Topic: NJB3 Line in question

[okietaper]

I have a JB3 in my recording setup and I like it so much that I told my father to buy one because he wanted to use something to record himself playing the banjo.  Nothing serious and he is not super concerned with quality, he just wants to be able to hear what he played after he has played it.  Well I guess that quality does matter to some degree because he had a little recorder and he did not like it.  Anyway I told him that he should buy a NJB3 and he did.  We are now working to get a small mic option so we bought a little Sony electret condenser mic for him.  I plugged the mic in and it will not work.  I checked the FAQ for the NJB3 and it mentions that I could plug a mic directly into the line in jack if my signal is hot enough.  Well this mic does not work so I am guessing that the signal is not hot enough.  I guess my question here is how do I make the signal hotter.  Keep in mind that the intent of using this JB3 and mic combo was to create the least amount of hassles with regard to him being able to record. I need some help here.

Thanks
Cary Hayes

[Ray76]

I have a JB3 in my recording setup and I like it so much that I told my father to buy one because he wanted to use something to record himself playing the banjo.  Nothing serious and he is not super concerned with quality, he just wants to be able to hear what he played after he has played it.  Well I guess that quality does matter to some degree because he had a little recorder and he did not like it.  Anyway I told him that he should buy a NJB3 and he did.  We are now working to get a small mic option so we bought a little Sony electret condenser mic for him.  I plugged the mic in and it will not work.  I checked the FAQ for the NJB3 and it mentions that I could plug a mic directly into the line in jack if my signal is hot enough.  Well this mic does not work so I am guessing that the signal is not hot enough.  I guess my question here is how do I make the signal hotter.  Keep in mind that the intent of using this JB3 and mic combo was to create the least amount of hassles with regard to him being able to record. I need some help here.

Thanks
Cary Hayes

If it is a sony ecm mic..it should be hot enough to run....but maybe you need a line level transformer in the chain between the mic and jb3 to boost the signal.

Hope that jb3 is treatin you well. it did me, Cary.

[Roving Sign]

Going Line In...unlikely that Sony mic (or any mic for that matter) will produce enough gain to make a decent recording...

Best fast fix - try using the "Mic In" setting...the mic input on the JB3 supposedly sounds horrendous, and is considered not useable for music...

But give it a try...it might be good enough for your dads needs...as long as it does the job for him...

(Note - I've never used the mic-in - just repeating what others have said...)

[okietaper]

It is an ECM-DS70P  I think that there might be something wrong with it because I plugged it into my laptop and tried to record using the sound recorder and I got nothing there either.  I feel that I should have definately been able to record something doing this.  What do you think?

Hey that JB3 is excellent I really appreciate the good deal on it too!  

[okietaper]

I tried the mic using the mic-in setting and I tried adjusting the gain while using this setting.  I think that this might me a faulty mic.  I think I will try to record on my home stereo and soo if I can get anything with it that way.  I may have to utilize the warranty with sony.

[Roving Sign]

Aha - its not the mic...that mic model uses "Plug In Power" - i.e. the recorder powers the mic...niether your laptop, nor the JB3 supports Plug-In power...

You need a battery powered mic...like a Sony ECM 909...(they make a few models)

[Ray76]

Going Line In...unlikely that Sony mic (or any mic for that matter) will produce enough gain to make a decent recording...

Best fast fix - try using the "Mic In" setting...the mic input on the JB3 supposedly sounds horrendous, and is considered not useable for music...

But give it a try...it might be good enough for your dads needs...as long as it does the job for him...

(Note - I've never used the mic-in - just repeating what others have said...)

+T for that. I somehow forgot that there was a mic in on the jb3..DOH.

ZING!! Ecm MS 907 is a widely used one..powerd by AA batts.

[okietaper]

Thanks for the information guys.  I guess that was $60.00 down the drain.

[Ray76]

Thanks for the information guys.  I guess that was $60.00 down the drain.

thats how I felt when i bought the v2.  cept it was 600.

i make dumb mistakes all the time. NC public education and art college.

[Brian Skalinder]

thats how I felt when i bought the v2.

Did you ever actually run the V2?   

[Ray76]

thats how I felt when i bought the v2.

Did you ever actually run the V2?   

  Good one Brian. Youre on a roll today. Yep I ran it several times. with the mg21/20 and AT4050s.

too clean for me I guess. :shrugs:

[dklein]

too clean for me I guess. :shrugs:

 I don't understand comments like this.  What does that mean?  Coudn't you just dirty up your sound with an old sock or something rather than spending more money? 

[Ray76]

too clean for me I guess. :shrugs:

 I don't understand comments like this.  What does that mean?  Coudn't you just dirty up your sound with an old sock or something rather than spending more money? 

no, I mean that the sound of PA sourced music is too harsh for me compared to what I normally deal with 80 percent of the time, which is classical. So I like the coloration/"warmth", to kind of mitigate that harshness. Now with classical music the "distant" or "transparent" quality in a preamp is something to strive for because 99 percent of the time the concert location is beautiful , acoustically speaking. and for that I have a clean preamp in the MMA6000. but with PA music, no matter where the event is, the concert  tape IMHO sounds better with all the "warm" pres and mics..because they undermine the flaws presented by the PA output. Clean maybe wasnt the right word...transparent is a better term.

[George]

Thanks for the information guys.  I guess that was $60.00 down the drain.

Not at all, i have a battery module sitting around collecting dust, if that mic is terminated to a miniplug (aka 1/8"), drop me a pm and i can sell it to you for a cheap price, i'd rather sell it to someone who can use it then let it collect dust.  I can provide pics as well.  Let me know!  It'll plug into the njb3 via the line in.

[Karl]

You should jump on that deal--I've used the DS70P before, and it works great when used with battery box.  No extra cables needed or anything.

[ljsurfer2002]

yeah, totally! just buy a battery box and boom you'll be set. plug the mic you have for $60 into the battery box, then plug the battery box into the NJ3 hole.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-SPSB-1

this is all you need. it runs off a 9V battery .. the 9V will last for years and the thing will give your mic enough juice to record a great signal on your nomad. you're close! and your old man will really appreciate it.

tyler