[Eddie G[_2_]]

On 18 Mar 2007 09:46:18 -0700, "Nobody"
wrote:

Hello everyone...first post here, and I'm glad this group is here.

First post, Polfus? To r.a.p., you mean.

I have been experimenting recording, and currently have a M-Audio Fast
Track USB, a XLR cable, and a Sennheiser e609 Silver microphone.

The mic seems to like volume a lot, and I can't really get my amp loud
enough to make my mic happy...level in the M-Audio box is usually near
max which picks up a lot of room noise...even "white noise" is well
heard in the quiet parts of playing guitar.

The 609's should have enough output to get above white noise level.
The fact that you're getting room noise would indicate that your amp
is not turned up far. I'm sure you have the mic close to the speaker,
so it's probably that you're trying to keep your neighbors happy but
playing at whisper levels. That's considerate, but you probably want
to build a small sound-proof enclosure for your amp so you can crank
it a bit.

I tried my Marshall's XLR Direct Out to the M-Audio Fast
Track...wow...hey...this thing sounds pretty dang good, IMHO....smooth
sounding..I was impressed...a lot.

It should sound better if you mic it.

I would perhaps consider this as a main recording line in ( in place
of microphones ) if it weren't for one thing: there is audible
noise..a "hum" if you will...like a type of 60-cycle noise.....it only
goes away it seems when I unplug the XLR from the amp.

All tvs are off, no fluorescent bulbs in my apartment...is this
perhaps just the noise I hear from my apartment's ( huge NYC
building ) electrical wiring? Or is it something inherent in XLR
recording? Something wrong or "less-than-pro" construction of the $99
M-Audio Fast Track USB box I got? Could it be my Marshall amp has
something wrong w/that circuit? Something else?

You're connecting your audio ground to the computer ground. A few
different ways for things to go wrong there.

Stay with the mic. The iso box will help filter outside noise as well
as keeping your neighbors happy. If necessary, get a small speaker cab
and build a small iso box around that. Unplug the main speaker, of
course. Use a good guitar speaker with same impedance as your cab.

Anyone else experienced this?

Everyone at some point.