Help! Oktava mc012 help needed!

[ja_]

so today i just bought an oktava MC 012 mic, a 50 foot cable, and an audio technica xlr to 1/4th converter. i needed the converter because i'm using a dj mixer as a pre amp.

now heres the problem i'm having
i have everything conected the way i usually record (with lesser mics that is), dj mixer to pc and everything is good. i've already troubleshooted that connection so i'm sure thats not it. i've messed with all the levels and everything on the mixer, but i get no sound no matter what i do! nothing from the mic. whats happening here? its just dead air, absolutely nothing. is it something with the converted by chance?? its a low impedance to high impedance if that matters.

can anyone throw me a bone here???

 

[charger]

The MC012, and most condensers, require phantom power to operate. This is usually provided by your mic preamp or your mixer. However, you're using a mixer that does not provide phantom power. And even if it did, phantom power will not work with a 1/4" cable, it only works on XLR mic cables, even with an XLR-to-1/4" converter. In other words, you are SOL. However, for DJ mixer purposes, I wouldn't recommend the MC012 anyway, a Shure SM57 or SM58 will do you just fine, and requires no phantom power.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Uhhh, I don't see any place for phantom power in that chain.

 

[Track Rat]

It's the way you're hooking it up. You can't use a 1/4" to XLR adaptor with a condensor mic as it requires phantom power. Does your mixer provide 48V phantom power? Even if it does, it won't be present on a 1/4" connection.

 

[Track Rat]

Looks like we all jumped on this one at the same time.

 

[mixmkr]

has anyone mentioned phantom power yet???



'cause...I'm sure you're going "testing, testing...1, 2, 3," loud enough!!

 

[ja_]

damn. damn.

well the goal here is recording drums, but going for that 50s blue note (one mic in the middle of the room) type of sound.

crap. is there any kind of pre i can get that will have a 1/4 out that i can run to the dj mixer?

so, all condensers use phantom power? i've never used one before, thanks for the help guys...

 

[crgman]

A lot of mic pre's will have 1/4" out; but, even if they didn't, you could get an XLR to 1/4" cable.

Depending on your budget you might look into a few different mic pre options- A Behringer Shark (about $40 to $80 depending on where you go), A Presonus Blue Tube (about $150 to $200), or a Joe Meek VC3Q for about $300. Then you can go on up with dBX, etc. There are some other mic pre's, like the Midiman and ART's that you can usually find under $300.

Or just get a Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro mixer for about $350 ($250 used) and get a bunch more functionality than your DJ mixer. They have 4 mic pre's with phantom power. Nice little mixer.

-c

 

[ja_]

ah, so this brings me to a new question.

buy a cheap pre, or just take the mic back and get a sm57? blue note used condenser mics in their studios i know, but would a sm57 be able to catch all the frequencies of a drum set well enough? i know about the 3 and 5 mic techniques of micing drums, but i'm trying for a 1955 sound here. plus the fact that i dont have much more cash to throw at this at all.

thanks a lot crgman

 

[crgman]

Well- I am not an expert on miking drums, but an SM57 is very directional (cardioid patter) and is a dynamic mic, which typically means that you will not get as good a dynamic range. Typically the SM57 is used to mic a snare or tom- maybe a ride, but the whole kit? Never heard that application before. You might just have to go to ebay and get a cheap mic pre.

 

[philboyd studge]

rasta mon ja

Get yourself an ART tube mp preamp (they must be down to $80 or so) and plug the 012 into that, then to your dj mixer and you'll be getting nice sounds. Sure, there's better stuff out there, and for more money, but for this application I think you'd be happy with the ART.

 

[h kuhn]

ah, so this brings me to a new question.

buy a cheap pre, or just take the mic back and get a sm57? blue note used condenser mics in their studios i know, but would a sm57 be able to catch all the frequencies of a drum set well enough? i know about the 3 and 5 mic techniques of micing drums, but i'm trying for a 1955 sound here. plus the fact that i dont have much more cash to throw at this at all.

thanks a lot crgman

I am also into that kind of sound, an i am using the mc012. I think its agood choice, but don't forget that the most important thing in these recordings was the room. I recently had a chance to record with the very same equipment i am normally using here at home in a great location, about 20ft ceilings, wooden floor, no parallel surfaces. It is day and night compared to my other (jazz)recordings. If there is any interest, i will try to upload the results somewhere. The micing technique isn't perfect still, but what i found out is that you have to play with the leaking of the other instruments (ie micing up the horn player up close and as far as possible from the drums, and using the leakage into the drum mics as natural reverb. With the drums its the same, you use their leaking into other mics. If you try this technique in a small room you might get phase problems though)

 

[ja_]

yeah, the room has decent acoustics although its small, and is hexoganal in shape, with only 2 parallel surfaces.

i'd be very interested in hearing your results kuhn, especially since we're looking for the same end with similar means.

 

[ja_]

one more thing, for room recording like this, any dynamic mic basically isnt going to cut it, yes?

 

[Track Rat]

Not really. For minimal mic'ing in a jazz context,IMHO, you want condensors, unless you have a nice RCA ribbon mic laying around.

 

[ja_]

yeah thats what i figured. i have a 50 foot cable here, because unfortunately the drums are 3 rooms away from the pc and all my other music stuff. i noticed the damn cable itself was 40 bucks, but i JUST a few minutes ago saw on musiciansfriend.com they have 20 foot cables for 5 bucks each, if i linked three of these together would my sound quality suffer much?

this page is a godsend by the way, i cant thank you guys enough

 

[h kuhn]

yeah, the room has decent acoustics although its small, and is hexoganal in shape, with only 2 parallel surfaces.

i'd be very interested in hearing your results kuhn, especially since we're looking for the same end with similar means.

ok, here it is, a small snippet, 1.4 mb. Far from beeing the "last word", I would record it different today (the drums/main pair is stereo, I would definitely do everything with one mic per instrument the next time and then pan the instruments ), and one of the preamps was passing out while recording (a Daking...), this is the reason why the bass sounds a bit "opaque"
I really dig the drummer.

I am working on another one of the tunes where the bass sounds better.
Harald

 

[Rod]

Hello, You could use an electric condensor mic. There used to be lots of those around that used an "AA" batterty to power it, and already had a 1/4" plug on it My favorite is either CROWN or Realistic PZM microphone. It has a small cartridge mounted above a 5 or 6 inch metal plate which can be placed in front of a drum set for WONDERFUL sound capturing every beat with LIVE sound quality to it. I used 2 before, but 1 would be fine for MONO. Radio Shack does not have the good ones any more, but you might find one on Ebay.com Best of luck to you

 

[h kuhn]

Ja_
have you thought of renting a small mackie mixer? As popular as they are, you might even know a friend who has one and can lent it to you for free.
Harald

 

[ja_]

wow that drummer IS wild, thats a good little tune right there. thats EXACTLY the sound i'm looking for right there, is that one or two mc012s??

and as for renting a mackie, where could i do this? that sounds pretty good to me...