sm57 grounding problem

[mrbellyache]

hi,
i recently bought a Shure SM57 new. I'm pluging it into a Tascam porta 03 4-track.
When i bought it the guy at the store said that i didn't need the phantom power adapter(?) and that i could just get the xlr to 1/4 plug adapter. When i try record with the mic i get a buzzing sound, but when I put my hand on the mic the buzz is drastically reduced. Is there something i'm not doing right? the is bugging the hell out of me because i finally have a decent mic but it can't use it.

 

[Dragon]

Mic inputs have very high gain because mics put out such a small amount of electricity, so they tend to pick up everything. I suggest you bring everything to your store and have the handy salesguy swap cords and adapters for you until you find out which one has the bad ground and is causing the problem. Unless, of course, your adapter is near a computer monitor or fluorescent light, in which case that's probably what's causing the problem.