1 Topic by regal1956 (edited by regal1956 2023-08-25 15:29:03)

  • Registered: 2023-03-26
  • Posts: 11

Topic: mics-preamp-ADI-2-speakers: Can I Play & Listen In Real Time?

I have a basic question. Most of my recording is exclusively with solo classical guitar. Over time, I’ve become frustrated with listening through headphones to run mic placement tests. So I instead want to do mic placement tests listening to a pair of studio monitor speakers. I plan to buy a pair of Yamaha HS5 Powered Studio Monitor speakers. My chain will be as follows:

2 SDC mics → preamp → RME ADI-2 Pro FS R BE → monitor speakers

I want to be able to play and hear myself through the monitor speakers in real time. This will make it quicker and easier for me to place the mics in the best position.

As I said, this is a basic question. (I’m a musician, not an audio engineer.) Presumably the RME can do what I’ve described. But reading through the user manual, it’s unclear to me what settings will do this. So I’m looking for two basic answers:

1) Will the RME do this?

2) If so, what settings do I need?

Thanks in advance for your help.

regal1956's Website

  • From: Milan, Italy
  • Registered: 2012-02-19
  • Posts: 187

Re: mics-preamp-ADI-2-speakers: Can I Play & Listen In Real Time?

Will do it fine if you place a dual mic pre between the mics and the RME box, but you'll need to be careful with feedback. Fine for getting a good sound, but for recording I'd recommend going back to cans or you'll get spill.

https://musicwall.app/hermetech

Babaluma's Website

3 Reply by regal1956 (edited by regal1956 2023-08-25 20:37:21)

  • Registered: 2023-03-26
  • Posts: 11

Re: mics-preamp-ADI-2-speakers: Can I Play & Listen In Real Time?

Thanks. My recording situation isn’t complex. It’s just me in my basement, playing solo guitar into a near-coincident spaced pair. So spill isn’t a concern. For me, the problem is knowing what quality of sound I’ll be getting when I listen to the finished recording on my good sound system. Headphones don’t tell me this accurately—something that sounds good through headphones often sounds bad on speakers. So I’m hoping mic placement experiments through monitor speakers will be more reliable.

I was wondering if feedback might be a danger. Apparently it is, so I’ll be careful. Feedback in a small basement is a good way to ruin one’s eardrums.

Presumably my RME will automatically route the signal to my monitors, since I won’t have anything else hooked up. (To be honest, I’ve no idea how to do much of anything with the ADI-2 Pro FS R BE. But since I’m using it exclusively as an A/D converter for a recording chain, I haven’t had to learn much more about it other than turning it on and off.)

regal1956's Website

  • From: Milan, Italy
  • Registered: 2012-02-19
  • Posts: 187

Re: mics-preamp-ADI-2-speakers: Can I Play & Listen In Real Time?

Sounds like a plan! By spill, I meant spill from your speakers into the mic, if you have the speakers on while recording, hence the recommendation for cans when recording, or alternatively just turn off the speakers and don't wear cans. As it's an acoustic instrument you can hear and feel best that way. I record in a similar way with my acoustic guitar. I only wear cans if I need to record to a click track, and even then on one ear only or it affects my playing too much.

I understand the desire to get a good sound through speakers while you are experimenting and recording, but in my case mic positing has all been about trial and error, to find the best positions for the guitar and mic in the room etc. Lots of recording, lots of listening back and taking notes.

https://musicwall.app/hermetech

Babaluma's Website

  • Registered: 2023-03-26
  • Posts: 11

Re: mics-preamp-ADI-2-speakers: Can I Play & Listen In Real Time?

Babaluma wrote:

By spill, I meant spill from your speakers into the mic, if you have the speakers on while recording, hence the recommendation for cans when recording, or alternatively just turn off the speakers and don’t wear cans.

Sheesh, I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right, of course, and it should’ve been obvious to me. When I run a mic placement test, I’ll set up so the mics are facing away from the speakers. I also have an Aston mic shield. So that might help.

As it’s an acoustic instrument you can hear and feel best that way. I record in a similar way with my acoustic guitar. I only wear cans if I need to record to a click track, and even then on one ear only or it affects my playing too much.

Agreed. I never wear headphones as I record. Too annoying. Fortunately, I’ve gotten good at keeping a steady tempo, even when running multiple takes. Sometimes I’ll consult a metronome before running a take. But once I have a tempo, I can usually maintain it without a click track.

I understand the desire to get a good sound through speakers while you are experimenting and recording, but in my case mic positing has all been about trial and error, to find the best positions for the guitar and mic in the room etc. Lots of recording, lots of listening back and taking notes.

Amen to that. There are, of course, basic principles of good mic placement. But ultimately it’s a dark art. Really, all one can do is try everything to see what works. I recently upgraded my recording gear to professional level stuff. (My RME ADI-2 Pro FS R BE was the catalyst. Once I got that, it convinced me to upgrade the rest of my recording chain.) Since I now have my dream system, it’s goaded me to redouble my effort to get everything else just right.

The upside is that all this effort and expense on the recording side has booted me in the butt to practice more. It’s silly to go through all this grief to improve my recordings, merely to hack through a mediocre performance. Indeed, this is how I justified the expense of my gear upgrade. In a sense, it’s better playing through bribery.

regal1956's Website

6 Reply by regal1956 (edited by regal1956 2023-08-31 13:11:38)

  • Registered: 2023-03-26
  • Posts: 11

Re: mics-preamp-ADI-2-speakers: Can I Play & Listen In Real Time?

After getting a pair of Yamaha HS5 speakers, I found my idea of monitoring in real time wasn’t overly bright. It became obvious that listening to monitor speakers while playing doesn’t work—I’d need to set the speaker gain very high to overcome the sound coming directly from my guitar. (Babaluma tried to warn me of this.)

Okay, so I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box. Fortunately, having monitor speakers at my recording desk makes running mic checks a snap. I can record a sample and then immediately play it back through the speakers. (The RME ADI-2 automatically routes the signal properly—all I have to do is set the gain.) Before, I could do mic tests only through headphones, and I’ve learned from experience that I can’t accurately judge recorded sound through headphones. The monitors speed up the process.

So it’s all good.

regal1956's Website