Tech: mini disc live recording

Subject: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: open mike
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 06:15 AM

i am trying to record (live) folk music
and i have been usiing a small
microphone which is meant for'
a "lavalier" mike. it worked on
a cassette tape recorder, but
apparantly no sound was recorded
while using mini disc. -any advice?
< be blank...>>
what type of mic is recommended for this is a sony mini disc only for recording
music which has been downloaded??
recorded specifically for capturing live
jams, and tunes being played at the
festival...boo hoo.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 06:23 AM

Need a little more information, Mike.

1 - What model of Mini-Disc Recorder
2 - Where did you plug the microphone in? The Red Microphone Jack? or the White Line-In Jack?

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: Ghirotondo
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 07:17 AM

Usually Mini-disc recorders like mine, a Sharp i-don't-remember-the-model, needs an electret condenser microphone, which gets its power directly from the recorder. Mine doesn't work if I plug a normal mic into the socket.

Peace
Ghiro(tondo)

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: GUEST,kris
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 07:22 AM

My minidisc is a Sharp, and it requires a "plug in power" type of microphone - ie one that draws power from the unit (not allowed one with its own battery).
Sony may be similar. In my case a small cheap mic intended for PC applications suffices (but I had no end of trouble finding that out!!!!). The good news is that they are really cheap once you find them.

BTW - I sometimes get no sound recorded because I have put the mic in the earphones hole - thats always worth checking!

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 08:31 AM

Sony do a neat little stereo mic for their mini disc recorders. The price has recently been reduced! Its about 50 pounds now. Gives good quality whilst not getting in the way and reasonable stereo separation too.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 10:52 AM

With my Sony N707, you can plug in just about any type of Stereo microphone into it. I normally use a Sony Condenser Stereo Mic with built-in battery which will work in many types of situations with many kinds of machines.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 10:55 AM

Oh! Another possibility, some models of Mini-Disc recorders may not have Automatic Volume Control set as default. Therefore, you might have to turn up the volume at the start of recording.

Again, it would help immensely if we knew which model machine you have.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: treewind
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 12:11 PM

It's true that MD recorders supply power for eletret mics, but that doesn't mean that other types of mic won't work. A dynamic mic might have rather low output for a MD recorder, but you'd hear something.

There might be a problem because the original lavalier mic was mono and had a mono mini-jack, while the MD will have a stereo mini-jack socket. Even then, the most likely outcome would be recording on the left channel only.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 12:15 PM

I'd suggest you read your manual that came with your Mini-disc recorder... I learned all kinds of stuff about my Sony 707 that way...

,-)

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 05:08 PM

Anything in particular, Clinton? 8-) Nice machine, eh?

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 05:22 PM

Well, I did find out, after bitching about it for months, that it can in fact, 'scan search'... by holding down the forward or back button without 'clicking' it all the way down, you can scan ahead or back on a MD.... Took some practive to ge thte 'touch' just right, but now it's easy...

Best place to keep you owners manuals in my opinion? In the bathroom... That way when yer sat on the throne, you're also exercising yer brain, AND playing with a 'toy'

Heh...

( I really need to use more 'quotes' when I 'post' eh? )

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 05:23 PM

I also need to read/spellcheck before I post...

Took some practice to get the 'touch'....

*sigh*

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: NicoleC
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 05:34 PM

I've seen your mic, Laurel, and it will work fine with a mini disc recorder -- provided it's still functioning, that's not your problem. About half the time I plug mine into the line in jack first and wonder why there's no audio.

Mini-disc, or the DAT recorder you had at the camp out?

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 18 Jun 03 - 11:18 PM

Yes, I had a problem getting used to this one. I have an older MD where that Fast-Scan was real easy. The 707 is really nice, but that Fast-Scan does take some getting used to.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: open mike
Date: 19 Jun 03 - 01:46 AM

i did plug it in to the line in as
that is the only place i saw...
mz-nf610 is the model number.
it has no mic jack just line in...
my fear is that it is not ccapable of
recording live :-< it says type-S.
it says line in optical when i read the
fine print---what does that mean??
the owner's manual does not specify
how to record using a mic only
to plug into another device..
and the salesman did not know either...
ah well, the walkman can be used
as a receiver for radio, t.v. and weather
but perhaps need to research further
to find out how to use it for the
intended use.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: open mike
Date: 19 Jun 03 - 01:54 AM

there is no red jack
guess i will go to sony web site and
see what they have to say
my mic is stereo

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: Ghirotondo
Date: 19 Jun 03 - 03:14 AM

Sorry, Open Mike, I just checked your MD here
and it says NO MIC INPUT... maybe you can use a preamp to plug your mic into the line input, but it seems to me much too complicate. Furthermore, it add bulk to the gear you will carry with you.

Peace
Lanfranco

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 19 Jun 03 - 09:54 AM

Is Automatic Volume Control a good thing on md recorders? My old mono reel-to-reel tape has AVC, and it sounds awful when rtecording music (esp. live), because it boosts the background noise in quiet passages and damps down the music in the louder bits: the effect is definitely not good. On te other hand, I know overdriving a digital signal sounds much worse than for an analogue signal. Is it possible to monitor on headphones? (That way you'll have to plug everything in the right holes to get anything out at all.)

Steve

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 19 Jun 03 - 11:08 AM

1 - No Mic Input. OOps. That's why. The line input is looking for a MUCH larger signal than that given by a microphone. Line In is for something like Line-Out on a computer, or Aux-Out on a stereo. Perhaps a pre-amp might be available which is small enough to put into service between the two bringing the level up to that of a line-in port. Sorry, Mike, but your machine wasn't meant for it. That's why the microphone input ones are more expensive, since they have the extra circuitry to do that without outboard amplifiers. See if you can get them to exchange it if you can't find a small enough pre-amp to work with your microphone. The optical part of it is only good if you have an optical output port from your sound card or stereo system.

2 - AVLC or Automatic Volume is NOT especially good for music. I usually turn it off, but sometimes the machines are factory-set to be on. The original MD I had, you couldn't see the levels so you had to by-guess-by-golly. The Z707 shows recording level so it's no problem.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 22 May 04 - 10:27 AM

Is it possible to find a minidisk player/recorder with built in mic.
I heard Aiwa might have one ??? I require it mainly to record small group gigs.
Many thanks,
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 22 May 04 - 04:12 PM

There are a few that have a built-in microphone. As with built-in microphones on cassette records, I don't know if there might be some motor noise picked up.

I know on my Sony recorders, they turn on the motor every once in a while as it is recording and it shuts off for a minute or two. IF the microphone is at all sensitive I think it might pick something up you don't want.

Have a look at

Minidisc.org's Equipment Browser.

They have many models from a lot of different manufacturers listed.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 23 May 04 - 01:04 PM

You might want to consider this microphone

SP-SPSM-1

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: s&r
Date: 24 May 04 - 03:48 AM

this fits in to a minidisc mic socket without trailing leads

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: GUEST,JOHN of ELSIE`S BAND
Date: 24 May 04 - 10:03 AM

As advised by SONY, be sure to use the mains power unit when recording rather than relying on the performance of the re-chargeable battery.

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From: RichardP
Date: 24 May 04 - 12:23 PM

My experience is that it is highly undesirable to use AVC when recording music on my Sony minidisc. However it is then important to set the manual input gain to a fairly high level.

Sony make two mikes specifically for minidisc. One looks like a normal mike and has to stand alone. The other is very light, T-shaped and can pluc directly into the mike socket. However, if used that way it does indeed record a significant amount of intermittent motor noise. However it can be connected remotely by a standard stereo lead with the appropriate connectors with excellent results.

Richard

Subject: RE: Tech: mini disc live recording
From:
Date: 24 May 04 - 03:18 PM

John of Elsie's Island. I do it all the time, but not with a rechargeable, but alkalines. Just bought some Ni-MH type rechargeable to try out. The Alkaline AA battery in my N-707 seems to last a good long time, roughly 3 or 4 hours before replacing. I'm hoping the Ni-MH at 2100mAH will do well. Will let you know later.

s&r, that microphone is MONO only. The one I suggested is a stereo.

RichardP, I agree. DON'T use AVC for recording live material. I'm not familiar with that second mic. Do you have the model number? Is it like the SP-SPSM-1?