UR44 help needed

Steinberg Hardware
#1

So I got the Steinberg UR44

Several issues I am encountering.

  1. I find the volume terribly low, it does not seem normal to me that I have to have the gain so high where I am getting close to clipping. It sounds a little better through the headphones but end recorded results in the PC sounds canny, not very good quality

  2. I can hear the reverb through the headphones but does not come through in the recorded results.

My first attempt was using OBS. So just to test that it was not the application, I made some tests with Win 10 voice recorder. And same results.
Changing mic did not achieve better results

Any ides or anyone had the same issues and what were the fixes?
Thanks

#2

I have the same problem with the Yamaha reverb, I need some help!!!

Thanks

#3

Also problems with UR44 on iMac. No output through UR44 to speakers or headphones

#4

  1. Many people report low input gain. Me as well. By now I am inclined to think the UR-series don’t play well with certain condensor mics since there are also other people who complain about it being too loud !!??!!

  2. You need to set the reverb from MON.FX -> INS.FX and/or check your routing in your iPAD DAW/app.

@basslines57: This is a totally unrelated and different question. Best to open a new topic with detailled info on your configuration.

#5

Thanks Spiritos, I found I get reverb if I use the loopback function.
Right now I have just experimented with OBS. Later on I will be doing more tests with DAW. I am fully aware when dealing with a PC and software there can be many factors. For the quality of sound I did expect something better.
I tried with both dynamic mic and condenser mic. Sound quality is so so. Sounds distorted and far away and just not crystal clear.
can you elaborate more on your point, MON.FX -> INS.FX? Not sure where you set that in dspMixFx?

#6

Glad to be of help. Unfortunately this forum seems rather dead so I hardly check unless I have a question myself and feeling hopeful :wink:

Btw. Only use loopback when you’re actually streaming. It’s not necessary when recording or monitoring.

The quality is actually quite good (aside from maybe the low input gain) as the UR44 uses the same high quality pre-amps as their more expensive brothers.

About monitoring your FX in your cans or over monitors (MON.FX) vs. inserting it in your track-recording and thus recording it (INS.FX): When you open dpsMixFX by default you see MON.FX. in your channels. You need to click on that and change it to INS.FX. Now your track is recording your input/playing with all the DSP effects you have activated.

Btw. did you manage to solve the volume issues? Depending on which DAW you’re using (I mostly use Live now) you can add again on the recorded clip. Also you can try using a Limiter, Gain or Utility depending on the DAW/VST.

I’m about to open a topic about the gain knob on the UR44 vs. the gain in dspMixFX (which can go to +6) since I as well am not fully accustomed to the volume in all occassions. You can try cranking up the gain in dsp as well.

EDIT: Btw. You do have phantom power on right when using a mic to record? (Just to be sure…)

#7

Thanks Spiritos, yes I tried both settings INS.FX and MON.FX, both provide same results. But as I mentioned, if I choose the loopback function the reverb shows up in the recorded track. I tried different things and so far I still find the volume low and not very crisp. I tried with two types of mics for instruments, SM81 and ATM41HE audio-technica.
So far my tests have been with OBS recording and windows 10 recording. I have live and some day soon I will try with that and see if results are better.
Yes for sure I had the phantom power setup for the condenser mic SM81.
Let me know how it goes with your experiments for volume improvement?
I did open a case for both points with Steinberg, here is what I got. One response was the same as you provided in regard to the condenser mic

  1. Please make sure you have +48v phantom power enabled on the unit if you are using a condenser microphone. If you are using a regular dynamic microphone then I recommend you try a condenser microphone.

  2. That is normal behavior. You will not hear those effects on the printed track.

#8

Hi Mzoony,

Hmm… As for the reverb 'm convinced it is some setting because the INS/MON is the exact and one and only setting which entire functionality is to monitor or track/record the DSP effects. I’m assuming none of the other DSP effects can be recorded neither right?

What DAW are you using btw?

Still the loopback function should/can only be used for streaming. I take it you want to record in your DAW someday too so we should find a solution. Since loopback weirdly works it shoudl definitely be another setting but which one…?

You probably know already but just be sure to turn on dspMixFX before opening your DAW (unless you use Cubase in which case it’s integrated and you should configure it differently (hence my question about your DAW).

Another thing I was thinking about is the MIX you select (1 or 2) for headphones as in maybe you listen to MIX2 while recording MIX1. I’'m not even sure this is possible though but really INS.FX should’ve fixed the issue.

Maybe you can post a sceenshot of your settings in dspMixFX and the routing in your DAW?

Btw. Steinberg support really sucks! Hard to reach since they’re always on fairs (happend twice with me) and you get generic answers where they basically copy/paste from the manual. Also this forum needs active mods. Don’t want to be bashing since their products are usually awesome but this is another truth as well…

#9

Hi Spiritos
After the holidays I will do more testing and experiments.
This is all new to me so I do have a lot to learn.

I am not in front of the pc I plan to use for recording.
So after the holidays I will revisit this.
And if the problem persists I will post some screen shots

As I mentioned I have only tested so far using OBS (open broadcast software) in recording option.
I do have Ableton live but have not tested it yet
Cheers