RE320 + MG10XU

[Arkaea]

Hello everyone,

 

For quite some time I've been using the blue yeti mic (usb version) to record my gameplays' voiceovers and twitch streams, but lately I noticed some white noise on my recordings and they're kinda hard to remove in post production without making the voice look a bit funky when I start saying somethiing, usually starts with an iss sound, something like that, so I'm thinking about an upgrade and jump to an XLR mic, which brought me some doubts because I know nothing about it and I know almost nothing about the sound industry.

The gear I'm thinking about is an Electrovoice RE320 microphone and a Yamaha MG10XU mixer so I can connect everything to the pc via usb. My goal is to tweek the voice a bit but not much since I have kind of a deep voice already, and to remove background noise as much as possible and have better quality than with the Blue Yeti, this one being the top priority.

 

1 - do I need phantom power in order to use this mic? I think not but all the info I googled didnt make me 100% sure about it and some of them even mentioned it could damage the mic.

 

2 - do I need a cloud lifter for this setup? I've heard some voice samples with and without cloudlifter and I noticed it gives more gain to your voice and removes a bit of background noise. I think playing a bit with the compression knob will be enough, but I'm not sure.

 

3 - I chose the MG10XU cause I'm always thinking about future improvement and I sometimes do podcasts with some friends, plus it has special effects built into the mixer which  I find a nice add. I've even seen a video from Salazar Studio and Barnacules when they bought this mixer and the sound is amazing with no background noise. Do you have any other recommendations or this will be a great add?

 

Thank you for your patience.

[Himommies]

Get a Presonous Audiobox 2x2 and a Shure SM58

[Arkaea]

10 minutes ago, Himommies said:

Get a Presonous Audiobox 2x2 and a Shure SM58

Reasons being?

[Himommies]

Just now, Arkaea said:

Reasons being?

it's a good combo?

Unless you want to spend more this is genrally what I would recommend to most pepole starting off.Any specific Budget?

[Arkaea]

Just now, Himommies said:

it's a good combo?

Unless you want to spend more this is genrally what I would recommend to most pepole starting off.Any specific Budget?

I'm with a budget between 500/700€

 

Thing about the Presonous Audiobox videos I watched so far is that it doesnt allow to tweek the voice if you need it on the fly, ence my choise for the Yamaha MG10XU.

[anothertom]

1. No. It's a dynamic capsule so you don't need phantom power. Having phantom power on will not damage the mic, but should be avoided.

 

2. No. If it's too quiet add gain, if it's clipping turn gain down.

 

3. For the price of the MG10XU you could easily pick up a smaller mixer and a better interface. Or simply get a better interface and use software compression and EQ.

 

Unless you're doing this as a hobby and aren't fussed about the money, or you're making enough from subs/whatever, i wouldn't get the RE320. A much cheaper dynamic mic (SM58 /beta58/e935) would be just as good, especially in an imperfect environment.

 

1 minute ago, Arkaea said:

I'm with a budget between 500/700€

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

[Himommies]

1 minute ago, Arkaea said:

I'm with a budget between 500/700€

 

Thing about the Presonous Audiobox videos I watched so far is that it doesnt allow to tweek the voice if you need it on the fly, ence my choise for the Yamaha MG10XU.

Most pepole don't need to or can't change level while there gaming so it dosen't matter too much IMO.The MG10Xu is asolid Choice though

[Arkaea]

3 minutes ago, anothertom said:

1. No. It's a dynamic capsule so you don't need phantom power. Having phantom power on will not damage the mic, but should be avoided.

 

2. No. If it's too quiet add gain, if it's clipping turn gain down.

 

3. For the price of the MG10XU you could easily pick up a smaller mixer and a better interface. Or simply get a better interface and use software compression and EQ.

 

Unless you're doing this as a hobby and aren't fussed about the money, or you're making enough from subs/whatever, i wouldn't get the RE320. A much cheaper dynamic mic (SM58 /beta58/e935) would be just as good, especially in an imperfect environment.

 

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Although I can use that budget I based it on what I thought would sound better, that's all.

 

So from what you said, buying a mic and an audio interface instead of a mixer is a better option then?

[Arkaea]

Just now, Himommies said:

Most pepole don't need to or can't change level while there gaming so it dosen't matter too much IMO.The MG10Xu is asolid Choice though

True, although what concerns me the most is the background noise. If I'm playing something like Lineage 2 it's okey cause my cpu cooler doesnt ramp up at all, but if I'm on Overwatch the cooler goes almost all the way up and the background noise is noticeable even with the game sound. PC case is underneath my table btw.

[anothertom]

Yes. Realistically, there's no need to spend over £/€ 200-250 ish for a good mic and a good interface.

[anothertom]

Just now, Arkaea said:

True, although what concerns me the most is the background noise. If I'm playing something like Lineage 2 it's okey cause my cpu cooler doesnt ramp up at all, but if I'm on Overwatch the cooler goes almost all the way up and the background noise is noticeable even with the game sound. PC case is underneath my table btw.

There's nothing on the mixer that's going to cut out background noise, the only solution is to use better placement and distance from the noise.

[Arkaea]

Just now, anothertom said:

Yes. Realistically, there's no need to spend over £/€ 200-250 ish for a good mic and a good interface.

My idea for the setup I mentioned was to not waste time in editing the sound clips in post production, which I do a lot now with the blue yeti.

[anothertom]

5 minutes ago, Arkaea said:

My idea for the setup I mentioned was to not waste time in editing the sound clips in post production, which I do a lot now with the blue yeti.

How much post-production are you currently doing? I'd guess some EQ, maybe some compression? You can easily use software (e.g. voicemeeter banana) to do that live.

[Arkaea]

Just now, anothertom said:

How much post-production are you currently doing? I'd guess some EQ, maybe some compression? You can easily use software (e.g. voicemeeter banana) to do that live.

I'm using audacity as well to remove background noise and white noise from the mic. Problem with that is, when I start talking I get a lot of iss's from my words.

[anothertom]

You won't be removing any of that with the limited EQ or compression on a mixer.

 

What you can do with a more precise graphic EQ is, by using an RTA spectrum analyser, identify the problem frequencies and cut them. 

[Arkaea]

1 minute ago, anothertom said:

You won't be removing any of that with the limited EQ or compression on a mixer.

 

What you can do with a more precise graphic EQ is, by using an RTA spectrum analyser, identify the problem frequencies and cut them. 

Alright, that gives me an idea where to start with, thanks!

 

You mentioned on previous posts I could use a cheaper mixer and a better audio interface. Got any suggestions for both? I've been googling arround and I saw many good reviews on the Scarlett 2i2, Line 6 Pod Studio UX2 and the Presonous Audiobox.  Dumb question, I connect one to another via xlr cable right?

[anothertom]

Personally I'm a fan of the Focusrite Scarlett series, which I fully expect @Himommies to disagree with in favour of Presonus. For a single mic the Scarlett Solo is good, if you want more room for the future then the 2i2 is the logical upgrade from that.

 

I would suggest either forgoing the mixer or getting one with a usb interface built in, as otherwise the stand alone interface is overkill. The Behringer Xenyx Q802USB or Q1002USB would be suitable, or the Allen & Heath ZEDi-8.

[Arkaea]

7 minutes ago, anothertom said:

Personally I'm a fan of the Focusrite Scarlett series, which I fully expect @Himommies to disagree with in favour of Presonus. For a single mic the Scarlett Solo is good, if you want more room for the future then the 2i2 is the logical upgrade from that.

 

I would suggest either forgoing the mixer or getting one with a usb interface built in, as otherwise the stand alone interface is overkill. The Behringer Xenyx Q802USB or Q1002USB would be suitable, or the Allen & Heath ZEDi-8.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, I'll dig in a bit more into those.

 

One last question reguarding the cloudlifter. I just watched one guy testing the Shure SM7B plugged into  a Yamaha MG12XU mixer with and without cloudlifter and the gain difference is huge, he had the gain knob at 100% without the cloudlifter and when he plugged it in he was using the knob at 25% with the same noise level roughly. It is said that this mic has kind of a low gain into it, therefor the difference with the cloudlifter plugged in. I guess you never know if a cloudlifter is needed, you have to test the mic alone first and then make your decision of getting one or not, right?

[Himommies]

2 hours ago, anothertom said:

Personally I'm a fan of the Focusrite Scarlett series, which I fully expect @Himommies to disagree with in favour of Presonus.

I don't know if they fixed it in the past 4 months but their drivers suck and can be incredibly unstable