New at recording...please help desperate mother!

K

kpettitt

New member
I hope this is the correct forum for this kind of question. If not, I would appreciate any direction to where I can find some information or help.

I have inherited a Denon DRM-650S cassette tape deck through a defunct business. I promised my daughter I would read her favorite stories to make books on tape. This is the only cassette we have available (thanks to the digital age).

I purchased a simple mono microphone (read: cheap) and a splitter, but there are absolutely no input levels when I attempt to record. As an experiment, I also tried a pc microphone with the same result.

There is no owner's manual, and I have been unsuccessful at locating one online.

The deck is fairly straightforward, the only inputs are two ins and outs (rca) on the back of the deck, and a headphone jack in the front.

This MUST be a microphone problem, as the deck is brand new. ANY help at all is appreciated!! And anyone with a 3-1/2 year old understands that I MUST make good on my promise ASAP! <LOL>

Thanks in advance,

Kay
 
I am just guessing, but I would bet that the inputs on the tape deck require an amplifier of some sort in order to produce enough voltage. I am saying this since you said that there are RCA jacks.

What you could do is try attaching the deck to the outputs of your stereo, or the sound card on your PC and see if you can produce a recording level.

If it does, then run your splitter outputs into an input on your stereo or through your computer and see if you can get a signal from the microphone.

Just a thought.
 
I think Guitar Center (probably www.musiciansfriend.com also),
has a Behringer mixer for under $40, I'm pretty sure it had microphone
inserts, and would amplify your microphone to a "line level" signal.
You'd connect the output from that to the tape recorder. Although it's
meant as DJ mixer, it should do the job.
 
Do you have a shelf system at your house? Does it have a "mic" input on it. It would look like the mini-pin headphone connector.

If you do, then you can plug your mic into that input, and then use the headphones out from the shelf system to go into the RCA's on the back of your recorder.
 
kpettitt,

I would use that computer mic and record straight to pc.....download Goldwave from www.goldwave.com to record and you are in business....

I can hear all the boo's and hiss's from the peanut gallery so im gonna use a $9.99 mic into my wifes cheap onboard soundcard and use Goldwave and see what I can do....
 

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Ma'am,

Very few non-portable stereo tape decks come with mic inputs any more; most require line-level input through the RCA jacks, which is a stronger current than mics generally produce. As mentioned above, to bring your mic output up to line level, you need a mic preamp, or a mic preamp/processor (some come with compressors, limiters, etc.), or a mixer (which has mic preamps built in). One exception is the Tascam 202 Mk III, which is an autoreversing dual recording cassette deck with stereo mic inputs on the front.

There are alternatives that may be more practical for your purposes, however. Radio Shack's top portable monaural tape deck (the bulky one that runs on C cells but also has an AC power cord -- no wall transformer) sells regularly for about $75 to $80 (and is sometimes on sale for much less), has a mic input for a 1/8" plug, and will record reliably for years on standard tape without maintenance, which is more than I can say for most of my high-end equipment.

Recordings made on the Radio Shack portable can be played back on your Denon and will sound surprisingly good, even though they are mono recordings, of course.

A good mic to consider for taping stories is the Crown Sound Grabber II, a PZM (pressure zone modulation) microphone that lists for about $109 but sells most places on the web for $60. I suggest it because you can set it on the nightstand, a table or chair nearby and read stories without having to hold it up, talk into it, or otherwise pay much attention to the fact that you are recording, and yet the results are clear and even-sounding, often more so than with a mic that needs to be used close up.

You'll probably need to spend a little money either way to make your current system work, whether you buy something to bring your mic output up to line level or buy a second tape deck to do your taping (and then play back on the Denon). Either way, it doesn't have to be too expensive.

Best wishes,

Mark H.
 
Thanks for all the advice.

I wanted to say thank you to all that took time to post a reply and help me out. I have actually tried the computer route, but my soundcard is impossible (don't even want to go there) <g>.

I'll try the Denon in our home system. We actually had a tape system but ditched it for want of space (competing with receiver, dvd, video, playstation....you get the picture). Let's just say that it was soon after the turntable went.

Thanks for all the advice, and if this really turns into a large project, I will look into purchasing the mixer.

Thanks again for all the help, you're all swell.

Kay
 
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