SP-C1 into DMP3

  • Thread starter Thread starter Reggaesoldier
  • Start date Start date
You may well be right but from what it says in the first post the problem seemed to occur before the signal reached the MR 8 (ie. clipping in the mixer).

Who knows? outboard pre to mixer to all-in-one recorder just seems like an unnecessarily convoluted signal path to me. I mean are all those things actually doing anything beneficial to the sound?
 
Agree.

I usually start with the simplest signal path and see how that works. Having a mic go directly into the MR8 works well for me. Having an intial preamp, then a mixer, then the MR8 sounds like too much.

Ed
 
It's not a case of too much - it's that it's pointless. That's been the subject of the whole thread. How come you're having the discussion from the start of the thread all over? If he's lumped with the pres that's the end of it I'm afraid ... till he advertises the unit on ebay.:)
 
That's why they call these "Discussion Forums". People discuss the problem. One comments and another responds.

If the mic directly connected to the MR8 has a sound problem, then I would expect one of those two items to have a problem.

Ed
 
What are you talking about? His gear doesn't have a problem. He's just finding that it doesn't sound that good.

As for 'discussions' - you don't even read the thread before answering - that's why you started asking questions from about 20 posts ago. You just come on and type your opinion and ask stupid questions ignoring the contents of the thread.
 
Actually not.

His original comments concerned a signal path going through two preamps first. He made comments about clipping problems. He asked for suggestions.

He later brought up using the MR8 and the problems that it sounded awful.

He later asked for different ways to connect his gear to the MR8.

Discussions from that point focused on what might be causing the lousy sound he was getting. Since I actually own an MR8, and have talked to other MR8 owners who had similar problems, I offered some comments. Others had similar comments.

The experience to date with other MR8 owners who had similar problems ended up being a bad MR8. Once replaced, the problem went away.

So it seems to me that offering suggestions as to this to the poster, who was having problems with his MR8, might be worthwhile...

Ed
 
alright, this is a lot of info being thrown around and im going to try and piece it together. Ed first off, since you have the mx802a do you KNOW if I can bypass the mixer pres by plugging into the 1/4" inputs? And if yes, should this be a general rule of thumb that line level inputs on mixers and so-fourth will bypass the pres? If this is wrong i'm sorry, like I said it's confusing and im trying to put it together. I have a few other things going into the mixer thats why I like to plug into it. A DR-670, a gemini digital sampler, mod pro for fx, and I run the MR8 back into a stereo channel to monitor it. Now that that's out of the way.
Seriously what is the point of my DMP3's existance if whatever I plug it into will override my dmp3's signal? And If using the 1/4'' ins does bypass the other pres, the 1/4"(bal) outs from the dmp3 all of a sudden make sence. I also want to know what happens when I go from 1/4"(bal) to 1/4"(unbal). Ed you might understand this one. The MR8 has unbalanced 1/4" ins. What does this do exactly? if anything?
I am working right now on some simply acoustic songs right now. So all I will need is 2 mics. I'm using my Sp-C1 and my KSM109. I decided to remove the mixer from the chain and go from the mics to the dmp3 to the MR8. Now if I am understanding The dmp3 is pointless because the MR8's pres will take over. I looked at the schematics myself and noticed that both channels A & B both have their ins (XLR & 1/4"(unbal))going to an A/D point. Is this the pre? if not what is it? Maybe you could confirm this too ed? And finally I want to look into getting maybe Sonar and a breakout box and a better soundcard. I know my comp is fast enough and with 524 megs of ram I think I'll be ok. I just need to know what I would need exactly? Especially sinse my DMP3 is pretty much useless as long as I've got the MR8. Unless I can bypass those pres.

Why don't they put this shit in the manuals?
I know its a lot to swallow but I thank you again guys!
 
I also looked at the mixer, mx802a, schematic and it looks similar to the mr8's setup. It looks like both the XLR and 1/4" go to the preamp. Is this correct? I just want to know all of this because it matters and this is really the first time i've heard and even thought of this whole problem. thanx again
 
Reggaesoldier said:
alright, this is a lot of info being thrown around and im going to try and piece it together. Ed first off, since you have the mx802a do you KNOW if I can bypass the mixer pres by plugging into the 1/4" inputs?
Click to expand...

The Behringer has two kinds of inputs. The mic inputs have both XLR and 1/4 jacks. Both go through the pre-amp. The unit also has line level inputs which have no preamp circuit and are usually used with things like tape decks of other line level output devices. The 1/4 jacks on the XLR channels can be balanced or unbalanced inputs.

The MR8 also has two inputs, each with an XLR and 1/4 jack, and both go through a preamp. The 1/4 jacks on the MR8 are unbalanced.

When I use the MR8 with mics, I just plug them directly into the MR8. That works very well for me. However using phantom power mics might be an issue as the MR8 does not do phantom power.

When I record guitar, I take the outputs from my Line 6 POD gear and go directly into the 2 1/4 jacks. I adjust the preamp gain for the correct signal level. Works great for that too.

The only time I use the mixer for recording is if I need more than 2 mics at once. Then they go into the mixer, with the mixer output to the MR8. I then turn the gain down on the MR8 to match the levels.

I do all my recording directly on the MR8. I then transfer the resulting tracks to the PC for mixdown using a USB connection. If I need more tracks, I move a partially mixed track back to the MR8 and cycle again. That way I can do up to 48 tracks and all is in perfect sync.

Ed
 
thanx, but you really didn't answer my questions. other than the line level. Also can I assume that only line level inputs on a mixer will bypass the pres? and 1/4"jacks in the mic channel will not. also the the 802a has channel 5/6 and 7/8 with one control, ie. EQ per pair... why? and why are these line level inputs? and what the hell are they for?

I need some real teching here!!! Someone help
 
The Stereo channels (which also work in mono mode ... one of Behri's better features) are line level channels for mixing line level sources, e.g. the things Ed mentioned. They don't have a preamp, they're meant for line level stuff only (you may have a switch for +4 / -10, +4 is effectively 'louder').

The preamp channels have a 'line' input that's meant to give extra line level inputs, but, as has been said, they route through the preamp still.

What were the other questions?
 
Is the dmp3 useless with the mr8?
What happens when you go from TRS to TS if anything?
was I making sense?
Should it be a general rule of thumb that line level inputs on mixers and so-fourth will bypass the pres?
I looked at the MR8 schematics myself and noticed that both channels A & B both have their ins (XLR & 1/4"(unbal))going to an A/D point. Is this the pre? if not what is it?
I want to look into getting maybe Sonar and a breakout box and a better soundcard. I know my comp is fast enough and with 524 megs of ram I think I'll be ok. I just need to know what I would need exactly? I've never looked into this.
the the 802a has channel 5/6 and 7/8 with one EQ control per pair... why? and why are these line level inputs? and what the hell are they for? They are useless to the DMP3 aswell unless they actually had a channel 5 and 6 not a channel 5/6 or a 7/8 how the hell would you use both channels?

I dunno how you guys read my post and missed this?:D
 
Reggaesoldier said:
Is the dmp3 useless with the mr8?

What happens when you go from TRS to TS if anything? was I making sense?

Should it be a general rule of thumb that line level inputs on mixers and so-fourth will bypass the pres?

I looked at the MR8 schematics myself and noticed that both channels A & B both have their ins (XLR & 1/4"(unbal))going to an A/D point. Is this the pre? if not what is it?

I want to look into getting maybe Sonar and a breakout box and a better soundcard. I know my comp is fast enough and with 524 megs of ram I think I'll be ok. I just need to know what I would need exactly? I've never looked into this.

the the 802a has channel 5/6 and 7/8 with one EQ control per pair... why? and why are these line level inputs? and what the hell are they for?

They are useless to the DMP3 aswell unless they actually had a channel 5 and 6 not a channel 5/6 or a 7/8 how the hell would you use both channels?

I dunno how you guys read my post and missed this?:D
Click to expand...

In answer:

1. Since the MR8 has a preamp for mics, using the DMP3 seems redundant
2. The MX802 has line level input channels for things like tape decks, synthesizers, and other devices that already product a line level signal.

What is you want to record with your gear? What instruments and how many at a time?

Ed
 
What he said. I think the info's here in this thread now if you read again carefully ... Ed's right in that you should make sure you're getting the best from what you've got ... but if you've outgrown it ... cut your losses and expand by selling.
 
Well, Reggae, I agree with most of what's been said, except the concept that there is no point. The point is this- even though the signal from the outboard pre is in fact going through the substandard pre in the MR-8, *using* that pre for gain makes the problem worse. The biggest problem with cheap pres, either the ones in the MR-8 or the Behringer, is that distortion increases as additional gain is generated. Often noise increases as well. By using the cleaner gain from the DMP-3 into a line level input, you reduce the effect of the onboard pre on the signal. A cheap mixer will only make matters worse. I suggest you use the Hi-Lo setting of the DMP-3 in the "Lo" position, which is basically a -10 output. I suspect your MR-8 will do better with that. A real hot signal will only clip the poor little preamps. I do a lot of remote recording with a Korg PXR4, so I can relate to your problem. I also use a DMP-3, among other things. You may also do better, as suggested above, sending the signal from the DMP-3 to a 1/4" line in, rather than an XLR mic jack. On some machines, the circuitry for the 2 jacks is different, and the MR-8 I have no clue about. Best of luck.-Richie
 
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