Help needed!

Daiko

Teto's Territory
Hello everyone!

I recently started working on a new Japanese CVVC Voicebank for my UTAU Yuuki Daiko. I finished recordings yesterday, using a newly bought BM800 Microphone*. I didn't rely on a Phantom Power though, which is mentioned in the instructions manual and my friends taught me about.

*I used to record VBs with a C1-U USB Microphone.

The samples sounded good enough to me while recording in OREMO with the BM800, regardless of Phantom Power. However, when I tried testing some of the bank's samples inside the UTAU software, they sounded very odd and metallic to me... I tested resamplers such as fresamp011, moresampler, EFBG-T and fresamp14omp, but none of them seemed to bring the quality I expected.

I've never felt such an odd feeling about samples and how they sounded before.

I don't have much experience with OTO, but I could make enough to play some CV syllables. Still, the audio quality is what is bugging me off.

Could this be because I didn't use the Phantom Power? I really want to be able to produce this voicebank...
 

WinterdrivE

Ritsu's Renegades
Defender of Defoko
So, I just want to make sure I'm on the same page, because I was confused when you said "I didn't rely on phantom power". All condenser mics by definition require some kind of external power source. They function via a capacitor which converts sound into an electric signal. This capacitor has to be electrified to work. So the power is not something that's optional.

It does, however, look like this microphone comes in a battery powered option or an externally phantom powered option. This means in the battery powered version, it's drawing the electricity for the capacitor from the batteries, or in the phantom power version it's drawing it from your computer, but it has to get power from somewhere or it by design will not work.

I'm not sure which version you got, though. If you're using the battery powered version, at least one review online points out that the quality will not be as good because the batteries provide around 5-9 volts, as opposed to the standard 48 volts you would get from an audio interface.

But that brings me to my next question: how are you connecting this mic to your computer? From what I can find online, this is an XLR microphone, which generally require an audio interface to work. Unless there's a USB version that I can't find online. Incidentally it seems to be very hard to find any solid information about this mic online.

Regardless, do you have an audio sample you can post? It would give a much clearer idea of what may be going on with your recordings.
 
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Kiyoteru

UtaForum power user
Supporter
Defender of Defoko
I also have the BM-800, and hopefully you didn't spend more than $20 on it, because it's really not a good microphone at all. It will not have a usable level of quality unless you are using an audio interface, NOT the included XLR to 3.5mm cable.

If you only ever intend on using microphones and have no foreseeable needs or changes to your setup, you can get an XLR to USB adaptor like the Shure X2U or the Blue Icicle. However, if you're planning to do other musical work, such as recording from instruments or using studio monitor speakers, you should invest in a proper audio interface. A few examples are the Scarlett 2i2 and the Behringer UM2. I have a Behringer UMC22 that I regularly use for recording guitar and bass.
 

Daiko

Teto's Territory
Thread starter
Hello, Winter & Kiyo!

Thank you so much for coming to my aid.

I now have a clearer sight of what's going on. I'll end up recording my new VB with my older microphone instead, as it still works perfectly fine. This C-1U I have was responsible for all my previous banks, except for the very first one, so I'd say I'm settled. :P

I tried using the new BM800 as it was a Christmas gift from my mum last year, but I guess I'll just keep it to do other stuff rather than UTAU doings..! lololol!

Once again, thank you for the replies.
 

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