ShenA Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 I have been putting this problem off for a good while, but now I am tired of the procrastination, and just want to get to the bottom of this. There have been plenty of people on here posting about a similar issue to mine, but I still find myself dealing with this problem despite the tips given on other users ' posts. Simply put, the volume output produced by my microphone is way too low. I find myself having to boost the gain numerous times just to get my vocals on competitive ground with other tracks, and even then, the waveform still seems to be unusually reduced. The waveform doesn't get reduced when I record through my MacBook microphone, in fact it appears to be a lot more dynamic, so why does this happen when I record through my mic? Is there a problem with the microphone itself, the interface, the cable, or am I doing something wrong? I am still in the beginning stages of my musical journey, so I don't yet have the knowledge to know where this issue is stemming from, but hopefully y'all can point me in the right direction. My equipment: AKG P220 Microphone, NI Komplete Audio 2 Interface, Basic XLR Cable, Logic Pro Version 10.7.2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 First things first, you sing into this mic from the side, where the AKG logo is. This mic needs 48V phantom power to operate, so make sure this is switched on at the interface. The mic has a -20dB pad and a hipass filter, make sure at least the first is not active. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 Oh I'm singing right into the thing, phantom power is on, the -20db attenuation pad and the hipass filter is not active. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Logic does literally nothing to the level of a recording, so the problem lies in either the mic or the interface. Have you tried another mic ? Have you tried the other input ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mania Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Do you have access to another interface to try? (from a friend?) OR try your microphone at a friends place with their interface? I am sure this is not a Logic issue. Either an interface or microphone problem/setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusbur Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 What are your interface meters reading? Have you tried increasing the input gain there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Choose Logic Pro > Preferences > Audio and make sure the NI Komplete Audio 2 Interface is selected as an input device? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Did you check if there's a pad engaged on your interface? Did you select Line or instrument? Any interface with gain at 5'o'clock for a condenser mic should clip the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Logic does literally nothing to the level of a recording, so the problem lies in either the mic or the interface. Have you tried another mic ? Have you tried the other input ? I have tried a different mic before in the past, and the same problem occurs. I just tried input 2, and the same thing is still happening; the wave form just looks like a straight line most of the time, unless I zoom up on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 So the mic seems ok. Care to answer the other seven questions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 What are your interface meters reading? Have you tried increasing the input gain there? The interface meters seem to be responding normally to my voice, and I have increased the gain on the interface itself, but that doesn't seem to help all that much when it comes to attaining a normal waveform on Logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Choose Logic Pro > Preferences > Audio and make sure the NI Komplete Audio 2 Interface is selected as an input device? It is in fact selected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Is the XLR cable XLR on both ends? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Did you check if there's a pad engaged on your interface? Did you select Line or instrument?Any interface with gain at 5'o'clock for a condenser mic should clip the input. There shouldn't be any pad engaged on the interface. I have Line selected most of the time, but the problem persists even when I switch to Inst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Do you have access to another interface to try? (from a friend?) OR try your microphone at a friends place with their interface? I am sure this is not a Logic issue. Either an interface or microphone problem/setting. Yeah I unfortunately don't have another interface to try this out on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 I have Line selected most of the time, but the problem persists even when I switch to Inst. It should be Line for microphones. How close are you singing to the mic? Are you right on it? Having the gain at 5 o'clock should make the mic clip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 It should be Line for microphones. It should not matter at all since a microphone uses the XLR jack and Line/Inst pertains only to the 6,3mm jack, to accomodate the higher impedance of a guitar signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Is the XLR cable XLR on both ends? This is the cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 I have Line selected most of the time, but the problem persists even when I switch to Inst. It should be Line for microphones. How close are you singing to the mic? Are you right on it? Having the gain at 5 o'clock should make the mic clip. I find myself singing closer to it most of the time. I can have the gain maxed out on the interface, but even then the signal seems to peak at around -21 db. I have to add additional gain in Logic in order to exceed that limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Something is not right. Condenser mic and maxed out gain on interface should give you more than that. Maybe that interface doesn't have enough gain for your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Something is not right.Condenser mic and maxed out gain on interface should give you more than that. Maybe that interface doesn't have enough gain for your needs. I doubt that; I've seen people people on YouTube who have gotten normal results using the same interface I have, I'm just trying to figure out where exactly I am going wrong, because this shouldn't be happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 When you tap on your microphone, how many green lights to you see on the interface? Is it close to the red light? That should give you an indication of how much volume you're generating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShenA Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 When you tap on your microphone, how many green lights to you see on the interface?Is it close to the red light? That should give you an indication of how much volume you're generating. I see four; It's right up near the red light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gargamel Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I notice that the interface is powered by USB. Could it be that it just doesn't get enough juice to work properly? Has happened to me with other USB powered equipment. Sometimes it helps to use another USB port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeh Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 Hi, I have the same problem here. Even worse. Yesterday testing things I moved my audio interface to other computer and worked. So I discard the problem with interface. I came back to my desktop and connect the interface to a different USB port. Worked. Bur Today, the same problem again. So maybe it s related to any conflict or configuration between OS and Audio Interface. Some of my SW doesn t allow me to upgrade to a new OS so I m still using High Sierra. Not sure if this will solve your problem but try to change USB port and restart your mac. hope it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusbur Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 (edited) Could be something or nothing but I recently bought a new interface and had low recording levels. I was directed to open the Audio MIDI Setup app (in the Mac) and discovered the settings had reset. Pushing them up full solved the issue. Applications>Utilities>Audio Midi Set Up Edited February 19, 2023 by fusbur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emer Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Hello Shenna and friends, We're having the same problem here. I am suspecting that it is because of a Mac update? thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzfilth Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 (edited) Quote I am suspecting that it is because of a Mac update? What is your reasoning for that ? Also, did you go through all the above steps and suggestions one by one? Can you tell where in the chain you seem to lose signal ? Edited March 13, 2023 by fuzzfilth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack Greenberg Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 Hi! same problem here. everything was working fine until one day it just randomly started giving me a very low input level. any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeh Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Zack Greenberg said: Hi! same problem here. everything was working fine until one day it just randomly started giving me a very low input level. any advice? Hey Zack, There are some tips in this topic. Have you already tried all of them? In my situation I didn't discover why but What worked for me was change the USB port and restart the mac. Update OS is a good too. Hope this helps but you will find some other options in previous messages 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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