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Am I on the right path for budget recording?

Boom762

Boom762

I AM the one who Booms!
Supporting Member
Oct 19, 2013
915
498
40
Alpine, TX
#1
I recently picked up a Behringer UCG102 guitar-to-USB interface cable and hate it. I've been using it with Audacity and after reading forum after forum on how to get the sound louder than 0.2 DB with no results, I'm giving up on this piece of equipment. Tried it directly with a bass and laptop and even tried having it come through the LH1000.

However, my failures with this gear have me thinking I should just go to the next price level and get something more like [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. All I plan to do with this is to record riffs I come up with and make YouTube videos as audition tapes. Is this equipment enough to get what I want? I just need something that will allow me to record at decent volumes and clarity without needing multiple pieces of equipment and higher end sound-cards. Mind you I have zero experience in recording and all that. Constructive criticisms and Advice are always appreciated.
 
#3
Depends (as usual) on what you want. I'd suggest at least looking at "portable digital recorders" as a more independent/portable/versatile solution. If you have anywhere that your bass (via amp & cab) sounds decent and there is not a lot of outside noise, park a PDR out in front of it and record away. Also handy for recording rehearsals, gigs, etc. The one I use is discontinued, so I really can't suggest one over the other for what's out there now, but they can be quite decent. Obviously also not the same type of device - no direct plug-in on most (some do have adapters for direct plug in, but that ups the price) - however, direct plug in is losing everything you do to make "tone" happen with your amp, so....
 
#4
I like the idea of the PDR. Definitely reading up on them. From the tiny bit I could hear from that direct in I really liked my tone through it. Just a Ibanez 305dx and it sounded so sterile and precise.
 
#6
Big Hoss said:
I am not familiar with that device. However I had had a similar problem recording using my UCA200 / XENYX 502. Make sure the mic / record level by default is set REALLY low. Slide that thing up.
Click to expand...

I decided to grab these items and see if I can make it any better. If not, Ill try a recording program that costs money. I'm focusing more and more into making a Youtube channel for reviews and such and I think if the GT doesnt do so well, Ill just sell it and go for a nice HD camera. I think the cameras would be able t pick up a cabinet well enough.

TASCAM GT-R1 Portable Guitar/Bass Recorder
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Closed-Back Professional Studio Monitor Headphones
 
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#7
Assuming this is Windows, in the "sound" control panel, be sure to check the device-specific property dialog; it usually has lots of settings and may have a setting that switches between line-level and instrument/mic-level input. When you pull up the Windows audio mixer, that can dramatically alter the range of boost the slider controls.
 
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#8
Well, my band is currently recording a demo with nothing but a zoom h4n. We have the X/Y mics pointed at the drummer and myself and the guitar player each direct in. We record the track and then our singer lays vocals down on top using the zoom as an interface. That gives us 3 tracks to mix and eq. While it's not studio quality by any means, it's pretty damn good. And if I'm at home noodling around and have a good riff idea, I just break it out and set it on the table and hit record. Is probably the single best piece of equipment I've ever purchased. You can get them now brand-new for $200, used for half that.
 
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#9
Boom762 said:
Am I on the right path for budget recording?

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Click to expand...
yes
 
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#10
You could spend even less and get the Presonus Audiobox USB for $99
Invalid Link Removed

I currently use it, and get great results with it. They both come with Presonus's Studio One, which I find to be pretty nice. It won't let you load any third party addons though (EzDrummer and other stuff like that), but I found a way with EzDrummer2 to save the files out as Midis or wavs and bring them into Studio One.
I do all of my recordings through it and play along to songs and crap, and adjust the levels after I record. I DI out from different parts of my chain and get great results each time. I don't mess with the effects in Studio One, I just straight record right out of my own pedals/amp.

But if you're barely getting any sound of of what you've got, something tells me that there's something not working at Line level, or some input just isn't at the volume that it needs to be.
 
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#12
Your problem without a doubt is NOT Audacity, although it has some shortcomings, recording levels is not one of them... I have a couple of thoughts though...

#1. Your device, looking at the promo pics, it has a HI and LOW record switch. I assume it is for volume, not tones... You may be in the wrong position, OR you may have a bad switch...
#2. Double check your Audacity, adjust your mic input on Audacity.
#3. Your audio device input levels are being muted / limited by the OS. How to adjust this varies by OS and release version. Give me some idea what you are running and I can help you figure it out...

IF you want to do your bass, and say a friend's guitar, a mic or two, and maybe a drum machine or keys in.... You might want to give a small mixer a good look... I have the Behringer XENYX 1202FX, never use the effects though...

If I had to do it over again, and barring any anti Behringer bias, I would go with the Q1202 USB. Decent little mixer, plenty of inputs for small jams, good recording via USB, and no extra stuff to buy...
 
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#13
I'm running Windows 8 on a Toshiba Laptop with an i3 core.

The Behringer is louder on the Hi side of the switch but only about .3Db on the screen. I tried using a stereo (two ring) plug to see if it would make a difference but it did not. Dave, I have zero knowledge on this stuff so I would greatly appreciate info on how to check those levels. I went into my audio options/mier for my laptop and turned the Behringer all the way up, then went into audacity and tried to turn all the volumes and such up that I could find. Another issue I noticed is that when I wore headphones to listen to the playback, it always only played from the left. No rainbow bar shown for the right. Never got that figured out even after switching from Mono to Stereo. If we can end up getting the behringer/audacity setup working well enough, Ill save a couple hundred bucks and not buy the Tascam GT-R1.

I've been reading gear reviews and watching tutorial videos this passed week on what all I need for the recording (Decided to also start making YouTube videos) and on the audio side of things, this is what I was planning on buying.

- TASCAM GT-R1 Portable Guitar/Bass Recorder
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Closed-Back Professional Studio Monitor Headphones
- Audio-Technica AT2035 Large Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser Microphone
- Musician's Gear Double Pop Filter 6 inch
- Behringer XENYX Q1202 USB Mixer (I looked it up and saw a review on it. Great idea sir!)
 
#14
I am working late next three days. If I can weasel some time I will try to get some screenshots put up for you to show you what you need to adjust....

I am NOT saying your guitar input isn't bad, it happens, but we should check the settings first. When I first tried my mixer, I had a similar issue... Mostly not realizing Audacity had its own mic level input slide. Below is a screen shot of the adjustment on Audacity I am talking about....
This setting tends to clip though. Move the slider until you get your sound level right...

audacity-mic-adjust.png
 
#15
I think it's safe to say now that it the interface :) . In the picture below, youll notice the only time it even reaches 1DB is when I pulled the strings and popped them real hard. Normal playing registers around 0.4Db.

audacityfail.jpg
 
#17
From the right pull bar / search on Windows 8 search for Sound. Look for the sound app, and launch it.
Windows8SoundControl.png


Click the Recording tab.
Windows8SoundControl_recordtab.png


Select your Behringer device and click properties, OR double click the Behringer device.
Windows8SoundControl_LineIn.png


Click levels and check your input level. IF your slide is all the way to the right that is as much input gain as your device will do...
Windows8SoundControl_LineInLevels.png


Assuming your settings look like this, check the output volume from your bass, failing that... bail on that adapter dongle thing and go with a mixer, or better recording interface.
 
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#18
Thanks a lot for the tutorial. Above and beyond sir and I appreciate it. The level was already at 100. I'm all in for the Behringer mixer and Tascam GT-R1 now. I have to wait a couple more weeks before I can order them so Ill get to study up on how to use audacity for different things.
 
#20
How long have you had the guitar adapter, and have you contacted Behringer support? They do have a 3 year warranty, and I had a concern with my mixer they were very easy to deal with.... (Components looked different from any other of my model I have seen, looks like they did a running change...)
 

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