Topic: 2 Simple Questions... please help!

[TyBO]

OK, I've recently purchased a pair of CSBs from the Yard Sale forum.  The CSBs came with a battery box to power the mics, so that's all squared away.  To my understanding the only things left are something for gain, and a storage device to record to.  I'm going to try to find a Nomad Jukebox 3 for a storage device, but about gain...

1.  What the heck do I buy to get "gain" in my recordings?

2.  What do you all recommend?  (I'm looking for something affordable, but decent)

Please help me out... thanks!

[lordbelial]

Search for the post "At853 as your only mics" in the forum.

There's an schematic for a DIY preamp.

That should work for adding gain to your CSB.

[sml42]

The JB3 does give up to +12dB of gain, which may or may not be enough for you - I've no firsthand experience with those mics. If you're planning on getting a jb3 anyway, I'd suggest you go ahead and get that first (so your rig will be: csb > batt.box > jb3) then go tape a local band. The results of that experiment will tell you whether you need more gain. I'll just add that many people run mics>batt.box>jb3 (myself included) with generally good results, so don't sweat it too much (unless your ears dislike the jb3 pre and/or you specifically want an external pre).

[TyBO]

Aha... thanks for the advice everyone.  I was looking at pictures of peoples rigs last night and I kept seeing these weird boxes thinking... "what is that?"  Now I know it's a pre-amp.

I'll take your advice sml and pick up the JB3 first, before deciding whether or not I need a pre-amp.

Thanks again. 

[leshlush]

You may want to ask somweone else but from what I can remeber... You shouldn't use the JB3s on-board gain... I haven't heard too many good things or experiences from those that have... From what I understand, it can cause all kinds of issues and different types of distortion... Not sure though cause I've never done it myself.

When ever I run my JB3, I always run it flat(neither increase or decrease the gain)... I've never run too hot... My levels are usually a little low as I am still running w/o a pre, but I have had great results normalizing my vollume in post production (wave editing software)... I plan to pick a pre shortly and not to mention all my taping has been bar-shows, however, I've yet to have any issues... I've been loving the pulls to date... I can see myself runnning into issues at larger or outdoor shows w/o a pre...

One thing for sure, if you're not going to run a pre, you'll definitely need to run some line matching transformers... It's a cheap fix that adds about +5 gain until you take the plunge and shell-out for a pre

[divamum]

A good starter pre which seems to get missed is the one from Reactive sounds (available at minidisco and from Reactive direct).  Unlike the SP fixed gain setup on their pres (which were a total failure with my cmc8>pre>JB3 setup run to record classical - just led to brickwalling and/or insufficient gain), it has a fully variable gain which runs via a simple knob - it's easy to set, has a clipping light to let you know if you've gone too far and sounds surprisingly good for the price. "Great"?  No. But well priced, easy to use and satisfactory results.   It's been a good little piece of kit the money.