I'm New And Would Appreciate Some Advice!

[stardust 0]

Hi All,

 

I am new to this site - i have posted in the new member/welcome page,

 

I am a new Digital DJ and would appreciate some advice with microphones....

 

I have a Behringer BCD3000 usb mixer connected up to macbook pro with traktor software - all works fine

I recently purchased a Kam KWM1920 vhf radio microphone system which i have hooked up to the bcd3000

 

The problems i have are - because i use a mac i have to manually use a software utility to get the mic in working on the bcd3000 (the software performs a midi change) - I have to do this each time which is a pain in the ar$e - Is there a simpler solution??

 

Secondly when i do get it working i am really unhappy about the sound quality - The mics are very loud with no crackles etc but the sound when i talk just seems so dull - it really sounds like a cheap karaoke sound with no clear bass and filtering to make me sound proffesional - I have adjusted the settings what are available to me however nothing really improves it!!

 

The other kit is use is a Behringer EP15000 Amplifier and Kam Z15004 speakers

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

cheers

Steve

[BK Sound 0]

Hi Steve.

 

I use Traktor & a MBP too, great system.

 

Have you tried your microphone plugged directly into an audio mixer?

The quality issue may be the microphone itself, i've never used Kam radio microphones but i do know in this game you get what you pay for, it would be unrealistic to expect the same quality sound from a £100+ mic that you'll get from a high end Sennheiser or Shure system.

Likewise the Behringer unit, the mic pre-amps may not be top quality.

 

The muted microphone/headphone issue is being discussed here, 2nd to last post seems to have an answer.

BCD 3000 Discussion

 

When using the Traktor system i use one of these external audio units Edirol FA-101 which gives me 2 pairs of stereo outputs which can be plugged into a standard audio mixer (edit: as well as 2 microphone inputs with hardware level controls) or if its only me playing i use only 1 stereo pair & mix in the software using an external midi controller - Codanova

 

http://idata.over-blog.com/0/19/27/05/vmxvj/imgp0920.jpg

Edited January 23, 2008 by BK Sound

[Reverandfunk 0]

Can't you just xlr your wireless receiver straight into your mixing desk???

 

I've used a cheap as chips Soundlab (please don't shoot me lol) wireless mic for 2 years and never had a problem

[Ste Owens 0]

Yip same here I have a soundlab mic, im fine with it I do have a skytronic backup aswell but it works fine. I use laptop, so I have my laptop in channel 1, spare mic in 2 and I have my mic in the jack on the front of it so I can use the talkover switch very handy :-)

 

Ste

[rictic 0]

yep soundlab 64.00 use it for punters who think a radio mic is cool.

i use a sennheiser for myself as sound like a real singist thru it tongue out icon

throw the vocals through a lexicon effects unit sounds great. i can adjust the vocal effects at the roll of a knob (phwarrr)

[stardust 0]

Cheers for all the advice

[stardust 0]

I have given up!!

 

I have decided to sell the Behringer bcd3000 on ebay -

The Mac midi/microphone problem - Manage to get it working by checking out the native instruments forum (thanks for the link BK sound) but traktor has become so unreliable since then i have given up, it also seems you have to run the midi tool beforehand every time you want to use traktor/bcd3000 and a mic.

 

After doing a lot of reading up i realised the bcd3000 was far better supported on PC (with an added control panel etc), so i decided to go for plan B - Install XP on my MBP - After installing everything it all worked fine without a hitch... then during track playback traktor would just freeze for a few seconds - i checked out the Behringer forums and followed all of the troubleshooting tasks - and then i saw a lovely post from someone with exactly the same problem - and the answer from behringer was "This is a known fault with certain dual 2 core processors which includes the new macbook pro's, we are trying our best to fix this problem!!! and this post was month's ago!

 

I have 2 gigs lined up next weekend so i dug out the credit card, did my research and bought the Vestax VCI-100 with NI Audio Kontrol which arrives tommorrow.

 

The funny thing is i am an IT Manager and have 15 years of IT experience (fair enough it'a business servers i deal with and not music and midi) but the whole thing has been so frustrating....

[Dukesy 0]

Doesn't Deckadance software support the bcd controller?

Have a look at http://www.deckadance.com/

 

Worth checking out.

[NRG Roadshow 0]

I have the BCD3000 too....

 

I dont use a mic plugged into the back of it for one simple reason.

The Mic output is either assigned to deck A or to deck B.......so you cant easily talk over the music if you want too.

I would advise plugging your mic into an external mixer and not using the BCD for microphone use.

I also dont use the internal BCD soundcard for output as the audio quality is not great, I route all my audio from the PC into a SB Audigy PCMCIA souncard direct into the external mixer using one channel.

 

then during track playback traktor would just freeze for a few seconds

 

I used to have this problem, mine was caused by trying to have too many applications running at the same time, once I shut down the WLAN and also Mcafee Security Suite everything worked fine with no freezeups.

Edited January 25, 2008 by NRG Roadshow

[BK Sound 0]

I have 2 gigs lined up next weekend so i dug out the credit card, did my research and bought the Vestax VCI-100 with NI Audio Kontrol which arrives tommorrow.

 

 

"Did my research" - thats the key to not making the mistake of buying the wrong gear - i've done it myself many times before, usually i see something and buy it, THEN i do the research only to find out its unsuitable for purpose (mine was a hercules Dj controller), its a bitter pill to swallow but you wont do it again.

 

Now you have some high end gear which should make your djing life a little more pleasant plus it looks good.

 

That Vestax controller looks tasty, please let us know your thoughts on it after your gigs.

 

 

 

 

[stardust 0]

The Vestax and Audio Kontrol are Kicking :cense:

 

Set them both up within 20 minutes, microphone works like a dream, the sound quality is much better than the bcd3000, the features of the vestax with Traktor are fantastic - i have done away with the mouse as i know longer need it.

And to add to this the Vestax is one secy looking system..

 

I now need to spend a week practicing the Vestax before next weekends gigs... i will update you how it goes..

 

Cheers all for the responses and cool inspiration.