Mic issue (AT 2035 into Tascam DP-03)

[Ghost Lemon]

Hi All,
I just received a used AT 2035 condenser mic off of Reverb for a demo that I want to record. The mic will be run through a Tascam DP-03 portastudio. The Tascam provides 48 v phantom power, which I have activated.
The issue is that, when using the mic, I am unable to monitor anything through my headphones during standby or recording, except a fairly substantial humming sound (even with the headphone volume cranked). The level meters seem to respond when I speak into the mic, but since I can't monitor anything, I'm not sure what the meters are responding to. Also, I purchased a brand new mic cable, so that is unlikely to be the issue. Also, I set the pad and the high pass filter on the mic to off.
When I switch to monitoring the unit's internal mics, I can hear them perfectly well, and the hum goes away. I recorded a few seconds of material, and I could hear my voice on playback, but it was very faint, even though I had set the trim quite high. I also switched inputs to see whether that was the problem, but that didn't make a difference.
So the question is whether I am missing something, or if the mic itself is likely defective. (The seller assured me that it worked but that he hadn' used it in a while). Unfortunately, I don't have anything else to plug the mic into in order to test it, nor do I have another mic to test the Tascam's ability to play nice with external mics.
Thanks!
Michael

 

[TalismanRich]

I would suspect either a problem with the cable wiring, or the mic being suspect. It's easy to do a continuity check for each pin of the cable with a cheap multimeter. I'm going to assume that you're using an XLR to XLR cable, not XLR to 1/4". The 2035 says that it's a fixed-charge back plate, permanently polarized condenser but should work with phantom power from 11 to 52 volts. The DP03 should be fine.

If you know anyone who has either an audio interface, or perhaps an acoustic guitar amp that has a balanced mic input, give it a try. Something like a Fishman Loudbox, or Fender Acoustisonic amps can do that.

 

[Ghost Lemon]

I would suspect either a problem with the cable wiring, or the mic being suspect. It's easy to do a continuity check for each pin of the cable with a cheap multimeter. I'm going to assume that you're using an XLR to XLR cable, not XLR to 1/4". The 2035 says that it's a fixed-charge back plate, permanently polarized condenser but should work with phantom power from 11 to 52 volts. The DP03 should be fine.

If you know anyone who has either an audio interface, or perhaps an acoustic guitar amp that has a balanced mic input, give it a try. Something like a Fishman Loudbox, or Fender Acoustisonic amps can do that.

Thanks for the quick response, TalismanRich. There may be an issue with the cable wiring (XLR to XLR), but (unlike the mic!) it is brand new. Finding someone with an amp or audio interface to plug it into is a good suggestion.