Topic: Mic Setup

[okietaper]

I should probably start off with I am a total newbie.  I am currently using Studio Projects C4 mics and when I was first looking into getting these mics I inquired on  the OADE forum and was advised that with my current setup I would need attenuators for the C4 mics to work good.  Here is my current recording setup.

C4>PS-2>SONY MD

I have only recorded one show with this setup and it did not turn out so well.   I plan to purchase an Edirol UA-5 in the very near future.  This will replace the PS-2.  Will the UA-5 decrease or eliminate my need for the attenuators?  What the heck do attenuators do anyway? 

Thanks

[leegeddy]

I should probably start off with I am a total newbie.  I am currently using Studio Projects C4 mics and when I was first looking into getting these mics I inquired on  the OADE forum and was advised that with my current setup I would need attenuators for the C4 mics to work good.  Here is my current recording setup.

C4>PS-2>SONY MD

I have only recorded one show with this setup and it did not turn out so well.   I plan to purchase an Edirol UA-5 in the very near future.  This will replace the PS-2.  Will the UA-5 decrease or eliminate my need for the attenuators?  What the heck do attenuators do anyway? 

Thanks

c4 outputs a very low voltage signal (mic level). ps2 is only a phantom power supply. it only powers your condensor mics.
some folks use what's called a "Lo Z > High Z" transformer.  basically, this xformer steps up the mic level signal to a line level signal which is hotter/stronger so you can feed a device a line level. 

yes, a UA5 as a phantom power/preamp/a>d converter will replace your ps2.

i bet your recording was VERY low since you couldn't provide much of a signal for your MD.

marc

[okietaper]

What do you mean by low?  Low volume level?  Low tone Level?  My recording was done in a dance hall?  It seemed like that band did not come through as much as the people talking did?  Is there some trick with mic placement that can help me to eliminate the audience noise?  I know lots of questions! Sorry...

[okietaper]

Will the RODE NT5 perform in the same manner with my setup?

[admkrk]

not a lot of people like the nt5s, on the other hand i like mine alot. the c4s are pumped quita bit here, but i have no experience w/ them, so i can't comment on the dif.  w/ the ua-5 you should be good to go. otherwise you'll need some kind of preamp behind the ps2.

[okietaper]

Definately getting the UA5 then.  Sounds like a must.  One thing though, I plan to someday incorperate my laptop into my recording gear in the hopes of increasing the quality of my recordings.  Will the UA5 transfer well to laptop recording?  Can I go C4>UA5>Compaq Presario 2700?
Thanks for the help guys!

[okietaper]

Could I leave the PS2 in my set up after I get teh UA5.  I was thinking that I will get the UA5 from OADE with the battery that comes with it and not use the pahntom power from the UA5 as to conserve the battery power, so the phantom power would come from the PS2 instead.  Would this make a difference?

[admkrk]

you would just be adding unnessisary stuff to the line. from what i've heard, you should get at least 6 hrs out of the batt for the ua-5, if my rides would quit crapping out on me i'd be able to give you a better life span but conserving the batt shouldn't be a consern unless you're at a festival and even then..........

[crakt]

What do you mean by low?  Low volume level?  Low tone Level?  My recording was done in a dance hall?  It seemed like that band did not come through as much as the people talking did?  Is there some trick with mic placement that can help me to eliminate the audience noise?  I know lots of questions! Sorry...

were you using the omni or card caps? i used to have the C4s but found the omnis to be useless for taping - the vocals always came through very low. the cards were much better and obviously they will cut down on audience noise. there are hypercard caps coming for the C4s soon which will help cut down audience noise further.

Luke

[okietaper]

I used the card caps.  That is good news about the hyper caps since they will cut down on audience noise.

[bluegrass_brad]

I have a 9v 4000ah battery that still had juice after doing an almost 8 hour test run on a UA5 with phantom on. Probably wouldnt have gone much longer, but I wont really need it to.

[okietaper]

That is noce, but I plan to purchase the OADE battery.  How does the OADE Battery compare to the battery that you have? 
I know nothing about Voltage and amp hour so please go easy on me!

 Thanks

[Brian Skalinder]

How does the OADE Battery compare

Depends on which battery you get:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=2460.0

Which one, specifically, are you getting?  Once we know that, crunching the numbers per the above thread is simple.

[okietaper]

I plan to get the battery that comes with the UA5 Digimod advertised on the OADE website.  I will cruise over there and look at the specs on the battery and the draw of the UA5 and try to calcualte the run time of the battery.  Thanks for the info.

[okietaper]

Ok so I went over to the OADE website and I only found that the battery is a 4.5 aH NiMH.  I looked for information on the draw of the UA5 and did not find anything or at least anything that I would recognize to be thie information.  I was wondering if anyone would just know that since this appears to be a very widely used preamp for field recording.  I also posted in the preamp section of the forum about whether or not the UA5 would be good for when I make the switch from SonyMD to laptop.  I know that the UA5 has a USB onboard, but would the preamp that supports firewire be better.  I am speaking of the Edirol model not sure the # of it though.  Thanks