Recording a vocal with mbox 2 mini

[philagosta]

Having an issue recording vocals with my mbox 2 mini. when I plug my mic into the xlr connection all get is a bounch of noise clipping the meter. (breakdown.. it is not a phoantom mic so that switch is off. The mic/DI in pressed in. The pad is left out. when I go to assign an input like instructed in the method one cd. it shows a mic input. The mos mini does not.)

The only way i have been able to get any type of audio is by using and xlr to 1/4 inch and pluging into the 1/4 jack on input 1. Unfortunately the quality is horrific and I can only do so by using a mono sudio track. how do I record a vocal in stereo with good enough quality? Normally I record voacls at the studio that has TDM. But I need to start doing at home on my own.

Please help... P.S. is there any free video that show in detail how to use elastic time? the guy on the digitube goes so fast plus doesn't show how he set up what he does? Thanks


Phil [email protected]

[albee1952]

Back to the first problem, since a vocal is a mono signal, you should record it to a mono track(common newbie goof). Now as to why the Mbox mic input is not cooperating; first thing is to take the mic and cable somewhere and test them(even on a regular mixer with headphones) to verify that the mic and cable are good. Then plug them back into the Mbox(with it powered up) and set the MIX knob to the DIRECT position and listen with headphones plugged into the Mbox. No audio there may mean the Mbox is bad. If you hear the mic fine, then try to record in protools. Maybe you have a bad USB cable?(it happens). Maybe try another USB port(you should use a port that is connected directly to the motherboard. i.e. if you are using a desktop computer, you should NOT use the front mounted USB ports but use the rear ports near the mouse/keyboard connectors. Be systematic about troubleshooting and you will get to the bottom of this.

Please go to your duplicate thread and choose EDIT then DELETE THIS POST

[philagosta]

what input should my set to? 1,2,3 chords are fine, I use them every day with my performance rig.

[philagosta]

Post deleted by philagosta

[albee1952]

I think we have a language barrier here. Not sure I understand what you are saying. In any case, I believe that input 1 is the mic input and the mic/DI switch should be out and Pad off. engage the Pad switch if the signal into protools is too hot with the Gain knob all the way down.

[philagosta]

Thanks for your response. Sorry let me be more specific. I set the I/O interface to >A 1 (Mic input is not an option like with a digi 002 or 003) Only >A 1, >A 2 etc. is shown. Is there no mic input on the MBox Mini?

When I create a mono audio track I get a signal that works ok. When I create a stereo audio track, I only get the left side. Is there a way to get a stereo vocal? the producer I am working with wants vocals in stereo. As a last resort to achive stereo, should I just do the vocals in mono, then drag up to a stereo track for dual mono?

I had to get the latest update to solve the clipping problem. Got that fixed.

[Stig Eliassen]

You have one XLR input where you'd connect your microphone, and adjust the gain from the front of the box (Input 1). On the back you switch between Mic/DI with a button, and by the looks of it the button needs to be out for mic input. No need to worry about this when you already have the mic working.

About stereo vocals - if the producer thinks that a duplicate of a mono recording makes it sound wide and "stereo", he/she's way off. Simply a waste of disk space. I'm sure the producer means "a wide stereo-sounding" vocal, no?

It is common to bus/route a mono vocal to one or more short delays, and pan the delay returns to each side for a widening effect. Try one mono delay with 11 ms delay time panned to the left, and another mono delay with 19 ms delay time panned to the right. No feedback for either of the delays. Now, use sends on the mono vocal track to bus/route some signal to both delays. Sounds wider, doesn't it. 11 and 19 ms delay times are just suggestions, this needs experimenting.

You can do the same thing with harmonizers. Lower the left side a few cents and raise the right side a few cents, pan them to your liking, and send some vocals to them.

It's also common to do multiple takes with the talent singing the same vocal over and over, and then pan one or more tracks to the side.

[philagosta]

Wow, Thanks. I am currently looking to get an external hard drive. Which would be better, The acomdata or iomega Mini. Both are 500GB with 7200 rpm and a 16MB cache.