UR44 Low Input Gain

SteveBee · January 27, 2020, 7:33pm

bthom:

My question concerns the exact configuration fuzzydude used to produce the lovely acoustic youtube video. Did he have 2 Shure 57s set up in an XY pattern, both plugged into Triton Fetheads and TK Audio DP1s? I can easily afford 2 Fetheads, but not sure about the expensive TK Audio DP1s so if that’s crucial, any cheaper alternative that might also do the trick would be appreciated. I’m fairly new to recording. What led me to this excellent discussion is a desire to record using M/S technique w my UR44 and a Cascade Fathead BE (side) and Share 57 (mid). Was sad to find that banjo and fiddle need to be sitting close (e.g. 6" away max) and the UR44 gain turned all the way up, and still nowhere near clipping level was observed

fuzzydude:

Spiritos:

@Fuzzydude: Thanks for the tip on the Triton or any mic pre-amp for that matter. I had no idea those existed.
I wonder though if any pre-amp on a mic won’t add too much background noise to the recording.

I only record solo voals and acoustic guitar. I also play the piano but that I record digital obviously.
At this moment I’m pretty satisfied with the recordings although I do see some use for a decibel booster in the future so I might check it out some more by then.

@Spiritos, although different mic preamps vary in their ability to produce clean gain your question about it adding to the noise floor speaks more of ensuring a proper gain structure for your equipment. When this is achieved, the possible issue you mention would not occur. For example, with a relatively quiet vocalist placed 10 inches from the mic, singing into an SM57 plugged into a Triton Fethead, plugged into a TK Audio DP1 (mic preamp) and finally into the UR44 with its input level knob turned all the way down (effectively not using the UR44’s onboard preamp for gain) produces more than enough clean gain with no appreciable noise floor. I.e. suitable for an acoustic recording.

Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h1ku5-C_3w as an example of a live recording I did for a UR44 review where gain structure is set up correctly to help ensure an almost imperceivable noise floor in spite of the noisy surroundings. All the mics used in this example are condensers and only the UR44 was used for gain, no other gain boosting equipment, but the principle is exactly the same

As a sidenote the UR44 appears to produce noticeable self noise once the input gain knob exceeds 50-60%. Nevertheless its an absolutely great unit for the price, especially if used with a Steinberg DAW thanks to the integrated functionality

Hi @bthom, they were all condenser mics. 2 x AKG SE300B (CK1 capsules) in XY config and a CAD M179 and a Rode NT2-A in MS config. No Fetheads or my TK Audio DP1 were used. The whole purpose of the recording was to show what’s possible with a relatively cheap hardware setup and appropriate settings using the UR44 with just stock plugins to record and mix a live ensemble. Setup was a major part of the demo as the location was less than ideal.

With 57’s you’d absolutely need Fetheads or similar, or a good mic pre with at least 30 plus db of quiet gain. Hope that helps