HELP D: I can't get my MXL 770 to work!

  • Thread starter Thread starter CheenoDash
  • Start date Start date
And I take it that you don't have any other equipment such as a little "live" mixer to test the 770 on.
 
Nope, that would be far to useful haha. As I said in the original post, this is my first proper mic set-up, so I have no old or spare stuff to test with. I guess I should put this down to experience and make sure I have some testing gear in future. Once the new cable comes I'll be able to determine if it's that, and I'll test a guitar & multimeter on the interface. If there's still an issue then, I'll know it's the microphone.
 
At this point I'm fairly certain it's the cable. This interface is secondhand, but the guy I bought it from was using it fine about a week ago. The mic was brand new, and MXL are supposed to make decent quality mics, not the best but certainly not the worst.
 
Is the microphone cable seating correctly into the 770?
Does the end that fits into the microphone have a rubber fitting? If so try it again after removing the rubber.
 
Yeah seems to be well and truly in there, I've removed the rubber but it doesn't go in any further. Glad I've moved away from USB mics, but this is one hell of a struggle! I've got over 50 days until the mic won't be able to be sent back, more time with the interface, so I've got plenty of time to keep testing. I'm used to this sort of thing, I'm a bit of a performance PC enthusiast, so I'm not really that phased by it. Just a shame that my first set-up doesn't want to cooperate.
 
Truly sad.

One last thing to check. Does the body of the 770 seem to be tight and not loose where you would unscrew it?
 
Everything seems tight, do you mean the thread that opens to the internals of the mic?
 
Yes. Am not sure but, the grounding of the 770 may be along the body. Gentle try unscrewing it a bit then screw it back together really snugly.
 
That hasn't done anything, well it was worth a try :P Gotta say, thanks again for all the help and time you've given me tonight. Is there any reputation system, so I can upvote you?
 
CheenoDash said:
That hasn't done anything, well it was worth a try :P Gotta say, thanks again for all the help and time you've given me tonight. Is there any reputation system, so I can upvote you?
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Ha. No problem Cheeno. Rep is the little Star of David thing in the bottom left corner.

Night time! Where are you in the world?
 
Added some rep :) I'm in the UK, it's 18:20 here right now... I've been awake for around 45 hours though, so time is kinda lost to me at this point.
 
CheenoDash said:
Added some rep :) I'm in the UK, it's 18:20 here right now... I've been awake for around 45 hours though, so time is kinda lost to me at this point.
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WoW! I get those days/nights of no sleep as well.
 
I'm a student... I'm used to it xD

Decided to open up the cable... it's not soldered correctly xD Plus it looks like it was soldered by a blind gibbon! I was doing better jobs than this at the age of 7>.<
 
arcaxis said:
This is a problem I had with a Tascam US-144 mkII interface and condenser mics. The USB port on a couple of my computers didn't have enough juice to power the interface when the load of the condenser microphone was phantom powered. The condenser mic signal was really weak to almost nothing and I had a bunch of noise in the signal. A dynamic mic was OK as well as a guitar or other device that didn't draw down the phantom.
What did work was using an axillary phantom power supply box or a powered USB hub, which sort of sucked. Probably you'll get a better idea of what's going on when you get a guitar hooked up. If you have any other USB ports on your computer give them a try and take off any extra USB devices that you don't need plugged in leaving just the mouse and keyboard. This may not be the problem, but something to consider.

Edit: You posted while I was typing.... maybe you've found something
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I did have the same idea as that, so I connected it to a USB 3.0 port, which pumps out a bit more power. It didn't do anything unfortunately. I have also tried attaching to a group of USB 2.0s that are running from a different controller that isn't populated, so power shouldn't be an issue. If a new cable doesn't solve it, I will look into external power supplies. cheers :D
 
If you suspect the cable wiring/soldering is at fault, I'd just roll it up and put it away until you have a new one.

If you get a meter, check for continuity between pins 1+2,1+3 and 2+3 at one end of the cable, with the cable unplugged. You shouldn't get anything.
Now check between 1+1, 2+2 and 3+3 across the length of the cable. You should read continuity with each pair.

If the cable checks out, turn the meter to DC voltage and read between 1+2, and 1+3 with phantom on.
You should read +48V DC each time.

If all that checks out too, I guess the mic isn't working.


Duno if this is useful to you or not.
Phantom power is supplied to a balanced audio connection.
If for some reason your XLR cable was unbalanced, or if one of the wires was broken/not connected, phantom power wouldn't be applied.

XLR-pinout-OK.webp
 
CheenoDash said:
I'm a student... I'm used to it xD

Decided to open up the cable... it's not soldered correctly xD Plus it looks like it was soldered by a blind gibbon! I was doing better jobs than this at the age of 7>.<
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Are you sure that it's not soldered correctly? That's weird coming from the factory.
And what company was it from?
 
It's from some shop on ebay. Well it's soldered in a way that makes it unbalanced, not how an XLR to XLR cable should be soldered.
 
CheenoDash said:
It's from some shop on ebay. Well it's soldered in a way that makes it unbalanced, not how an XLR to XLR cable should be soldered.
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Sounds like that's your answer. :)
Hopefully your mic hasn't been damaged, but definitely don't use that cable again unless it has been repaired/rewired.
 
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