Noobie! - concerning mics and MD players

[Andromeda]

hi im a noobie and i apologise if this question is thick or idiotic or has already been said before...

i want to record my vocals and guitar live through a mic onto my minidisk player but the recording level is really low

i have tried adjusting it manually and ive put it as high as it will go and its still really bloody quiet. im using a pretty good mic aswell

any help would be appreciated. i hope im better at the actual art of music than i am at the art of the technical side
thanx xxxxxx

[lascalaboy]

you're not going thorugh a pre-amp?

[onlyfingers]

Here's the mic I ended up with. I got it cause it doesn't have wires. I'm so tired of wires. But with the direct connection, the mic picks up the noise of the disk starting. So I got a 4" extrension at Radio Shack, and ended up with a (short) wire anyway. I use it to record choir practice (ensemble, including a piano and percussion), to record a singer plus guitarist (me) practicing, and to make my own practice tracks. No preamp needed, AFAIK.

(I can't share a recording, cause they are such a pain to get into the computer. Someday I'll do that, but it hasn't come to the top of the list yet.)

http://www.reactivesounds.com/dt1.php

Check out this link, for plenty of minidisc info.
http://www.minidisc.org/

[alwayslearnin]

Need more info. What kind of mike and minidisc are you using?

[Andromeda]

im using a mindisk player that plays hi-md, so its a pretty good one, my mic plugs into the line-in socket on the minidisk player. The mic cost abot £70 so its a pretty good one, it has 120 degree pickup and i dont know the actual model because im at work but its a sony one!
thankyou for your help on the matter anyway

[alwayslearnin]

Be sure to use the mic in for the microphone. If using line in you will get a very soft recording no matter how high up you have the recording level..If your minidisc doesn't have mic in you will need to get a pre-amp in order to boost you mic up to line level.

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Distant Andromeda System:

If your mic is a condensor, you will need phantom power. I can't remember if ALL MD recorders come with phantom power or not.

If you get a mic preamp, it should have a phantom power switch. You don't need phantom power for dynamic mics or ribbon mics.

Green Hornet

[alwayslearnin]

Minidisc don't supply phantom power. What they have is plug-in powerer that will supply power to smaller microphones. For phantom you will either need a mixer or pre-amp. You can get good results using mikes that require plug-in powerer but of course your best bet would be to use a mixer or pre-amp so you can use the better microphones.

[ZL2ADY]

If you can get hold of an early model old cassette deck with mic input on it,just connect the line output of the deck to the line in on your MD recorder,set your cassette deck to record (you may need to drop in a cassette to activate the record interlock) set the record level on both machines,and you'r away laughing!

[amonte]

Some MD's (like mine) have a line in, but as others have pointed out, you need to power the mic. Some MD's do have plug in power, but there's a good chance that yours does not. Though, if you're hearing *ANY* sound at all, that might be a good sign that your MD does have phantom power. However, even if it does have plug-in power, your MD might still need to have the mic signal boosted.

You can make the mistake I did, and purchase a MD preamp (I got mine from a company called SoundProfessionals) - it works fine, but once I figured out all that it did was power the mic and have a simple amplifier circuit, it felt like a bit of a rip-off (given the price). I've actually given thought to building one from scratch and posting the schematic. But I have to tell you, ZL2ADY's idea is the best I've heard in a while.

[alwayslearnin]

Once and for all Minidisc do not have phantom power they have plug in power if they have a mike in jack. There is a BIG difference between phantom and plug in. If we knew what kind of md the original poster had we could answer the question alot better.

[amonte]

Originally Posted by alwayslearnin

Once and for all Minidisc do not have phantom power they have plug in power if they have a mike in jack. There is a BIG difference between phantom and plug in. If we knew what kind of md the original poster had we could answer the question alot better.

I'm sorry - I didn't mean to say phantom power in the second sentence, I meant plug-in power.