Bought 003 factory with keyboard, mic etc

[mark007]

I went to guitar center and emptied my wallet by purchasing pro tools LE with the software bundle, a good microphone, keyboard, speakers etc.

I am new to Pro Tools and not from the music field, and feel bad to ask such a silly question: I plugged in my mic into Input1 on the back of the 003, created a new track but I don't hear anything from the mic. Can someone point me in the right direction a to what I must do in Pro Tools to get the mic to be heard on the speakers?
Thanks much in advance

mark

[tha]-[acksaw]

If its a condencer you gotta activate Phantom Power which is sometimes represented as +48 volts. Condencer mics need a power source to capture audio.

If its not a condencer, have you turned the gain up on your preamp?

If thats not it, are you getting signal in your armed track in ProTools, but just not hearing it out of the speakers. If this is the case you might wanna look into the I/O within ProTools. First, find out which input your using for the mic and then make sure its set on your tracks input. Then, make sure your speakers are hooked up to the right output and that output is set on the track your recording to.

Let me know if none of this helps!

Nick

[albee1952]

All good advice but you left out the most important piece. Read the manual! the 003 needs phantom as said for condenser mics AND the switch on the front needs to be in the correct position(choosing between the mic input on XLR, and line input on the quarter inch jack). I believe the mic/line switch should be UNlit for the mic input. Also, on your new audio track, did you make sure it is set to recieve signal from input 1? Unfortunately, you can't assume that the input will be set correct when you create a new track(unless your I/O setup only has a single input path). Also, for the newbies here, a phantom powered mic can't use a cable with a TRS plug. It needs XLR connectors at both ends. Another 003 tip for newbies, they default to MUTE whenever they are powered on. (took me a month to get used to that). Keep at it and before long, you'll be making tracks........

[mark007]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I must read the manual but just misplaced it and am looking for it.

Meanwhile, here are more details. The mic is a Rode NTK with its own power supply which has a switch that can be switched to GND/LIFT. It came set as GND.
Q1. I assume I dont need the Phanton power?

I hooked it up to Input 1 using XLR cable (XLR at both ends) from the Rode NTK Power box to the 003 factory.

Created a new track (Audio and then Aux).
Q2. Does the track need to be audio or Aux?



The input I assigned to this track is Analog 1. I dont see a Mic in the list of options.


I dont see any switch that says Mic/XLR on the 003. And the Mic doesnt have a switch. Only the power supply box has one and its on and I see the blue light on.

I turned the Mute button to Off.

No sound yet.

I have another audio track where I imported a song. That plays throught the speakers, which means I have my speakers hooked up correctly and powered.

Just no sound from my mic and its driving me crazy.

Thanks again for all the help!

Mark

[albee1952]

Since your mic has a power supply, you are correct that you do NOT need phantom. The Mic/DI switch is right below the gain knob. There are 2 buttons under each gain knob. The left selects between the XLR input and the quarter inch input(toggling this one should solve your problem). The other selects a high pass filter(which you probably want on for vocal recording. You can use an aux track to listen but you will record to an audio track. I have a friend that likes to record with compression and EQ so he brings the mic in to an aux track, inserts the plugins and then routes the output of the aux track to several audio tracks. He records each audio track(one at a time) for tracking multi-part harmony. Anyway, if you still have no signal from the mic, its time to take it somewhere else and test to make sure it actually works.

[spkguitar]

Originally Posted by mark007

Thanks for all the suggestions. I must read the manual but just misplaced it and am looking for it.

All the manuals are available on your computer as PDF files after installing the software.

[mark007]

Thanks guys, that was great. Being new to using this device, I was a little overwhelmed at all its buttons and knobs, but upon hitting the R switch, I could hear the mic as clear as crystal or better. Terrific sound I should say from this Rode Mic, much more than I expected.

Thanks again for all your help and definitely I must read the manuals. Off I go to a wonderful world of mixing and having fun!

Mark