Recording using long mic cable

[Paul D]

I plan on using my PowerMac computer to record onto hard disc. I'm in the process now of deciding on a quality large diaphram condenser mic to record various singers and some instruments. My computer is located in a small room. My concern is that this room (acoustically speaking) may or may not be ideal for a lot of what I plan to record. I am wondering if investing in an extra long (100, 200 feet long), high quality mic cable will cause any problems such as added noise or any type of latency. I am also wondering whether it best be to use above-scenario mic with an analog or digital mixer (with built in mic preamps/phantom power), or to go with a seperate mic preamp and use strictly the recording software mixer. So many options cause much confusion. Thanks for any advice/opinions.

 

[Take5]

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[This message has been edited by Take5 (edited 07-24-2000).]

 

[Take5]

if you are going to buy a mic cable that long, get a good one (monster cable, mogami, canare). if you buy a cheap one it maybe "microphonic", meaning the internal capcitance of the cable causes it to pick up handling noise. if you just touch it, you can actually hear it. not a good thing.
A cable will not add any kind of latency whatsoever. the speed of electricity=the speed of light...do you have to wait for the light to come on when you flip the switch? electrically speaking, the mic that's 200 feet away and the cable it's hooked to are the same point.
I would advise getting a mixer with your setup. you will have a LOT more control over what happens with the signal than with a stand-alone preamp. A digital mixer offers more bang for the buck.....I own a yamaha o1v and love it. and some of them can even control the software mixer on your computer through MIDI.
again, for these mixers latency is not a concern.(it's in the single digit microsecond range...)the only problem with latency you will have will be with your computer during mixdown and maybe overdubs and punching. mackie makes decent analog mixers.....1202, 1402, 1604...etc. they would do the job nicely. but you would have no onboard effects or dynamics processing.
hope my rambling helps.

 

[dobro]

I read in a magazine that it's useful to have a short cable from the mic to the preamp, then after the signal's up to line level, it doesn't much matter how long the next bit of cabling is.

The same article, I think, suggested that dedicated preamps were often better (cleaner, quieter) than the preamps built into a lot of mixers.

This is all hearsay, I know, but it's plausible hearsay.

 

[James HE]

100 feet of monster cable will break the bank!

I read something about using two shorter runs and connecting a DI Box inbetween the cables to make a long run. I'm not sure how much of a benifit/detriment this will be to the sound

-jhe