My mic is too low, and has stopped working correctly

[Shansana]

Hello,

 

I recently got a Shure 55 Deluxe mic as a gift, it was pretty ok until I decided to uninstall and reinstall realtek audio drivers to get rid of fuzz in the background, my mic then stopped working and when it worked it was very low.

 

After hours of trying to fix the problem, I did a complete clean install of windows, after setting my new windows up, the problem was still there. I went into settings, I put the microphone volume at 100 and microphone boost at 10db, it was not as loud as it was before, and the mic quality sounds horrible, worse than before, 20db is unbearable it sounds amplified.

 

I installed drivers from the motherboard website too. The problem still persists. The microphone is very good, I have seen tests and reviews online. What the hell is going on? It's not my wires that's for sure, they were working great until I reinstalled realtek audio drivers the first time.

 

Can anybody help me?

 

Thanks,

Edited March 30, 2020 by Shansana

[The Flying Sloth]

That microphone is a vintage-inspired XLR microphone and to get it to sound decent at all you can't simply plug it into your computer's 3.5mm mic jack. Really you should be using an audio interface to get the clean gain required to use the mic. I can't say for sure why it decided to just go quiet for you but I can certainly say that you would get a much more usable sound (assuming the mic works) if using it with hardware it was designed to work with like a proper mic preamp. There are quite a few cheap options (under 50 bucks) that should work well and it comes down to personal choice. I don't know how much gain that specific mic requires but if the interface still can't power it effectively something like a cloudlifter or Triton audio fethead is often used for dynamic microphones in a studio setting.

 

Sloth

[Shansana]

6 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

That microphone is a vintage-inspired XLR microphone and to get it to sound decent at all you can't simply plug it into your computer's 3.5mm mic jack. Really you should be using an audio interface to get the clean gain required to use the mic. I can't say for sure why it decided to just go quiet for you but I can certainly say that you would get a much more usable sound (assuming the mic works) if using it with hardware it was designed to work with like a proper mic preamp. There are quite a few cheap options (under 50 bucks) that should work well and it comes down to personal choice. I don't know how much gain that specific mic requires but if the interface still can't power it effectively something like a cloudlifter or Triton audio fethead is often used for dynamic microphones in a studio setting.

 

Sloth

Thanks for the reply, I have no idea how to use gear for microphones, I have a Behringer XENYX 1202FX mixer lying around from a family member who no longer uses it but i have no idea how to use it myself, would a mixer help with the quality?

 

[The Flying Sloth]

36 minutes ago, Shansana said:

Thanks for the reply, I have no idea how to use gear for microphones, I have a Behringer XENYX 1202FX mixer lying around from a family member who no longer uses it but i have no idea how to use it myself, would a mixer help with the quality?

 

Short answer : Yes
Long answer : Yes, so long as you can find a way to get the audio out of the mixer and into the computer which may be harder than you think. If it were a USB mixer that would be extremely easy but the 1202fx doesn't have that functionality (only the Q1202 does). Check around for used audio interfaces in your area, new ones (like the Behringer UM2) are often under $50 but used ones can be a much better deal, so long as it has a connector the same as the bottom of your mic (XLR) it should work fine together and you can completely bypass the Realtek drivers.

Sloth

[Shansana]

15 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Short answer : Yes
Long answer : Yes, so long as you can find a way to get the audio out of the mixer and into the computer which may be harder than you think. If it were a USB mixer that would be extremely easy but the 1202fx doesn't have that functionality (only the Q1202 does). Check around for used audio interfaces in your area, new ones (like the Behringer UM2) are often under $50 but used ones can be a much better deal, so long as it has a connector the same as the bottom of your mic (XLR) it should work fine together and you can completely bypass the Realtek drivers.

Sloth

Wow, so if you get a audio interface, drivers don't matter?  I can just bypass it?

[The Flying Sloth]

54 minutes ago, Shansana said:

Wow, so if you get a audio interface, drivers don't matter?  I can just bypass it?

Audio interfaces have their own drivers made by the manufacturer, at least every one I've ever used has.

[Shansana]

54 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Audio interfaces have their own drivers made by the manufacturer, at least every one I've ever used has.

Would the Behringer UMC22 have their own drivers? Would it fix my problem with my mic being too quiet? 

 

Thanks,

[it_dont_work]

2 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

If it were a USB mixer that would be extremely easy but the 1202fx doesn't have that functionality (only the Q1202 does). 

Sloth

 

What the hell? just run the tape out into the line in on his pc. it's a line level output 

 

No mixer worth shit doesn't have a stereo line level out.  He only needs an rca/3.5mm jack 

[it_dont_work]

5 minutes ago, Shansana said:

Would the Behringer UMC22 have their own drivers? Would it fix my problem with my mic being too quiet? 

 

Thanks,

rca/3.5 use the old behringer mixer you've got and run the tape out into your pc's line in.  If all you want is to use the mic that's all you need to do, only other thing you might need is a mic lead. 

[The Flying Sloth]

13 hours ago, Shansana said:

Would the Behringer UMC22 have their own drivers? Would it fix my problem with my mic being too quiet? 

 

Thanks,

Yes, it will give you a dedicated volume control for your microphone on the box which should give you far more gain than plugging straight into the 3.5mm port. Assuming of course that it's the port/drivers that are causing the issues and not the mic itself. I personally own the UMC1820 and use it for everything from Shure dynamic mics to my tube mics.

 

13 hours ago, it_dont_work said:

rca/3.5 use the old behringer mixer you've got and run the tape out into your pc's line in.  If all you want is to use the mic that's all you need to do, only other thing you might need is a mic lead. 

While technically correct the whole point is that the Realtek audio drivers are being dodgey, if his mic used to work and now doesn't there's no telling how long it would continue to do so, besides, from experience the xenyx mixers are quite prone to crackling on that output.

 

If OP wants to try it he can go ahead, it may work and save him the small amount that a cheap interface may cost but it really is best practice to use a dedicated audio interface for XLR mics, far less janky solution and allows for a very simple upgrade path in future. 

 

Sloth