MANLI Condenser Gain Behringer UM2

[guitardrummer91]

Just ordered a MANLI condenser off of amazon. I am working to build up a rig to record demo's of some of the songs I have written. I am using the Behringer UM2 interface. I have the gain all the way down and the mic is borderline clipping?? Is this a get what you pay for or is there a way I am missing to control the gain a little better? It does require phantom power. Please help?!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have tried it plugged directly into the computer and it still appears to be "too hot". Thanks in advance!

[ivansc]

Since you have the phantom power on (in the Behringer) it should all behave itself. I couldnt see on the photos of your Manli mike, but does it have any pad switches? Many condenser mics do have pads to reduce overall level if it is too hot for the input to your system. FWIW it is fairly unusual to have a mic that overloads the interface that much. Have you got a regular dynamic mic like a SHure SM58 or 57 to compare it with? Obviously, switch the Phantom power off before hooking up a dynamic mic.

Wow - I went back & had a better look & this really is an odd bird.
Nowhere in that ad does it explain how you can use it straight into a laptop with e 3.5 mm jack connector, so who knows?

Frankly you would be better off with just a straight condenser mic from elsewhere. Plenty of cheap ones out there, but you might also want to consider a decent dynamic mic instead. Assuming you stick with recording songs, at least something like an SM57 or 58 will always be worth something and always be useful, if not ideal for your vocals.

[DVDdoug]

You didn't say what you're recording, but I assume vocals and un-amplified guitar? Most mics won't overload unless you stick them in front of a guitar amp or drum or some other loud instrument.

The specs are "weird". It mentions sample rate which doesn't apply to an analog mic. And it's looks like it works with the 5V power from a soundcard/laptop but it's not clear if it's supposed to work with 48V phantom power. There are some mics advertised to work with both, but in general computer mics and stage/studio mics are not interchangeable.


Clearly, this an electret condenser microphone packaged differently than an average computer microphone. (That doesn't necessarily make it bad and there are some good electret condenser mics, but it's not a "studio condenser".)

I have the gain all the way down and the mic is borderline clipping??

Near clipping is not a problem (as long as the mic itself is not overloading) so it depends on what you mean by "borderline". If you are clipping the ADC in the interface you can get an inline pad/attenuator but that's sort-of a band-aid solution.


You probably should think about getting a "real" microphone from a music store/website that specializes in pro sound equipment such as Musician's Friend or Sweetwater.




ivansc is right. "You can't go wrong with an SM57/58." Pro studios use condenser mics for almost everything but the (dynamic) 57/58 are the most popular stage mics of all time. I's not a "bad" mic and it will last forever. It's probably one of the few dynamic mics you'll find in a pro studio although they are rarely used to record vocals.


Dynamic mics have lower output than a condenser and the 57/58 is impossible to overload. You can still overload the interface with very-loud sounds but if the signal gets too hot you can switch the interface to "line" and it will work because dynamic mics don't need phantom power. (I'd choose the SM58 because it has the pop filter which makes it more flexible.)

[guitardrummer91]

Originally Posted by DVDdoug

You didn't say what you're recording, but I assume vocals and un-amplified guitar? Most mics won't overload unless you stick them in front of a guitar amp or drum or some other loud instrument.

The specs are "weird". It mentions sample rate which doesn't apply to an analog mic. And it's looks like it works with the 5V power from a soundcard/laptop but it's not clear if it's supposed to work with 48V phantom power. There are some mics advertised to work with both, but in general computer mics and stage/studio mics are not interchangeable.


Clearly, this an electret condenser microphone packaged differently than an average computer microphone. (That doesn't necessarily make it bad and there are some good electret condenser mics, but it's not a "studio condenser".)


Near clipping is not a problem (as long as the mic itself is not overloading) so it depends on what you mean by "borderline". If you are clipping the ADC in the interface you can get an inline pad/attenuator but that's sort-of a band-aid solution.


You probably should think about getting a "real" microphone from a music store/website that specializes in pro sound equipment such as Musician's Friend or Sweetwater.




ivansc is right. "You can't go wrong with an SM57/58." Pro studios use condenser mics for almost everything but the (dynamic) 57/58 are the most popular stage mics of all time. I's not a "bad" mic and it will last forever. It's probably one of the few dynamic mics you'll find in a pro studio although they are rarely used to record vocals.


Dynamic mics have lower output than a condenser and the 57/58 is impossible to overload. You can still overload the interface with very-loud sounds but if the signal gets too hot you can switch the interface to "line" and it will work because dynamic mics don't need phantom power. (I'd choose the SM58 because it has the pop filter which makes it more flexible.)

I have a dynamic mic (Sennheiser E835) that sounds pretty good. I was hoping for something a little more crisp, I guess for my needs a dynamic mic is just fine. Have it in my head I need a fancy mic to make me sound professional, ha! It’s clipping on the interface if I really dig into the mic and it picks up everything ambient around me. I’ll probably hold on to it and just deal with it. It was cheap enough! I appreciate the replies.