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From: Mike Curtis
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 22:44:29 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Recording tips?

On Mon, 16 Sep 1996, Rod Thomas/Sandra Teare wrote:

> I'd like to start taping myself and my guitar player when we reherse.
> I'd like to use my regular house stereo if that's possible. I have a good
> system with a good tape deck. Now, my amp has three RC jacks on it's face
> for a second VCR. (One for the video signal, and two for the audio). It
> would be very convenient if I could just plug two mics in there, set the
> amp on VCR2 and record with my tape deck. I could use the VU meters to set
> the levels, and it would be recorded with dolby.
>
> I just tried using some old $15 recording mics in this fashion. It
> worked, BUT the signal was way too weak. The VU meters didn't budge, but
> if I cranked the volume on playback, there I was playing that harp. It
> sounded nice and clear, but I don't want to have to play my system at 11
> just to hear something.
>
> I'm guessing something is not matched here. I've heard a lot about
> high and low impedience on this list, so I'm guessing the impedience may be
> the mismatched variable. The manual specks the input impedience of it's
> VCR2 as 22 kilohms. What 's the impedience of a cheap radio shack
> recording mic likely to be? How about a $100 stereo recording mic? What
> do I gotta put together to match a mic to my stereo? How much better is a
> $100 Sony stereo recording mic likely to sound than a pair of $15 Radio
> Shack mics?

That's strange - RCA jacks on the face - is that the FRONT of the
cassette? These are usually on the rear.

If your cassette deck doesn't have microphone inputs, you'll need
something with a microphone preamp. It will have a microphone level
input and a line level output.

The lack of volume has nothing to do with impedance in your case. Line
level (which is what RCA jacks suggest) is +30dB over mic level. That
means your cassette is looking for a signal 1000 times stronger than what
typically comes out of a microphone.

I'm not aware of any decent mics that output line level. the old
telephone carbon mics could do this, but they sound horrible for
recording, as well as require a power source and special wiring.

If your deck doesn't have mic level inputs, you might try either going
through a microphone mixer, equalizer with proper in/out, or just use a
decent quality ghetto blaster, etc. I've done some surprisingly
acceptable recordings like that. The trick is to experiment with
positions - yours AND the blaster. You might get some nice distant mic'd
effects in a live room by putting the recorder several feet from you, or
you might like it better in a well "padded" room (carpets, sofas, drapes,
etc.) with the blaster sitting very close, etc. And it might sound better
with you sitting on the sofa, standing next to the plate glass window,
etc. Use your imagination and experiment. And take notes - memory fades;
ink doesn't.

While you won't win any awards for production, you can get good enough
quality to put on a demo or homemade cassette for sale. And if it's just
for practice, don't sweat it.

Some ghetto blasters allow you to monitor thru the headphones while in
record mode. This MIGHT be usable into your better tape deck. Or maybe
not. Experiment. Keep the volume low and rase it gradually, until you
have the level on the VU meters you need.

-- IronMan Mike Curtis
New Cassette available - email for details