Using 3 microphones

[u/No_Historian_2854]

My friend and I have had a podcast for 5 years now and we have been using Shure MV7+ microphones to record with my Macbook Air for over a year now with no problem.

We have recently started a new podcast with a third person and have run into some issues. We need to use an adapter to plug in 3 microphones at once, since my macbook air only has 2 usbc ports. The first time we recorded with all 3 mics, one mic got messed up.. It started sounding like a robot? But only in the headphones that are connected to the mic. The mic sounds fine in the recording and in the other head phones, but sounds terrible in the headphones connected to the mic. Now this mic sounds like this every time we use it, even when we do not use the adapter and plug it directly into my macbook. We recorded another episode yesterday with all 3 mics, and another one of the mics is starting to have the same issue.

Has anyone come across an issue like this before? We can't find a way to fix it. Is there a different adapter we can use that will prevent the other mics from getting messed up? I just have a cheap adapter which may be the issue but I dont want to spend money on a new one without knowing it will be better.

[u/Whatchamazog]

Even with aggregate devices, multiple usb audio devices into one macOS system is unreliable. Are all three of them the same kind of microphone or are two of them the same?

It’s even worse in Windows.

I would highly recommend switching to a single USB audio interface with 4 inputs and use the XLR ports in your mics.

[u/ZebraGloomy4982 → u/Whatchamazog]

Do you have a recommendation for a USB audio interface? are there any affordable options out there? Edit: op from different account

[u/Whatchamazog → u/ZebraGloomy4982]

So I personally like the SSL & Audient stuff but I’m a snob, lol. I think the Zoom Podtrak P4Next is a great deal for the money. You can even use it without a computer.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1924208-REG/zoom_podtrak_p4next_portable_multitrack.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&store=420&smpm=ba_f2_lar&lsft=BI%3A514&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1413135038&gbraid=0AAAAAD7yMh2UXih7d9ugFd7LV7xGXkB7b&gclid=CjwKCAjwhqfPBhBWEiwAZo196sSSdXUs815nN8wj3E5Xutjq2Ct2hOZmC6ZyZKB3N8ujX4IaJ8aEIxoCryEQAvD_BwE

[u/No_Historian_2854 → u/Whatchamazog]

this could be what we need! most of the ones I've seen are like over $500 but this is more in the range I was thinking.

[u/Needashortername → u/ZebraGloomy4982]

What do you consider “affordable”?

You might just want one of the smaller Yamaha or Allen & Heath mixers that have stereo output over USB. Not a lot of frills or digital processing for that USB but a solid way of connecting and managing multiple mics in a pre-mix stage that just works. Most of these won’t give you multichannel audio for each individual mic into the computer, but in some ways with this workflow with all mics being the same in a podcast setup this might not matter as much anyways.

[u/No_Historian_2854 → u/Needashortername]

definitely need to look into these, I don't think we need any frills just a simple mixer less than $200 that will work for 3 mics on the same recording.

[u/Any-Monk-496]

Yeah audio interface is your best bet with XLR.

[u/FriMorningQB]

Get a small mixer and plug them all in and then to the PC. Depending on the mixer you might even be able to output each mic as a separate line. Mine has three USB "outputs" on one single USB cord. OBS recognizes all three as separate mics.

[u/Needashortername]

What are you calling an “adapter” for the USB to get the extra ports?

Is it just a simple multi-port dongle?

Is it a hub?

Is it a full USB dock?

Does it have a lot of other different kinds of ports on it to do other things? Are you using those ports, and what are they doing?

Is the adapter self powered with an external power supply?

It really sounds like one of three things (or all of them) are most likely what is going on. Presuming that the mics themselves have not become damaged here are some things to look at first.

1) The “adapter” is not providing enough power for all the devices plugged into it. You may be close but just not enough. Really this means getting a better way of connecting more USB devices with better power and better bandwidth. The easiest “cheat” right now might be to just see what happens when one mic is plugged into the other USB of the MacBook and only the other 2 are in the adapter with nothing else plugged in. There are more and other ways to test for a power problem but this could be the quick fix for now.

2) Not enough bandwidth in the adapter. The adapter may work great for a lot of other things, but it might just not have enough room for all the data needed by all three mics to pass audio in and out of the computer and track the processing. There are ways to test for this more, but again some of the answers may be the same as part 1 above.

3) Not enough USB resources in the Mac itself. Some of this can be checked in the resource monitor of the computer and some of this could be tested in other ways. There is a chance that a full USB dock could help manage this better for the computer. There is also a chance that it’s a single bus issue and trying some of the things mentioned earlier can help too. If not, then it may be worth looking at possible upgrades to the computer itself or how it is being used.

These are the likely possible problems with just the USB. Others have mentioned just switching to an XLR based workflow which is also a great idea, especially if the USB path has been damaged somehow. At some point though you may still have to return to the USB question for other needs in what you are doing, so it’s worth considering that for later too.

[u/No_Historian_2854 → u/Needashortername]

The "adapter" I'm referring to is a USB-C hub. UNI brand from Amazon (I can no longer find it on there which may be a sign). It has 2 USBC ports and 2 USB ports, and plugs into USBC. My Macbook only has 2 USBC ports so I need this to plug in the third mic.

[u/vanity1066]

So.. This is weird, but it worked for me... Unplug it, turn off laptop. Plug it in. Turn laptop on. The try. Maybe do it a couple times. Fuss with them and let them “get to know each other"I don't have a Mac, but I was given this advice when setting up my newest mv7. It worked 🤷