MP3 Player-voice recorder

Subject: MP3 Player-voice recorder
From: nutty
Date: 15 Dec 05 - 04:13 PM

I have aquired a MP3 player which has an integral mic to record voice.

It also has a "line in" facility. As the pick up on the voice recorder does not seem very powerful I want to know if I can attach an external multi directional mic and , if so , which would be the best type of mic to buy.

Remembering, of course, that price is an issue so I will be looking for best value rather than cheapest.

Any help would be gratefully received.

Subject: RE: MP3 Player-voice recorder
From: treewind
Date: 15 Dec 05 - 04:35 PM

Not directly.
A "line in" needs a bigger signal than a mic can produce.

You need a recorder with a "mic in" socket, or you get a microphone preamp, which makes the whole setup not very portable. And unless the voice recorder does reasonably high quality (does it have any controls that let you set something like bit rates?) it'll only be good for what it says - voice recording, i.e. not music.

Anahata

Subject: RE: MP3 Player-voice recorder
From: nutty
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 11:38 AM

Thanx Anahata
I was actually thinking of those small mics that are self powered.
I have one about the size of a credit card but haven't dared try it in case I did some damage.
Would it damagethe machine????

Subject: RE: MP3 Player-voice recorder
From: GutBucketeer
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 01:14 PM

I have a Creative Nomad 20 Gig MP3 player that works great.

I use two little stereo condenser mics that you can get on e-bay for about $50. They use phantom power normally provided by a mini-disc player or similar device.

To use them with the line-in you need a battery operated pre-amp.
I bought mine from VisiVox Technologies. It has two gain settings. Even with the high gain setting the signal might be a little low if you are recording accoustic performances that are not using a sound system. They also sell mics. Here is the link:

http://www.visivoxtechnologies.com/main.htm

Make Magaizine volume 4 also has plans for a pre-amp that should work for about $30.00. I'm not sure if it provides the phantom power though. Look here for Make Magazine.

http://www.makezine.com/


Gut

Subject: RE: MP3 Player-voice recorder
From: dwditty
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 02:36 PM

Check out this Sound Professionals powered stereo mic. I use it on my Creative Nomad 3 (older, but it records up to 9 hours in CD quality), and it works great.

dw

Subject: RE: MP3 Player-voice recorder
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 03:31 PM

I have an Iriver Mp3 player which has a similar builtin mic/ which can be switched to line-in for recording from lps etc..
Its an Iriver FP750(I believe), I bought a Sony Stereo mic (for$100 Canadian) the iriver has a built-in preamp and lets you set bit rates etc. (Ive recorded sessions, fiddle festivals etc, and the quality is excellent - as good or better than minidisc)
it is low signal to noise ratio and no moving parts, so you dont need to worry about picking up the drive motor..

(I actually got it because a someone came to our session with one, and had the same Iriver/sony stereo mic combination - which Ive seen quite a few people using elsewhere. He recommended against a powered mic as it is more trouble, and because it has a builtin pre-amp)

Im happy with it, Ive been using it a lot, for recording tunes at sessions, or workshops or just transfering recording from lps, tapes to mp3..
(it cost around $150 Canadian, 6months ago and is probably around $100 now, I only wish I got the 1gig instead of 512mb - but It worked fine for a week at fiddle tunes. )
And you only need one AA battery.

Subject: RE: MP3 Player-voice recorder
From: HiHo_Silver
Date: 16 Dec 05 - 06:33 PM

For what its worth: I have a Pansonic RRUS360 recorder. I just turn it on and record without a mic or any external device. It records very well with lots of volume. I then load it into voice studio and convert it to wavwe format. Then copy the file into "Sound Recorder" or "Audacity" and color up the recording with some effects like echo and reverb. Turns out pretty well for amateur recordings to copy to CD.