mixer for xlr mic

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billycatfish

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okay,
i'm using a tascam 246 and a computer (with cool edit pro) to record on these days. i've decided i want to get a decent mic and figure i'll stake out an sm57.
what kind of mixer should i get to run the xlr cable from the mic into the 1/4" jack my tascam board has?
advice? i would like the mixer to be less than $100 but still have four xlr inputs.
do i even need the mixing board at all? should i get a converter?
help me
thanks
 
Do some reading on balanced signals to fully understand this topic.

You don't need a mixer or a convertor... You can get by just by using an adaptercable: ground of the XLR cable connected with ground of jack, HOT signal of the XLR connected with tip of jack, and COLD signal of XLR not connected.

This way you are using actually only the half of the output of your mic, but it works.

This is not the perfect solution. The next step up is a mic pre. This is a small preamp that will amplify the mic-signal to the right level. (adjustable, offcourse...)

Then there is the mixer. A mixer is essentially a few mic-pres, the outputs of these micpres get summed (amount of each adjustable by the faders) and this sum is what you get at the output. (most mixers also have inputs without micpre, which can be used for keyboards and whatever...)

Standalone micpres are more expensive than a mixer (if you look at the amount of micpres for your money) but the quality is ussually alot better...

Hope this helps... Do some reading on balanced signals, you will need to understand this once anyway...
 
well, this is what i'm looking for

the whole reason i want to get a decent mic (sm57) is because this winter i plan to record a bit of material in the vein of sparklehorse and mercury rev, and in doing so want the vocals to be quiet or hushed but full at the same time.
maybe i don't even need to get a 57. ????
maybe a $30 Nady would do the trick. ????
if this is my goal, and i'm recording to a 4 track, i was thinking a mixer would be nice because i could boost eq while i get the vocals down.
what do you think?
 
Well... Lotsa questions...

It all depends on what you want to do, and what you're planning to do in the future... An sm57 is a decent all round mic, but not what you would use on vocals. (The sm58 is the vocal version. It's the same mic, with a plopfilter(the ball) on it. If you screw this ball off, you've got an sm57 too...)

So, an sm58 is a vocal mic, but still it's not what I would get to record vocals. The more you spend, the better it will sound offcourse, but maybe a cheap condensor (which would cost about the same as the sm57, which is a good dynamic mic) would be better. I haven't got any condensors in that price range so I cannot recommend anything. (I only have an sm57, a cheap sm58 copy, and an AKG C3000, which is NOT the mic I would buy for vocals, and costs about 3 times as much as an sm57 over here...)

Then, applying EQ before recording... Well, an analog EQ is probably better as a digital one (You use your computer to mix? or the recorder? If it's an analog 4track, does it have EQ?), but how will you know what freq to boost or cut if you haven't got the rest of your mix to listen to? I do use the EQ on my vocal channel now and then, but that's just fooling around, mostly adding a little more high and cutting some 3k out of the backing vocals. It's really not the thing you will do when just starting out...

What you could do with the mixer if you have an analog 4track, is not using the mixer on your fourtrack, but instead mixing on your mixer. This way the mixer would give you micpre's, and EQ to use during mixdown...
 
i thought 57s were preferred over 58s for vocals. hmmm...
i get signals down digitally and analog, going back and forth, sometimes a song's been through 4 conversions and mixes before it's done. most of the signal boosting and eq-ing is done when it pitstops in the digital realm. I do have a dod eq pedal, but digital (cool edit pro especially) is so user friendly for filtering signals.
if i want the full power of the mic, i shouldn't use an adapter? what if i get one of the behringer mixers?
any experience with these? is it what i'm looking for?
thanks
 
Yes... I have experience with behringer mixers. Grrrrmmmble. I've got a little Eurodesk that I bought as a keyboard mixer... There's something wrong with it, headphones and ctrl-room out don't work no more. They're cheap... But you can get better.

An adapter... Well. You mean those transformer thingies, I guess. I think you will be alot better of with a preamp. Also, if you get a mixer with decent EQ, you could save some da/ad conversions and the loss of signal involved. (Decent EQ being Low/parametricmids/highs, but I don't know how many small mixers have that, and they probably aren't the cheapest either...)

You can use an sm57 for vocals. Offcourse, since it really is the same mic, but you will need a plopfilter... Better start with the sm58, and screw off the ball whenever you need the 57. Or get a cheap condensor mic. Got to a shop and ask 'em to demonstrate the difference between dynamic, cheap condensor and good condensor. That will give you an idea...
 
gotcha. i'll start looking at preamps and mixers now, then. and i'll get a sm 58 first.

much thanks.

hey, you a fan of turbonegro?
 
turbonegro? Never heard of it. I'm mostly a classical and jazz-dude, actually. Are you judging me on my avatar? :D It's not really conform with reality. ehe.

Before getting the sm58, check out condensors! You really should go to a shop or whatever, and hear the differences! If you want to use it live, go with the sm58. Otherwise... Dunno. Check 'em out. See what you can afford, what you will use it for. The sm58 is a good mic, but it also depends on what you want to do with it.

What do you plan to record? (Which instruments?)
 
sm 58 for live and four track recording of vocals... from noise to a full but hushed sound depending on project.
what preamp / mixer should i go with? i'm looking at spending right about $100.
not much on ebay.
hmmmm.
 
No idea... 100$ is not that much for a micpre or a mixer. There are some micpres that are in the pricerange. The ART MP I think it is, look for it on this site.
Can't help you for the mixer-thingy. I already have a small mixer, so if I look at mixers now, it's always the big ones that I'll never have. (I'm using the medium-big-ones doing live mixing for some bands, so I can bear with it. :) )
 
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