Topic: JB3 Question. Help!

[MattyPretends116]

I just got a JB3 for taping shows, and am having a bit of tourble getting it to record. the setup is like this: I have a Shure SM58 connected to a guitar cable via a XLR on the mic end going to a 1/4" jack on the other. I bought an adaptor to turn the 1/4" jack into a n 1/8", which will fit into the line-in input on the JB3. so I hooked everything and recorded a sample, played it back and heard nothing. What am I doing wrong? I tried both an optical and analog recording but nothing happened? Sorry if I'm missing something obvious, I'm new at this

Thanks,
Matt

[MattyPretends116]

so I missed the JB3 ?s thread. Many apologies. Any advice anyway?

[mmmatt]

Hey Matt,
You have to downlad the latest firmware from creative's website, and then you have to set the unit to record "mic in" when you are in the recording menu of the jb3.  Don't expect too much though, the pre section of the jb3 isn't much to write home about.  Most of us use a seperate preamp.  Also, I'm not familiar with that mic but I assume it is a dynamic mic.  If so you should be able to make it work, but if it is a conser mic you will also need a way to provide "phantom power" so that it will pass a signal.
Good luck!
Matt

[MattyPretends116]

thanks alot for your reply, what kind of preamp would you recommend? Anything else? I read the essentials section, so I'm no longer completely ingnorant but any tips about what works well or what to avoid are welcome

Thanks, Matt

[mmmatt]

thanks alot for your reply, what kind of preamp would you recommend? Anything else? I read the essentials section, so I'm no longer completely ingnorant but any tips about what works well or what to avoid are welcome

Thanks, Matt

I think most here would agree that an "oade mod" edirol ua-5 is the best newbie rig for the buck.  You can then have additional upgrades done to it as your mics, ears, skills and wallet improve. Just so you know a normal "off the shelf" ua-5 won't work unless it is connected to a computer, the "digi-mod" makes it so it will work as a stand alone.  These are the performace upgrades that can be done by oade: http://www.oade.com/digital_recorders/Digital_Converters/Edirol_UA5.html#mods
There are many options though, and depending on what types of recording you want to do there may be some preamps that are better suited for you.  The ua-5 is good for most anything except "stealthing".
Matt

[dklein]

Hey Matt,
and then you have to set the unit to record "mic in"

Mic-in is severely rolled off and sounds awful.  Try using line-in and turn up the gain as required (it goes to +12 dB).  That mic is high sensitivity and might do you right without a preamp.

[MattyPretends116]

Thanks a lot for the advice The firmware worked, I'm still toying with the gain setup. I might go  for a pre amp afterall