3 simple questions

[antispatula]

1.How many times does it take to hear a noticable sound degradation when you keep recording over the same part of the tape?

2. I just rewired an xlr cable to be 2 pin hot. If I plug this calbe into a regular femail input on a mixer(being pin 3 hot) , will it mess anything up?

3. Is the preamp M-Audio DMP3 ok for analog recordings? I need an entry-level, pretty good quality mic pre, and have heard this ones good. Have a better suggestion?

Thanks!

[The Ghost of FM]

1.How many times does it take to hear a noticeable sound degradation when you keep recording over the same part of the tape?

It depends on the tape and the condition of your heads and guides.

A new, fresh roll of tape like 456 or 499 used on a clean, unworn, properly aligned transport could yield thousands of passes without a drop out.

A machine in poorly condition with an improperly stored tape, (exposed to heat and cold extremes and adverse humidity conditions), could prove problematic on the first pass.

Cheers!

[The Ghost of FM]

2. I just rewired an xlr cable to be 2 pin hot. If I plug this cable into a regular female input on a mixer(being pin 3 hot) , will it mess anything up?

Worse case scenario is a 180 degree out of phase signal which could be problematic if it's signal is mixed with other microphones which are not out of phase.

If all your tracking is done through that mic and that one cable, the results shouldn't be too noticeable but it still might be on certain sympathetic frequencies of other instruments in opposite phase like keyboards or electric guitars.

Best to get a second cable that keeps things in order. A small but wise investment.

Cheers!

[doris]

Originally Posted by antispatula

2. I just rewired an xlr cable to be 2 pin hot. If I plug this calbe into a regular femail input on a mixer(being pin 3 hot) , will it mess anything up?

you've got it backwards, i think. the configuration of most xlr cables requires no mods for pin2 hot to pin2 hot (or pin3 hot to pin3 hot) interfacing. some equipment (like your otari mx5050) is wired pin 3 hot. most modern gear is pin2 hot. so if you wanted to mod a cable for interfacing the pin3 hot gear with pin2 hot gear you would just switch pins 2 and 3 on one end of a standard xlr cable. I agree with everything Ghost just said there.

Originally Posted by antispatula

3. Is the preamp M-Audio DMP3 ok for analog recordings? I need an entry-level, pretty good quality mic pre, and have heard this ones good. Have a better suggestion?

Thanks!

if the mixer you use with the tape machine is of decent quality you might not notice a difference in the sound in that price range between the mixer's pre's and a standalone pre. its hard to say. if the mixer sounds good then you might consider skipping the DMP3 for now and using the mixer. then you could save up for a higher quality pre if later you felt like you needed it.

--doris

[antispatula]

ah, good heads up, thanks!

So I don't have much money yet, but if I wanted a GOOD pre, what's a good choice? Thanks!

[doris]

Originally Posted by antispatula

ah, good heads up, thanks!

So I don't have much money yet, but if I wanted a GOOD pre, what's a good choice? Thanks!

you have sooooo many choices. try the search function here and at gearslutz. also, at gearslutz do a search for "with a cheapness". there are some good recommendations in those threads. your choices also depend on your budget, obviously.