I don’t know what section to put this in or if this is even the right forum but i already have an account here so here goes…
Total noob when it comes to any of this. I’m using a Lewitt LCT 440 Pure mic and i can’t get rid of it farting out on louder singing parts. All the levels in cubase and on my mackie mixer seem fine and none of the recorded tracks are square waving but it’s still farting out on loud parts. Am i just getting too close to the mic? Is that even a thing if all the levels are already low? I used to use the same mic to record both singing and guitar at the same time but now i realized i can record two mics to two separate tracks so i’ve been trying that. Been getting a lot closer to the mic when singing cause i’m trying to eliminate the guitar bleed into that mic. Is that the case then, i’m just getting too close?
And this means exactly what…?
lol. The recorded singing is farting out. Like kinda distorting. But like a fat distortion kinda? lol I don’t know how to explain it. Like i said, i never got as close to the mic before as i’m getting now. When i was recording vocals and guitar at the same time, i’d have the mic about a 18 inches or so, away. Now, in order to try and kill the guitar bleed into this vocal mic, i’m singing maybe, 4 or 5 inches away. Is there such a thing as getting too close and singing too loud into the mic even if all levels are low? That’s probably a dumb question but like i said…i’m a dumb noob.
Interesting mic. Nearly flat response from 20-20khz for $300. I’d be inclined to visit the Lewitt website and study their helpful instructions regarding Cardioid patterns and mic placement. Their support looks friendly as well. Best to know everything you can about your new beastie.
Cool, thank you. Yeah, it’s a nice mic. The reviews said it was really good for the price. They were comparing it to mics two or three times it’s price.
I’m pretty sure it’s farting out cause i’m too close to it. But like i said, i’m trying to keep it as close to my mouth as possible to eliminate the acoustic guitar bleed.
Have you tried Spectralayers? It’s very handy for separating vocals from instruments that have been recorded or mixed together so each can be independently remixed. Works great separating guitar from vocals. Also works great separating vocals from physical keyboard noise. In my case, the thumping of my keyboard bed is separated as an independent percussion track. Spectralayers is invaluable whenever I come up with a song idea and want it recorded quickly in a noisy environment. Clean vocal track every time.
Yes, distortion can occur directly inside of the microphone, even if you set the gain correctly. You are experiencing analogue clipping in the FET amplifier of the mic. Your model does not have any pad button, therefore, singing from a longer distance (or not as loud) is the only way to avoid the distortion.
A quick Google search tells me this mic is capable of handling 140 dBSPL for a 0.5 % THD so if OP is recording vocals at a distance of 4-5”, do you think they are exceeding that?
I do think 4” is too close for any vocal recording. Personally I would not go closer than perhaps 6.
@Bob_Zurunkel Are you using a pop filter? What audio interface are you using and have you checked the input levels there?
I have run against this problem with condenser mics in the past, but you are probably right that the direct airflow may be the real issue here.
No, never heard of that. Sounds cool though. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
That’s kinda what i figured. I just wanted some confirmation though before i go crazy thinking it’s some of these mixer settings that i don’t really understand lol. Thanks!
Thanks for the reply.
Yeah, i’m just gonna have to back off from the mic a bit. I’m using the pop filter that came with the mic. It’s not your typical nylon or whatever pop filter though. It’s a metal one that just kinda stays on with magnets. Seems to do the job fine though. I’m using Cubase Elements 11. All the levels in there seem to be fine. Like i said earlier, any recorded vocal tracks aren’t square-waving at all.
I think it would be a lot easier to diagnose if you could upload a short sample here to demonstrate what it sounds like.
Also, did you check the input volume on your audio interface?
The input volume on the interface? Like, the stereo in 1 and mono in 1/2 in the cubase mixer? Like i mentioned, i’m a bit of a noob lol. I’ve never touched those sliders. I always just do whatever volume levels on the external mixer. The cubase Stereo/Mono In slider levels always seemed to be fine at the default “0” setting. Could that be the cause of the distortion even if the tracks aren’t square-waving?
Here’s a sample
You wrote you connect your microphone to a Mackie mixer. But what does the Mackie mixer connect to? Or does that mixer act as an audio interface?
Well, cubase is the audio interface, is it not? The mackie mixer goes straight to the pc which is running cubase. I’m pretty sure the problem is just being too close to the mic, though.
I’d bet a pop filter would solve your problem.
I can recommend this one from SE:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DualProPop--se-electronics-dual-pro-mic-pop-shield
( I’m not related in any way to SE nor to Sweetwater, but I love them both… 
)
Cool, thanks. I don’t know if you noticed one of my earlier replies but my mic came with a metal pop filter. It seems like it was doing the job fine but you think a nylon pop filter would do a better job and get rid of the distortion? Or that dual filter you posted?
I pulled your recording into SpectraLayers and unmixed it just using the defaults. It is split out Voice, followed by Guitar and finally the other sounds which has an odd clicking sound. The vocals sound like they are distorting the mic a bit so backing off is a good idea. Also you have a kind of gravely element in your voice and the mic seems to accentuate that quality giving the vocal a distorted vibe - this is an area where a bit of EQ cut can help. Also if you are not used to hearing your own voice recorded it always sounds strange because we normally hear ourselves through bone conduction too.
Dist Voc unmixed.zip (3.7 MB)
You should also explore aiming the mic’s null point towards the guitar to reduce bleed.