Direct box for use with cassette portastudio?

[famous beagle]

Thank you for the input. When I first purchased the At 2035 I also got a Behringer 'Tube Altragain, MIC100' mic preamp because it had phantom power. It boosted the gain so much that I couldn't seem, between the gain and output controls on the MIC100 and the controls on the 244, to get a level that was not either to low on or pegging the 244's VU meter in the red. I did engage the -10db pad on the 2035 and the limiter on the MIC100 and it help a little. That is when I found a phantom power box to use instead of the MIC100. Since external mic preamps are not covered in the 244 owners manual, I did not realize that the output of the MIC100 was a line-level signal, I will have to do some more playing with the MIC100 and see what I can do.
Again, thanks for the input.

Yes, when you run the external pre into the 244, turn the trim knob all the way to the "line" side. This way, you're essentially just setting the level with the external pre. After you get a good level on the Ultragain with its gain knob, start with the output all the way off and then raise it slowly until you get a good level on the 244. I haven't used the Ultragain before, so I'm not positive on how it works exactly. But if it's still too loud with the 244 turned all the way to "line" and the Behringer's output all the way off, then you can bring down the Behri's gain knob until you get a good level on the 244.

Considering all those options, you should definitely be able to get something useable.

 

[jpmorris]

Have you tried the 20dB pad on the mic-100?

 

[Illsidgus]

Have you tried the 20dB pad on the mic-100?

Yes I did. I think the real problem is that I haven't tried to really learn how to use the MIC100. That is going to change.

 

[Hammerstone]

So I wasn't able to do as much testing as I wanted, perhaps tomorrow or Thursday. What I did find out, however, is that the AT transformer is very sensitive to things like a (perhaps) improperly-wired cable. I had tried that with my other adapter no prob, but try the SM57 and the input transformer and there's a very noticeable hum there. If nothing else, it's a good piece of equipment to test cables with! But seriously, so far, no complaints about the way it sounds, thankfully. I might even buy another one...

 

[famous beagle]

By the way, I just scored an M67 on eBay for $45 shipped. I'm looking forward to doing the mod and getting the 4-channel pre out of it. When I do the mod, I'll take detailed notes and pictures for a step by step walk-through for anyone else who wants to do it.

 

[rayc]

I have a MIC100 and it's really rather good given its modest origins.
I'm pretty sure I used it with my Yamaha MT100 4 track Cassette machine without any problems.
It's been a while though.
I bought it because I bought a couple of small Dia. condensors and needed to get some phantom power but also because I had a Shure 57 that needed more preamp gain than the built in ones could muster.
I still use the MIC100 with Reaper etc. as it seems to suits more mics than my other couple of outboard preamps.

 

[MASTA J.]

'The home recording show' is a good source for info on inpendence, DI boxes and so on. It's a website with a great podcast online. If you want to get some extra knowledge on the subject.

The thing I got out of using pasive or active DI's is, that active is lots of times used when using long cable runs. [not the only reason] Passive ones are fine in when using shorter cables. Maybe that narrows down the search?
So I think the Art will do the trick. I mean, if I got your question right (?), the only thing you need is a change of input, because the female jack-route doesn't sound great.

 

[Hammerstone]

By the way, I just scored an M67 on eBay for $45 shipped. I'm looking forward to doing the mod and getting the 4-channel pre out of it. When I do the mod, I'll take detailed notes and pictures for a step by step walk-through for anyone else who wants to do it.

So YOU'RE who I've been bidding against! I refuse to pay more than $40, but good for you. I'll get mine sooner or later. BTW, there's a guy selling one on ebay that's already modded w/ 4-outs. I asked him about it, and if I understood correctly, he didn't actually add output transformers to each channel though...

 

[famous beagle]

So YOU'RE who I've been bidding against! I refuse to pay more than $40, but good for you. I'll get mine sooner or later. BTW, there's a guy selling one on ebay that's already modded w/ 4-outs. I asked him about it, and if I understood correctly, he didn't actually add output transformers to each channel though...

No that wasn't me. I just bought one with a BIN price and didn't place any actual bids anywhere. I had seen some go for lower, but I'd seen some go for higher, so I figured I wasn't getting raked over the coals or anything.

The mod I saw didn't say anything about adding output transformers.

 

[Hammerstone]

No that wasn't me. I just bought one with a BIN price and didn't place any actual bids anywhere. I had seen some go for lower, but I'd seen some go for higher, so I figured I wasn't getting raked over the coals or anything.

The mod I saw didn't say anything about adding output transformers.

Yeah I guess what I mean is that by doing it the way that guy did, aren't you bypassing the output transformer, which is where most of the nice-sounding color comes from? Plus, you're not going to have as much gain either. Now, if you can get ahold of a few more output transformers, and say, add one to each channel….then you've got yourself a real 4-channel preamp!

 

[famous beagle]

Yeah I guess what I mean is that by doing it the way that guy did, aren't you bypassing the output transformer, which is where most of the nice-sounding color comes from? Plus, you're not going to have as much gain either. Now, if you can get ahold of a few more output transformers, and say, add one to each channel….then you've got yourself a real 4-channel preamp!

One thing I constantly hear about them is that there's usually too much gain for it to be used on things like drums or guitar amps. The mod I saw ran 3 of them to direct outs but left one in the mixer buss. So you had 3 that could be used on loud signals and one that could be used for other things like acoustic guitar, vocals, etc.

 

[j.harv]

By the way, I just scored an M67 on eBay for $45 shipped. I'm looking forward to doing the mod and getting the 4-channel pre out of it. When I do the mod, I'll take detailed notes and pictures for a step by step walk-through for anyone else who wants to do it.

Id be interested in this. Im looking to get one myself.

 

[Hammerstone]

Guys, thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. There's a some good stuff here, and I'm learning a lot!

'The home recording show' is a good source for info on inpendence, DI boxes and so on. It's a website with a great podcast online. If you want to get some extra knowledge on the subject.

That show looks really cool, there seems to be a wealth of into on it!

One thing I constantly hear about them is that there's usually too much gain for it to be used on things like drums or guitar amps. The mod I saw ran 3 of them to direct outs but left one in the mixer buss. So you had 3 that could be used on loud signals and one that could be used for other things like acoustic guitar, vocals, etc.

I see! One thing I'd do in that case, if I'm already modifying it anyway, might be to include a 20dB pad as well, maybe just something that could be switched on/off from the inside. Well anyway, I'd be glad to have a step-by-step guide on how to do it right, but I think I'd just as soon pay someone to do it for me....

 

[Hammerstone]

By the way, I just scored an M67 on eBay for $45 shipped. I'm looking forward to doing the mod and getting the 4-channel pre out of it. When I do the mod, I'll take detailed notes and pictures for a step by step walk-through for anyone else who wants to do it.

I picked myself up two M67s, one was the modified unit that the guy was selling on ebay (and no I didn't pay his asking price, I made him what I felt was a reasonable offer...he accepted). The regular one's a bit noisy (the power cord's not grounded!) but you're right, it gives a whole hell of a lot of level. The modified one though is a bit trickier, I have to max out everything to get decent levels with an SM57. The Sennheiser mics I have are a bit louder so I'll try that out next, but right now the only thing that is properly usable is an older CAD Equitek mic which is a battery-powered condenser. So it's pretty much what I was worried about, the M67's input transformers just don't give enough level on their own and I wonder if there's a way to augment them without too much trouble. Of course, the other option is to just use condenser mics, which means buying a phantom power unit is probably a good idea...