Trouble with a new mic...

[laze]

Hi all...

I have a modest home studio and recently upgraded my vocal mic from the Electrovoice I bought on a high school student's budget 10 years ago...

I got a Rode NT-1A which requires 48v of phantom power, so I bought an ART Phantom lll Phantom Power Supply, which gives just that. I got a couple of new cables as well. The mic goes through the phantom power supply into my Roland 840EX.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get any response from the mic. I've checked everything -- the cables work well with a different mic in place, as does the phantom power supply. The 840EX is still functioning well. I would be surprised if the new Rode mic wasn't working, but I suppose it's possible...

Any ideas on something obvious I may have overlooked? Anything else I can do to figure out where the problem is?


... laze

[cominginsecond]

Originally posted by laze
Hi all...

I have a modest home studio and recently upgraded my vocal mic from the Electrovoice I bought on a high school student's budget 10 years ago...

I got a Rode NT-1A which requires 48v of phantom power, so I bought an ART Phantom lll Phantom Power Supply, which gives just that. I got a couple of new cables as well. The mic goes through the phantom power supply into my Roland 840EX.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get any response from the mic. I've checked everything -- the cables work well with a different mic in place, as does the phantom power supply. The 840EX is still functioning well. I would be surprised if the new Rode mic wasn't working, but I suppose it's possible...

Any ideas on something obvious I may have overlooked? Anything else I can do to figure out where the problem is?


... laze

Are you plugging it in to the mic input or the line input? The phantom power supply will not provide preamplification, so you need to plug from the power supply to a mic in, not line in.

[laze]

The way I understand it, the inputs on the Roland recorders can be used as line-ins or mic-ins, allowing for sensitivity tweaking as needed... there's a separate input for Guitar-in, but that's it. I could be wrong, but I don't believe a pre-amp is required for mic inputs on the Roland as long as the mic has a power source...

I also ran the mic through the pre-amp into my DJ mixer with similar results (that is, nothing).


... laze

[DJL]

Originally posted by laze
The way I understand it, the inputs on the Roland recorders can be used as line-ins or mic-ins, allowing for sensitivity tweaking as needed... there's a separate input for Guitar-in, but that's it. I could be wrong, but I don't believe a pre-amp is required for mic inputs on the Roland as long as the mic has a power source...

I also ran the mic through the pre-amp into my DJ mixer with similar results (that is, nothing).


... laze

Make sure the phantom power supply is putting out 48V, and only use an XLR to XLR type mic cord between the mic and phantom power... and make sure the cable is good.

[laze]

Make sure the phantom power supply is putting out 48V, and only use an XLR to XLR type mic cord between the mic and phantom power... and make sure the cable is good.

This particular phantom power supply works at 48v (as per the specs here: http://www.artproaudio.com/product_a...omiii-0902.pdf (pdf) and here http://www.artproaudio.com/products_...?PRODUCTID=114

The cable itself seems to fine as well -- it's a new Monster cable. I tested it with my old mic and it worked fine.

Any other ideas?


... laze

[DJL]

Originally posted by laze
This particular phantom power supply works at 48v (as per the specs here: http://www.artproaudio.com/product_a...omiii-0902.pdf (pdf) and here http://www.artproaudio.com/products_...?PRODUCTID=114

The cable itself seems to fine as well -- it's a new Monster cable. I tested it with my old mic and it worked fine.

Any other ideas?


... laze

Did you test the new Monster cable with a cable tester, and check the phantom power supply with a volt meter (if your very careful) or use a cable tester with phantom pwr testing? Also, if the 840 doesn't have any XLR inputs... use an XLR to 1/4" TRS (tip-ring-sleve) type cable between your pwr supply & 840... and make sure that cable is good with a cable tester also. If everything checks out good, and if you are indeed plugged into a preamped input with a trim or gain control on the 840... if that is the case... then most likely there's something wrong with the mic.