General newb questions

[RaXioN]

Whats up everyone? This is my first thread, glad to join the community. Im a drummer but I play a little "geetar" (theory junky). Iv been recording for a few months with a portable TASCAM recorder mostly to get use to editing and puting song together. I came across some cheap mics, a 7 piece. Kick, Snare, 2 overheads, 3 toms mics. Now Im looking for a recording setup. Iv did some research on the topic but nothing solid. I really like the USB mixer/interface way. I Know its not the best but I want something simple so I can get use to micing, mixing, and recording before I decide to get higher end setup. Any suggerstions? Price isnt a big factor, but I need at least 2 inputs that are phantom powered and some EQs. Ultra newb question... my mics have xlr connections in the back, Can you use a xlr to 1/4 inch to hook up the mics that are not phantom powered? And Im willing to sacrifice some cost for quality!

 

[gecko zzed]

At this point in your adventure into recording, just about any USB interface will serve your purposes.

Most come with XLR connectors, so you don't need to worry about XLR to jacks. You can use XLR to 1.4 inch leads for mikes not connecting to phantom power . . . however, 1/4 sockets that are designed for mikes are becoming increasingly rare. Most, these days, take line level.

 

[RaXioN]

XENYX and Cables

I did some searches and read some reviews and user manuals. I kinda like the Behringer XENYX 1222FX. The ratings are so so, some love some hate, 4star average. It has every thing I could possible want at the moment. But I got a few questions.

This model has 6 xlr mic inputs and 4 sterio for a total of 12 mono 1/4. When you turn on phantom power all xlr inputs receive it. So if I wanted to hook up 6 mics, 2 of them needing phantom power, I would need 2 regular xlr cables and 4 balanced cables for the dynamic mics right? Or should they all be balanced? And to hook up my 7th mic I would need to have a cable that changes the xlr to 1/4? Would I be better of not using all 7 mics? I would perfer to use all cuz of I got 5 toms.

 

[gecko zzed]

I did some searches and read some reviews and user manuals. I kinda like the Behringer XENYX 1222FX. The ratings are so so, some love some hate, 4star average. It has every thing I could possible want at the moment. But I got a few questions.

This model has 6 xlr mic inputs and 4 sterio for a total of 12 mono 1/4. When you turn on phantom power all xlr inputs receive it. So if I wanted to hook up 6 mics, 2 of them needing phantom power, I would need 2 regular xlr cables and 4 balanced cables for the dynamic mics right? Or should they all be balanced? And to hook up my 7th mic I would need to have a cable that changes the xlr to 1/4? Would I be better of not using all 7 mics? I would perfer to use all cuz of I got 5 toms.

No . . . it hasn't got everything you could possibly want at the moment . . . because it has only six mike inputs. You need seven.

It doesn't matter whether your mikes are phantom powered or not . . . they all use the same XLR cable. You need six 'regular' XLR cables. Nor does it matter that you have a mixture of phantom-powered condensors and dynamics . . . you can happily plug them all into the Xenyx. Phantom power won't affect the dynamics. Your seventh mike, though, is stuck in limbo, because there is nowhere for it to go. An XLR to 1/4 won't help, because the 1/4 inputs on the Xenyx are for line level inputs (e.g. A CD player, synth, whatever).

 

[darrin_h2000]

Depending on the model he might have a couple of low imp. on the tascam recorder with 6-1/4" inputs....and he should go with lines going straight out of the inserts on the pres of the mixer till he gets something better.

 

[RaXioN]

2222

I guess im going with the Xenyx 2222. It has 22 inputs, 8 being xlr, and plenty of xtras that I wasnt looking for but the price is good. Iv look at lot of sites and it seems that everyone dissputes if you should use balance or unbalance when using phantom power with dynamic mics. And Im still in the dark about it. In most manuals iv read its says never use phantom power with dynamic mics unless you use balanced cables. But on the other hand if the mixer has balanced inputs then a unbalanced cable would act as balanced and a balanced cable would act as a unbalanced. The are swapped in the box and not in the cable. Can anyone clearify?

 

[gecko zzed]

never use phantom power with dynamic mics unless you use balanced cables. But on the other hand if the mixer has balanced inputs then a unbalanced cable would act as balanced and a balanced cable would act as a unbalanced. The are swapped in the box and not in the cable. Can anyone clearify?

Firstly, a standard XLR to XLR cable is 'balanced' in that it allows a balanced signal to be carried through it.

XLR inputs on a mixer are balanced. In your case, they also send phantom power back through an XLR cable to power condensor mikes. Plugging a dynamic mike into an XLR cable, then into the XLR inuts of your mixer (which also provide the phantom power) will not damage mike nor mixer.

The only place you can plug a dynamic mike with an unbalanced cable into your mixer is via the line in socket (which is isolated from phantom power) and using a 1/4 jack. Again, this will not damage mike nor mixer. But it won't work very well either, because the mike doesn't have enough level for the line-in socket.

Nevertheless the advice is sound. If you use an XLR cable that is not standard (i.e. it only has one internal conductor instead of two, or the two internal conductors are soldered together in the plugs), then you can come to grief.