Logic, Apogee Duet, mic, Acoustic Guitars.... HELP!!

[theelectricdisco]

Ok, following on from my last question about mic'ing, here's a slightly bigger question about my surrounding setup.

 

This is a general back to basics question, looking at my physical setup and wondering where it's gone wrong and what to do to fix it.

 

I've uploaded a basic diagram of my cabling here

http://www.theelectricdisco.com/images/setup.jpg

 

Quick overview of the setup is as follows.

 

Set of turntables, an electric guitar, a hardware synth (not on the diagram) and a mic which I use for recording acoustic guitar, all currently feed into a mixer, which feeds into the 2 instrument inserts on an apogee duet grouped together, then into Logic 8 on my macbook pro.

 

The macbook also sends sound out via the duet and back into the mixer, which ultimately feeds two monitors from it's main audio outputs.

 

Each channel has an FX send on which is what Im currently using to route a signal back to the duet and into the macbook.

 

Now... this works fine for the electric guitar, the decks, the synth and for monitoring and then re-recording back from my macbook.

I have only run into problems this last week after buying a mic and trying to record acoustic guitar.

 

In theory it works. The signal goes in, records, great..

But the quality is dire. There is so much hum and background noise even on a clean signal, that when I try to insert an amp sim onto the track, it just exaggerates the background noise and makes it almost unlistenable.

 

I think the problem is, with this route into Logic, there are so many different volumes that I'm having problems setting up a decent volume to reduce this noise.

There's the main volume on the mic channel, then the trim, then the FX send on the channel, then the main effects send and it's hard to know where the problem starts.

 

I tried bypassing the mixer altogether for the acoustic guitar and inserting the mic straight into the apogee which immediately gave me a cleaner (not perfect but instantly better) recording ,unfortunately, I dont know why or how.

 

When I first bought the apogee, I kind of fluked the initial setup and then to be honest just left it, not fully understand what was working, just that it was.

So, now to reconfigure it to receive a signal from the mic input instead would knock out the whole previous setup and all the associated audio feeds that Im currently using.

 

So... I guess my somewhat long winded question is this...

What is the best set up for my needs and with the equipment that Ive got?

Am I best off feeding the mic straight into the apogee and bypassing the mixer? I have a feeling that this is the case..

And if so, does anyone know, or have any suggestions of how I can then set up my apogee (via maestro? or straight into logic?) so that it can accommodate all of my requirements, mic, decks, electric guitar, synth etc...

 

I hope this isn't tooooo confusing, I'm desperate to get it hooked up properly so am online nonstop at the mo and will add whatever missing details might help unravel this audio spaghetti junction!

 

Thanks as always..

Hopefully hear back from you soon

 

Mark

[qtruck]

You could simply eliminate the mixer. You won't be able to use the XLR and line inputs of the Duet at the same time, but you'll definitely get a better result from the mic going straight into the Duet. And you might need to get something to convert the turntable output to line level, if it is a phono output. The Duet's outputs can go right into the speakers (assuming they're powered, or into the amp if they're not). Do you go direct with the electric guitar? Then you'll have to swap that into the line/instrument input.

[theelectricdisco]

Cool..

many thanks for the reply.

Other advice I've had has echoed yours so this morning I've router my mic straight into the apogee and touch wood it seems infinitely better.

 

I also cleaned up my cabling as the mic lead was previously running past a mains box, through all my speaker cables, past my macbook power lead... and Ive a feeling that that also might have been adding some extra hummage.

Is that possible?

 

Ok, so the signal is better, although when I turn on a multi effects distortion rock monster amp type affair, I immediately get some noise even when Ive only recorded an empty audio track.

Its almost silent when there are no effects there but when I turn them on the noise kicks in.

It kind of sounds like when you turn a real amp on, so Im not sure if this is just to be expected?

 

Anyway, with a bit of noise gating and the quick expermintation Ive done this morning I think I'll be able to sort it.

 

However, Im now in the grasp of the Apogee and it's in / out settings.

 

Ive kept my decks running through my mixer (they go into my main DJ mixer first so no need for a preamp - and I also use the second mixer to send my decks to my monitors without having to turn on my mac)

They currently go into the instrument 1 and 2 which I succesfully grouped in logics apogee controls and got a decent recording, but, Im now experiencing a wierd thing when I try to control the channel volume with the channel fader.

It does nothing until I change inputs to none, and then back again, and then it starts working.

If I dont do that then I can only control the channel volume via the main output fader which Ive not experienced before.

 

Also, I select input 1, or input 2 for my stereo signal from my decks / mixer, which goes into the intrument 1 and 2 grouped, but Im not sure which one I should be selecting... input 1 or input 2 as they both appear to be doing the same thing. Or should I set it to inputs 1 + 2?

 

Hmmm.. sorry, multi layered question here.

Any pointers on any of the problems would be hugely appreciated once again!

 

Many thanks again

Mark

[cleverjoe]

I know this was posted awhile ago, but I just wanted to offer some feedback. You said:

 

>>>"I think the problem is, with this route into Logic, there are so many different volumes that I'm having problems setting up a decent volume to reduce this noise.

There's the main volume on the mic channel, then the trim, then the FX send on the channel, then the main effects send and it's hard to know where the problem starts."

 

Signal flow is the greatest asset to any recording. Recording directly to the Apogee is your best bet, but if you want to use your mixer, always start at the source, maxing out your levels en route to the final destination. Start with the main volume fader on your mixer, bringing it up as high as you can without distorting. Then, go to the trim level, bringing it up as high as you can without distorting, then move on to the FX send, maxing these out, and so on. Always start at the source and you will reduce signal/noise.

 

Cheers