also, not really looking at the overall picture. Mic level, line level, high Z, low Z, dynamic, cardioid and instrument level. This preamp seems to unify the entire gamut of possibilities. Without it and I am more likely to have my signals corrupted along the way long before they reach the A/D converters. This all seems like such a rudimentary thing but it has been missing from my vernacular leading to constant guesswork. I plan to approach this with a better understanding rather than just plug stuff in and have to settle for what comes out without guiding the process more carefully. I have replaced transformers before. I replaced one in my old Hammond organ, the transformer fried. It was the style organ with two layers of keys, drawbars, foot pedals, lovely spring reverb and 16" woofers. I replaced it with a new transformer, quite expensive it was and the new one fried as well. Not sure why the fuse did not prevent the surge. The lesson I learned, fix the amp before simply replacing the fried transformer. I guess the fault in the amp, that was what burnt out the transformer in the first place. Troubleshooting the amp was a bit above my expertise. Live and learn, music can set you back a lot... lol One expense I still don't regret was "lifetime updates". I am proud to have supported Cakewalk over the years (since DOS). It worked out well!

Thank you one and all for the really vital help you have all supplied to me in this thread. I went from someone who knew relatively little about this subject to being able to use your expert advice to buy a really great solution! I ordered the Golden Age Project Pre-73 and the Shure SM7B last night. I assume the Pre 73 will also work with my Audio-Technica AT4040 as well. I think I understand also the advice of achieving unity gain so I do not need to utilize the pre amps in the audio interface. This, I think I will struggle at first to get my signal right but over time I will learn the way to set the preamp and then be able to leave it. As for adding harmonics to soften my sound, I think that can be done post as well. I have a VST plugin effect called True Iron that adds warm amp harmonics and then there is Izotope and the prochannel tape/tube and console. There are lots of post options for adding warmth. This is why I also did not buy the eq version of the Pre-73. Although, I was once told that eq can be undone in post unlike removing other effects. Have a great 4th of July, if you celebrate it, and again, thanks for the totally awesome help here! Best, Rex (Please feel free to add anything more to this discussion if you like.) Yes, making music does not need to break the bank, but it often does... 😊

This looks like a slightly different version of the 73.

The Golden Age Project Pre-73 has an 80db boost! A lot higher than the Warm unit. I am liking the Pre-73 more now. Got it in my cart... Gonna wait till they open in the morning to get 0 interest financing.

Here are the guts of the black model https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08LF5B6CS/ref=twister_B092DVLW6Y?_encoding=UTF8&th=1 The black model looks like it was made better. It has a rugged cord as well something the might be road worthy.

Yes I saw that less expensive version. The transformer does not look as good inside that and there is more inside the newer version.

Since the Klark is on the way, I might as well go for this Shure SM7B. And this Warm Premap will get me into the ballpark (I think) and also work with my electric guitar and bass (and other instruments).

Warm Audio WA12 MKII Microphone Preamp - Black https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/WA12MKIIBlk--warm-audio-wa12-mkii-microphone-preamp-black Shure SM7B Cardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM7B--shure-sm7b-cardioid-dynamic-vocal-microphone What do you think of pairing these two items together for vocal singing/recording? I realize the microphone is mostly used for podcasting but it has also been used for singing. I think it is a high quality microphone that is low priced due to its popularity (lower priced than many other professional mics).

Thanks Tezza for the input! This is like assembling a puzzle and each piece helps complete the picture. Okay this is my plan. To try the Klark Teknik MIC BOOSTER CT 1 on my microphone with the Behringer. If it fixes the problem then I will research other preamps. I might get a tube preamp. Any suggestions on the best tube preamps that are around or just under 1000 dollars? It would be nice to be able to plug in either a guitar or a microphone into it. I am using a cheap 25 dollar boost pedal on my Les Paul style guitar because its pickups have such a low output. Maybe some solid state preamp suggestions of the same caliber? I am not sure I want to mess with tubes that can easily blow... And, I can always add harmonics to my sound after it is recorded. I am just looking for a stable and robust mic (and guitar) signal.

I am glad I am not the only one hearing really poor recording performance from these audio interfaces. Preamps are the way I am going to explore. I figure a passive mic boost will be the first step and if that does not remedy the situation I will go for an active boost. I am not sure if passive/active are even the right terms but they seem to fit the situation. I think my mic may require a lot of preamp gain... That may have been the problem all along. A poor boost lifting the noise floor (creating harsh sibilance) may be what is obliterating my transients. It would be nice if this is the case then it would make a lot of my audio interfaces useable again. Notice, the preamp used for the narrator in this video is perhaps the worst thing I have ever heard (robotic)... 😊

I bought this thing. Klark Teknik MIC BOOSTER CT 1 Compact Dynamic Microphone Booster https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicBoostCT1--klark-teknik-mic-booster-ct-1-compact-dynamic-microphone-booster Last one in stock. You can be honest if you think this is crap and I should have bought a real Cloudlifter... I am interested in your opinions. 😊 (I just hope it passes phantom power through it) It has occurred to me that this booster may bring the signal into the interface higher than unity gain...?

Once again, contrary to my insistence, according to a YouTube audiophile, "32bit recording does not improve the quality of a recording, it only supplies more headroom". Exactly what I have been told on this forum. This is the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around. Thank you msmcleod for directing my attention back toward preamps. Sorry if I have been not been paying attention. Wouldn't this be nice if a preamp solved all of my issues I am having with transients and these interfaces. It might mean I can use cheap interfaces again to get nice quality recordings, which I have not been able to achieve.

Thank you Andy for the compliment on my voice, much appreciated buddy! I am hoping RME fixes it ASAP , it is still under warranty. Your advice is well taken Andy, I will keep that in mind if problems arise.

With most all audio interfaces I can hear the transients are not being recorded clearly, even at 24 bit 96khz. But when I use my RME Fireface II I can hear that it does a lot better job with the transients of my voice. Now, no one I have ever talked to can hear bad reproduction of transients other than myself. But I hear the bad transient reproduction with all of the major audio interface brands I have tried, other than RME. The transients are not peaking and distorting, it is like the interfaces simply cannot focus on the beginning of sounds and reproduce them right. Why am I the only one that can hear this? It is like a variable recording rate is needed, like as in film with large explosions and fast motion to throw more bits at the beginning of words. Would 32bit floating point throw more bits at the beginning of sounds and make them more focused and clear? All I ever hear about 32 bit is that it can record louder sounds, does it not also record finer steps, more densely packed bits, and would this not improve sound quality as well? I do not understand preamps... where my intuition seems to fault, not the preamps but the veracity at which the A/D chips throw samples at the beginning of a word or sound. It is like each time I sing a new phrase it has to "gear up" and so it misses the clarity of the beginning of the word. I thought this problem might have been my mic so I bought another (better) mic. But when I bought the RME Fireface II, I notice the problem all but disappeared. But now switching back to the Behringer I can hear this problem clear as day again. I had the same problem with the Steinberg UR242 and the Roland Quad Capture. And, I do not have a mic that requires a lot of preamping as well [Audio-Technica AT4040 Cardioid Condenser Microphone]. I have a country style voice technique often where I quickly drift up to the beginning of notes at the beginning of words. These pitch bend transients are nearly impossible for these interfaces to (hear) reproduce right. They come out with little detail and "wonky" where the RME interface nails them almost every time. I can't seem to come up with any real explanation as to why this is the case. I raise my sample rates to 196khz and it still happens. The only thing I have not tried is 32bit floating point. I bought the Steinberg thinking it was 32bit but that was a advertising scam... (Thanks for letting me know about that, that was helpful as well.) Can you recommend a good inexpensive but high quality, single input microphone preamp brand? Cloudlifter $150, ouch...

Hello John, Thanks for your response here. There seems to be some common opinion among sound tech specialists that there is no difference among digital audio recorders. This could not be farther from the truth. The fact that many of them use the same chips does not negate the fact that these audio chips vary widely from other audio chips. I like to use the camera analogy. No one will argue that some camera sensors are great in low light and some are great for sports shots. Some cameras have overheating issues and some are loaded with megapixels but have terrible auto focus. Audio is no different. These sound engineers who say all audio interfaces are alike have no conception of the actual technology that goes into them. Yes they can all have relatively the same low noise floors but how they handle transients is entirely a different matter. Once your ear is trained to hear poor reproduction of transients by an audio interface you can't unhear it. You will notice it every time, even the slightest bit. This is why I am hesitant to buy any run-of-the-mill audio interface including name brands. They all handle transients horrible. Many new products are coming out on the market and I am leery of even trying them. When you have owned as many of them as I have and they are all terrible this can hinder willingness to buy. Then you become willing to pay thousands for one that will give you good transients and plenty of ins and outs. Even if they break down easy and break the bank. Sound tech reviewers seem to imply there are so many bits and so many megahertz but there is more to a sensor than bits and mhz. Transients require the sensor to respond with a variable burst of sample density. This is where most audio interfaces fall short even if they are running in 24 bit 96khz...

Making music is expensive, my RME Fireface II died... Apparently there is a soldering issue, RME says it is not my fault. I got a "bootloader memory" message during start up of the unit. I had about 6 months of bliss and now I am back using the Behringer U-Phoria UMC-1820. Immediately, I have again noticed the lack of transient quality in my voice in returning to using the Behringer unit. It may take two to three months for the Fireface unit to go back to Germany to be fixed. This leaves my music in a sorry state. To date, I have not found any other audio interface that reproduces my voice right, other than the RME device. I am still paying off the RME device on my credit card. These devices costing so much, running so terribly hot and, in this case, being so unreliable leaves my music in a costly and fragile state of affairs... https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=34532 One caveat of using the Behringers is, new audio tracks insert into track view instantly again. There was a couple second delay with the Fireface device. My vocals will sound terrible for a few months.

Thank you Andy, glad you like the harmonies. I will look at the drums again when I add other harmonies and the lead guitar. Thanks for the input and honest suggestions. 👍🎶🎵

Awesome awesome awesome input Cakewalk peeps, very helpful indeed! I have worked on the mix it just needed some love. The song is not finished yet, it mainly needs a guitar lead near the end. Maybe some oohs and ahhs in the beginning when the lead vocal first comes in. Let me know if it is better than it was.

MixPre-10 II 32bit floating point! 8 Preamp, 12 Track, Audio Recorder https://www.sounddevices.com/product/mixpre-10-ii/ Any thoughts on this device? How are the drivers? Does it have a Windows software mixer with a lot of options like "Totalmix"? Is this USB 3.0? Would my Cakewalk effects and instruments work with this? Lots of considerations...