Routing my Microphone

the compressor should come after the preamp and since your preamp is inside the m-audio usb soundcard, it's not easy to include it in the signal path.  doing so would include A/D then D/A then A/D conversion and you'd be hurting your signal by doing that.

I would advise just leaving the compressor out of the signal path in this situation.  you can record at 24 bit, just turn the gain down on the mic input so that you're not clipping when you record and you can add compression in Sonar after the recording.

The Behringer doesn't have a mic preamp. Cannot plug mic directly into Behringer.  Use M-Audio insert or what Beagle said: Plug mic into the M-audio and don't use the Behringer. Add compresssion to the track after it has been recorded using a plugin.   

I have a Fastrack Ultra 8R.  Do you have the MAudio Control Panel with yours?  I think the routing can be done in the Control Panel (I've never tried it). 

I've done some limiting (before my audio recording interface unit) but not Compression.  If I wanted to do Compression I would do it within Sonar with a VST plug-in.   My 2 cents is do as little to the signal as you can when recording and then do whatever after its been recorded.  If its recorded with, for example compression, and after its recorded you find out there is too much the only real option is to re-record the track.

I will respectfully disagree a little with my colleagues here.

plugging a mic into this compressor will, IMO, likely cause noise and distortion after sending the output of the compressor to the input of the m-audio.

the reason is because the input to the Behringer MDX1600 is either +4dBu or -10dBV, both of which describe LINE level inputs (either consumer or pro audio).  The microphone level is very low comparatively. 

from Sweetwater definition of Mic Level:
The level (or voltage) of signal generated by a microphone. Typically around 2 millivolts. Compare this with the two normal line levels (1.23 volts and .316 volts), and it becomes apparent just how much amplification is going on in a microphone preamp, and why it is essential that preamps be of as high quality as possible!

So the output of the microphone is so small compared to the input level expected on the compressor that the result will likely cause noise/hiss or distortion to be added to the signal.  So I never use a compressor BEFORE the preamp since the output of the preamp is LINE level and is designed to be sent to the compressor.

All this to say this is only a consideration for dynamic mics anyway.  A condenser mic won't even work at all if you plug it directly into the compressor because the compressor does not have phantom power available on it and the preamp will not send phantom power THRU the compressor to the mic.

you could use an external phantom power device to power the mic BEFORE the compressor if you want, but that adds another expense of buying the phantom power supply and you still will have the problem of having a MIC level signal being input into the compressor expecting a LINE level signal.

I would not recommend plugging the mic directly into the compressor at all.  I'm sure there are people who have more experience and knowledge than me who would disagree with me, but my recommendation still stands.

the use of the INSERTS on the m-audio would be something you could do.  you would simply connect the compressor inputs and outputs to the appropriate send/receive I/O on the m-audio. 

the only problem with that would be figuring out the routing in the m-audio software, as Fireberd said, but it is do-able.

however, I would still just leave the compressor out of the loop completely in your case and add compression in sonar after the fact.  just keep an eye on your levels and make sure you don't record too hot or you'll have to re-record because compression won't fix digital overs.

if you want to use the compressor in a traditional gain staged scenerio, you'd need to purchase an external standalone preamp to plug the mic into, then to the compressor, then to a LINE input on the m-audio.  that would be the ideal way to connect it.

mikedocy



The inserts are standard analog hardware ports and don't need to be configured. From the manual:


"28. Inserts 1 and 2 (Insert 1 / Insert 2) – These 1⁄4” TRS jacks are configured to connect to an analog outboard effect (compressor/limiter, delay, reverb, etc.), inserting the effect between the preamp and the A/D converter. These inserts are only active when a connector is inserted, and are otherwise bypassed. The TRS jack is configured as follows: Tip=Send; Ring=Return; Sleeve=Ground."

good info there!

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not preaching against compression going in because I do it myself.  I run most things thru a dbx compressor with just light compression settings before going to the soundcard for conversion to digital.

but I also use a dedicated preamp and not the one on my soundcard for that purpose.

behringer gets a bad rap - not completely undeserved, but some of their products are excellent.  I do have a couple of behringer compressors and they do the job I intend for them (one of them is on the TV to keep the volume levels tamed).

oh, I know what you mean.  there are some folks who are adamant about not using compression going in citing the 24bit headroom being "all we need"

but I guarantee you that if you walk into a studio and plop down money to make a recording that there WILL be a hardware compressor on your vocals at least!

on the TV/compressor deal - I just got the idea from the old "smart sound" from motorola.  remember those TVs?  the only thing they did was add a limiter and a compressor to the volume before the volume knob.  so I just did the same thing on my stereo system coming from the TV receiver.

I originally had the compressor on the last stage before the speakers so that everything would go thru it before hitting the speakers, but that didn't work too well.  I couldn't set it to one setting for everything and was constantly adjusting it.

then Jeff here on the forum suggested I put the compressor on the output of the receiver.  we have fiber optic thru the phone company for TV and the receiver is like a satellite reciever.  when I moved the compressor between the TV receiver and the home stereo receiver/amplifier - it worked MUCH better!  we almost never have dynamic sound issues from the TV any more.