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Bryson
Rocket Surgeon
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2010-05-14, 14:28

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevegong View Post
What kind of mics did you specifically use? Do I just need condenser mics, and that will yield a more powerful signal? What recording equipment did you use?

Can I see your project?

I seem to think part of the reason is that line-in jacks need amplified signals, whereas mic jacks can take anything.
Condensors tend to be better for "ambient" noise, rather than dynamics that tend to be more useful for close-micing an instrument or voice. We used AKG 300Bs with CK91 capsules, although that was more an artifact of what we had in the mic cupboard rather than an specific choice. Recording went straight into the laptop via a MOTU interface. Portability, obviously, was low. It needed it's own AV cart and a tall mic stand for the "head".

You can see the project...but...you'd have to go to DanceCity in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and use the "jukebox" in there. It's not online.

Mic level and Line level are miles apart. Line level is -10dBV*. Mic level is -60dBV. dB is logarithmic, so there's a lot of difference between those two... ie: it's a case of what the input is "expecting". Plug a line-in source into a mic input and you'll peak the crap out of it. Plug mic level into a line-in and you'll get virtually nothing. Sometimes equipment has built in switchable "pads" that allow you to deal with both on the same input, although I don't see any evidence of that on the unit you're buying.

The link that Sunrain gives looks promising for a low-fuss solution - I would be concerned about handling noise though.

Short answer; use real microphones. Headphones aren't microphones.






* = Or +4dBu. But then we have to mess around comparing different units.

Last edited by Bryson : 2010-05-14 at 14:45.
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