Is there such a thing as a box for multiple mics into one input?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nick Janczak
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Bouldersoundguy was just referring to the 3rd law of sound engineering: "The required number of inputs to any mixer will be 3 more than the number available". This applies whether you have an 8 channel entry level mixer or 96 channels of something expensive to do film scoring.

As for the solution, yeah, you can buy/build ways to passively combine several mics but, frankly, with the low cost of things like Behringer mixers, I'd just prowl the various second hand sources and pick up a small second mixer. This will at least give you some individual control of channels even if they eventually end up on the same track when you record. I saw an 8 input Behringer go for $20 here the other day--you couldn't buy the connectors to build a combiner for that.
 
grimtraveller said:
This mic mixer should do the biz. The 4 inputs have individual volume control, as does the single output. Whatever you record will be mixed, obviously, to mono as Bouldersoundguy pointed out. I've used a mic mixer for the last 20 years and they are most willing and useful.
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Well, if it works for you GT best of, but I suspect it is not balanced, the OP would have to buy XLR to jack adapters and with a 9volt supply the headroom is going to be zilch.

Even the worse that Phonic give us is going to be better than that.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Well, if it works for you GT best of, but I suspect it is not balanced, the OP would have to buy XLR to jack adapters and with a 9volt supply the headroom is going to be zilch.

Even the worse that Phonic give us is going to be better than that.
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Granted, but the bottom line is a)it will work and b) the OP asked for a cheap solution !
 
I kinda think that, by the time you factor in the price of 4 XLR to jack adaptors, you'll probably be able to find a second hand mixer with native XLR inputs.

Also, if the spec sheet I found online is accurate, the input impedance for the mic channels is on the high side.
 
grimtraveller said:
Granted, but the bottom line is a)it will work and b) the OP asked for a cheap solution !
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Well fair enough Grim' but there's "cheap" and then there is "practically fekkin' useless"!

I believe for instance that passive "pre amps" and monitor controllers are design wrong headed but they are better than bad active.

But, felicitations of the season to you and yours.

Dave.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
...If you're going to combine several mics with simple Y-cables you need them to be identical or there can be weird effects.
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Heck even if they are matched there can be weird effects! Not only will the mics load each other down causing (probably frequency-dependent) signal loss, but they will also try to drive one another! You know how speakers can be used as microphones ("Sub kick", and that thing with the headphones on the upright bass that was discussed a couple days ago...)? Well vice-versa. Pretty freaky when you hear sound coming out of your microphone! Not particularly good for the diaghrams either.
 
ashcat_lt said:
Heck even if they are matched there can be weird effects! Not only will the mics load each other down causing (probably frequency-dependent) signal loss, but they will also try to drive one another! You know how speakers can be used as microphones ("Sub kick", and that thing with the headphones on the upright bass that was discussed a couple days ago...)? Well vice-versa. Pretty freaky when you hear sound coming out of your microphone! Not particularly good for the diaghrams either.
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Same thing happens with headphones that are connected by passive Y-cables. Whatever bleed gets into one set gets into all of them a little. Everybody is hearing bleed from everybody else, the monitor mix goes to hell, the session gets frustrating and people don't play so good. Ask me how I know.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Same thing happens with headphones that are connected by passive Y-cables. Whatever bleed gets into one set gets into all of them a little. Everybody is hearing bleed from everybody else, the monitor mix goes to hell, the session gets frustrating and people don't play so good. Ask me how I know.
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Well that's just stupid! Not you, the situation. Never even would have occurred to me. I'd have just decided that the performers were whiney bitches and told them to suck it up and learn to swim. That's kind of my answer to a lot of things in the studio. Don't get much session work for some reason... ;)

Normally we say that a Low-Z source can be split via straight wire to more than one load as long as either those loads are high enough In-Z and/or all the loads are very close to matched. OTOH - summing any number of sources to a single load is always best done with at least some resistance between the sources to isolate one from the other. Headphones, though, can act as both source and load at the same time apparently.
 
Something you might try. I did not see if you were recording live or studidio or something else. But if you are recording at multiple times, there is something you could try. Record 6 channels, then mix down to two. Now you can record four more and mix the four with the two into the last two as many times as needed. This will give no chance to remix the first sets of tracks (unless you back up the data to an external), but if you are recording to digital media, there will at least be no data loss.

If you have backup media, you can back up each track to separate files and never loose anything. As long as each individual track is recorded well, you would be able to remix as many times as were necessary to make you happy. :)
 
Not to step on anyones toes and not knowing your input...here is what I use for 4 mic mixing into one source. Either single regular input or straight into my computer. I have a Beheringer Xenix 1204 USB. For what it's worth. Later!
 
Nick Janczak said:
Okay, so this might be the stupidest question ever but if you don't ask you don't find out! I'm thinking of a situation where you run out of inputs on your mixing desk (mine only has 8) and you still need to plug more mics in, and you don't want to/can't afford another desk to link up to the existing one. So is there a junction box type thing where you can plug say 4 mics into it and then only have one xlr connection going to the input?
I know you won't be able to mix each mic but if you place them right and use some patience you could get a reasonable 'live' sound? Please keep the techie language simple, I'm just learning about this stuff.
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I'm afraid you just need a bigger mixer... There are no easy outs on this.
 
ashcat_lt said:
You know how speakers can be used as microphones
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I've read about this over the last 20 years and I'd love to try it. How does one go about making a speaker a microphone ? I've done it with headphones but it's pretty straightforward.
 
grimtraveller said:
I've read about this over the last 20 years and I'd love to try it. How does one go about making a speaker a microphone ? I've done it with headphones but it's pretty straightforward.
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You just need a male XLR to FA lead and solder the two core "red and blacks" to the voice coil tags. I would also tie the screen to the speaker chassis as a some RF proofing. Even a 16 Ohm speaker will not give a lot of level however, best if you can use a transformer with a ~1:4 step up ratio.

Such "mics" are quite widely used on kick drum and even guitar cabs, Not a lot of HF, tho' this obviously depends upon the type of speaker.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
You just need a male XLR to FA lead and solder the two core "red and blacks" to the voice coil tags. I would also tie the screen to the speaker chassis as a some RF proofing. Even a 16 Ohm speaker will not give a lot of level however, best if you can use a transformer with a ~1:4 step up ratio
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Thanks. I don't understand alot of that but I'm going to look into it. My curiosity is piqued.
 
@grimtraveller There was a recent thread in DIY about using a speaker as a mic for a drum kit, worth checking out too. I'm going to make that item 347 on "the list...."

@OP Nick: some kind of four into one mixer, may not get you what you're hoping to achieve here, although I hacked one of those Shure mic mixers to use as a keyboard mixer a long time ago, (one amp, three keyboards...) It does help to know how stuff works and more or less how to do that. I did that Shure hack when I really didn't understand why the high impedance inputs would work that way, just guessing it would work and it does. Also, the advice to "get another mixer" isn't a jab at you. They make those for a reason. The Tascam Model 1 (an 8 in 2 out with just a volume and pan knobs) was recommended *by Teac* to expand the inputs on their boards.
 
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