GC: M-Audio Audio Buddy & 2 mic bundle?

[lv]

http://www.guitarcenter.com/M-Audio-Audio-Buddy-Preamp-and-MXL-990-991-Microphone-Package-485769-i1527707.gc

For the last few years I've been using the built in condensor mic in my boss br600 to record - not great, but I was able to work with it. The unit itself met an untimely end, and I've been enjoying working with Reaper so I thought I'd get an interface and a couple microphones, but my budget is pretty limited. I do need the ability to record in stereo as I run two amps at all times.

This seems ridiculously cheap, yet at the same time can it be worse than the built in mics I was using in the boss unit?

Anyone have any experience with this particular bundle?

[KCWM]

I'm curious too. So I went out and bought the bundle.

I'm not sure I can get it up and running tonight, but I'll record some clips tomorrow when I get home from work.

[KCWM]

Both of the mics were muffled. I recorded a couple of quick songs using the 2nd input of my DRRI's vibrato channel and it was just a muffled mess of a recording. I tried both the condenser and pencil mics and both were big disappointments.

I never did open the audio buddy, but they are OK for what they are...nice for a quick sketchpad. That being said, since I don't have a laptop, my Alesis MultiMix 8 Firewire is a much better choice for me. And, mic wise, I get much better sounds out of my 12 year old SM57 and SM48.

Maybe they shine at recording stuff that's louder than bedroom/apartment level stuff. But, that's what I do.

Edited - can't return mics, so took that bit out. See other post below for a change of opinion

[lv]

Thanks for the info KC, I'm going to mark this off my list as "too good to be true".

[KCWM]

I might have jumped the gun here. I forgot to take them back yesterday so I'm going to pull them out again and try rerecording a few different things. My amp set up has the mic pretty close to the amp, and the MXL might not be able to handle that.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9115365 - Here's a quick clip of a quick song I call "Something Random", which includes chords and single string notes (though no solos) -

The mic was less than 10" from and angled towards my sound hole. This recorded into my firewire mixing board interface, with the line input and gain set pretty low. In fact, the signal clipped a few times. I did have to cut some of the bass using the on-board controls.

[lv]

Galan,

I think it sounds great - not muffled at all. Was that just one of the mics? Is it possible to record in stereo with them (and the audio buddy)?

Thanks so much for doing this.

By the way, I thought mics were not returnable to GC - is that not the case?

[KCWM]

Yeah, it's the MXL 990 only. I thought I mentioned that at the beginning of the clip, but might have silenced that out. And you're right on the mics...no return.

Fortunately, what I recorded with the MXL sounds better than the acoustic sound I got with my Blue Snowball on the song I posted in the member clips forum. Recording the acoustic was far less muffled than my attempt with the electric. I'm going to try rerecording the electric with the mic pulled back from the amp more to see if it gets a clearer signal. I'll have that done sometime around lunch tomorrow. At the very least, it appears I have a mic that's suitable for acoustic/vocal recording.

As far as I can tell, the audio buddy has two inputs, so yes, it should be possible to record both mics at once. I found this http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?566-Audio-Buddy that appears to confirm that. It seems really similar to the old M-Audio MobilePRE I had. It could potentially handle something in all 4 inputs, unless plugging in a 1/4" jack turns off the XLR jack.

I'm purposely not opening the Audio Buddy at this point. Since I'm not going to use it, I'm going to toss it up on the local Craigslist and see if I can't recoup a little bit of cash.

[KCWM]

Uploaded the electric version of the song and included a song with no distortion. http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9116730

The overdriven/distorted signal comes across harsher and slightly more distorted than it sounded in the room. I had the onboard bass reduced and the treble and mid controls at noon. I'm sure that this could be tweaked, but I'm not really interested in spending the time to do that right now. The mic is just below the center of the cone, about 6" away. The line signal on the mixing board is at a lower level than it was for the acoustic.

I haven't broken out the pencil mic, but I assume that it will be a similar story.

[otaypanky]

I bought that package a few years back at one of their sales. I had great success with them. They did a good job on vocals, an acoustic guitar, and for catching the 'room' when recording an amp. I don't use them for close up on the amp, I use a 57 or another dynamic mic for that, and place the condenser a few feet back.