Malcolm wrote:
>
> Hello, I am a new subscriber and contemplating the purchase of my first
> minidisc (portable) recorder.
You will not regret getting one.
> (1) What kind of microphone is typically accepted by minidisc recorders
> ie. what input impedance ?
THey expect to see a low impedance condenser stereo mike. You can build
one for about $10US if you are handy.
http://www.tir.com/~liteways/Mandolin.html#Microphone
If not you can buy one from Sound Professionals, other places on the
web.
If you are in a hurry and don't want to wait to build one or buy one,
you can record mono by using a computer sound card mike temporarily
until you get or build a better one. You can also go to Radio Shack or
Best Buy, or Circuit City or other places and buy two microphones for a
camcorder, and then get a mono to stereo adapter from radio shack. This
will cost about $35-$40US for the two mikes and about $4US for the
adapter, but as you might have suspected, with all the cords, plugs and
adapters, it is rather unhandy.
> (2) one of the faqs commenting on analog copy said that this mode
> generally sounds fine . But I wonder what "generally" means! Would I
> expect to hear audible (even intrusive) levels of background hiss ( a bit
> like the bad old days of cassette/tape ) ?
You will only have a problem after several generations from the master
recording. Something like you get a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy
of a copy from a friend. I doubt if you will be able to tell a
difference on a first generation copy from your master.
>
> I wonder therefore if this is a problem with analog copying in general, or
> was it a fault specific to my CDdrive/software/soundcard ?
I think it had to do with the set up of the computer, sound card etc.
> To complete the picture : the intended use for all this audio analog copying
> is the portable recording of bird song, animal sounds, environment noise
> (quarry blasting, aircraft, Concorde etc ) and the subsequent editing/copying/
> compiling.
FOr recording real quiet sounds, you need to move the mike away from the
recorder or you will record the ticking sound of the recorder motor
along with your bird calls. That isn't hard, just get an extension
cable for the mike you are using so it can be moved about a foot away.
(Foot is an old English measurement that we Americans can't seem to give
up) <G>
--
Jim Coon
Not just another pretty mandolin picker.
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
If Gibson made cars, would they sound so sweet?
My first web page
http://www.tir.com/~liteways
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