MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to get much gain from my Mbox with a Neumann U87 attached. Even with the phantom power on, I have to run the gain knob up almost all the way to get a good level.That seems to out it into the oversensitive range.

Unlike the 001 or Audiomedia III, there seems to be no way to increase the gain setting of Pro Tools. Anyone else have this issue? I know I can add a preamp inline, but in a portable situation, this isn't preferable to me.

Thanks for suggestions.

VG

Re: MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

what´s your polar pattern setting,
doesn´t it have 9db low cut filter switch or something?
pretty expensive mic.

Re: MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

This has been posted in other post. Someone at Digi even recommended they send their MBox into tech support for low gain issues. Digi isn't very forward about hardware problems that made it out to the field. Even took em quite a while to admit they printed off a 'a few' (a whole lot!) of manuals with bad authorization codes. Pretty lame... Anyway...

I use to think Digi's pre's were pretty hot but consensus states that the MBox Pre's are marginal. I take it you are using XLR cables and you've tried other cables? And you have the MBox set to MIC instead of Line or Instrument? (I know, silly question, but have to ask, J U S T I N C A S E)

Re: MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

neumman u87 needs 48db phantom power so in mbox
its in the back up right part,
is it on?

Re: MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

The Neumann requires phantom power - if phantom isn't turned on, you'll get nothing from the mic. So phantom power doesn't explain low output.

The Mbox doesn't have a lot of gain - about 40db, if I recall correctly. So, depending on the source, you may need to have the gain knob turned pretty far up.

Re: MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

I noticed (unlike others) that you state that you did turn on your phantom power. I have setup a couple of Mboxes for VO guys like yourself with the Neuman U87 and other mics. There's just not a lot of gain there in any situation I've encountered, we have always had to crank it almost all the way to get decent gain. In my humble opinion the Mbox is a very lackluster device. Peace.

Re: MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

Thanks to all for their comments. I get the feeling the Mbox is not that great. I've been using PT 6.2.2 without using Digi Coreaudio. Maybe I should use a later version. Perhaps there are software gain settings in versions after 6.2.2. Anyone know?

VG

Re: MBox, Powerbook newbie asks about gain
 

I definitely suggest you upgrade to 6.4 or downgrade to v5. Early 6.x versions has some serious bugs, like loosing your takes, sessions not opening, etc. After all, the upgrade is free. Don't count on any gain improvements, however. That just hasn't been an issue. If you have a clean preamp, you might want to just switch MBox to line~in. With gain up that high, MBox is just not that clean.