A440

If you're recording into Cool Edit as .wav files, you're done. No converter necessary. Same as it ever was. And yes, SonicStench can delete tracks from the disc. It won't work if you have the write-protect tab open.

Hi-MD simply adds the USB option, it doesn't prevent you from doing what you've been doing with the R37. If you're used to doing the realtime transfer, recording analog through Cool Edit, you can still do that before or after a USB transfer. SonicStage 2.3 has so far been reliable for me in transferring 5 full-length shows, including one that ran over two hours and 52 tracks in Hi-SP. If for some reason it doesn't do the transfer, you still have the music on the the disc and can do the realtime transfer. But you DO get one upload only via SonicSludge. So far, I have only been screwed once by SonicScrooge 2.3, and it was partly my own fault. I transferred a show, mistakenly deleted some tracks from the computer, and then tried to transfer them again. SonicStupid detected them on the disc and DELETED THEM FROM THE DISC. Sony Customer Service said it wasn't supposed to do that, and of course were "sorry for the inconvenience." But I was relatively lucky. My computer is partitioned with one logical drive used for daily operations and the other for storage, so the storage drive, where SonicStuck was placing the tracks, wasn't getting rewritten regularly. I used the free PC Inspector File Recovery software http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm and all but one of the .omg tracks were still there. (There's also a big .tmp file that's probably the other track--if anyone knows how to turn it into a usable .omg file, let me know. Simply renaming it doesn't work.) But anyway, if you play by SonicStooge's rules, you should be OK. For safety's sake, you can always do the realtime transfer first until (or if) SonicSlave earns your trust.

Other people have had this problem with realtime recording into the computer. Look in Settings-Control Panel-Sound and Audio under Volume and Audio and make sure the only input checked is the one you need--mute the rest. Also go into the Sounds associated with programs and turn them all off. But the USB should bypass them all.

All MD's record in stereo either through Mic-In or Line-In, stereo miniplug (or optical in). What do you want to do with the recording once you have it? If you want to upload it digitally to your computer then you need Hi-MD, and the cheapest US model with Mic-In is the MZ-NHF800. Look it up on Froogle, you can find one for about $215. If you don't mind having to make an analog, realtime copy of your recording out of the headphone jack, then you have a lot of other options--look in the Equipment Browser. Sony MZ-N7xx, 9xx, 10 or 1 all have mic-in, as do Sony MZ-R7xx and 9xx. (Not 4xx, 5xx, 6xx.) And there are lots of Sharp models as well. But you can't upload, and you'll probably have to find a used one unless there's old stock around. Try Froogle again.

Could it be the Windows settings? Go to Settings--Control Panel--Sound and Audio Devices and see what the input (under Audio) and output (under Volume/Advanced) devices are. If those look OK, maybe you should experiment: reinstall your Creative software atop SonicStage.

There's no harm in turning down the volume of the music and seeing a doctor, but could it also be something simpler, like the E888 earbuds irritating your ear? Have you tried (at low volume) atop-the-ear headphones?

If you're recording with a NetMD, you can automate the process--record each track as a separate .wav file, ready to burn onto CD--with WinNetMD. http://winnmd.net/ It's about $20 and well worth the money, in time saved, if you already have the tracks separated on the MD. Use line-in to record if you have a line-in jack on your computer to record with--you might not, just a mic jack. If you're sticking with Audacity, here's some help. Make sure Audacity can hear the mic. In Windows XP, Start--Settings--Control Panel--Sounds and Audio Devices--Audio--Sound Recordng--and make sure mic (or line-in, whatever you're using) is checked as the input. When you record in Audacity, you should see a nice wiggly waveform from the time you hit the record button to the time you press Stop. Audacity's Save is a little confusing. After you push the Stop button in Audacity, click on File and then Export Project As: ---your choice, .wav or .mp3 (WAV files will be bigger but sound better). Then use a burning program like iTunes or Feurio to put the .wav files on CD. http://www.feurio.com/English/index.shtml This is a very long-winded explanation. Once you've done it the first time, it will seem simple.

Stuckinthe80s, look at the first Sticky (NetMD 1.3) on this topic. NetMD transfers track by track (in realtime) from the MD, so if you've already separated and labeled tracks it makes things a lot easier. His new website is in some of the last posts on the topic. Andrew, direct transfer sure would be handy. Unfortunately, Sony has stuck a lot of DRM wrappers/encryption in the way, and breaking them is difficult and probably illegal. The two-step process with Sonic Stage/WAV converter usually works despite the annoyance factor.

Agreed, Manual would have been better for the Mayer recording. But the lights went down too quickly to go through the whole rigamarole necessary for using Manual, and it was better to get the recording imperfectly with AGC than not to have it at all. And now people can hear AGC at work. One thing I've been trying is to set the recording volume to Manual outside the venue and leave it on Pause until showtime. But do that too soon, and you have to start worrying about battery life. I have no idea what Yahoo does with multiple logins. Maybe someday we'll find out. And Corien, I suggest you make those CD samples short so the recording-industry watchdogs don't get touchy.

New one today--some blues for you.

mgdimo-- If you're indoors, you can take the foam windscreens off the mics and they should be pretty inconspicuous against a dark shirt. If you wear glasses you could attach them to the frames right next to your ears, or you could also put them on a dark baseball cap.

The song is from Joseph Arthur. The jazz instrumental is called "End over End."

Actually, I got a better idea. Any Yahoo box holds 250 MB and can upload 10MB at a time. I started livefrommd (at) yahoo.com and mailed the samples to it. The PW is 1minidisc1 Just download them from the inbox. And if anyone wants to add their recordings (<10MB), please do.

Changed the Briefcase to a simple mailbox, see above. (Previously setup as a Yahoo briefcase: Sign in as a440live with the password MZNHF800 (case sensitive). Then you should find a Music folder.)

Go to http://mail.yahoo.com/ and sign in as livefrommd with password 1minidisc1 Look in the inbox for live recording samples . If anyone else wants to upload recordings there, you are welcome to do so (box limit is 250MB, 10MB at a time), but please don't abuse it. And if anyone has some free online storage for larger files, let me know via PM here.

It's the first thing I tried. SS won't upload from a write-protected disc.

The original question was about recording conversation for use in other compositions. If you want a faster-than-realtime upload to make .wav files out of the recordings, then you need to get one of the few available Hi-MD models: NHF800, NH900 or NH1. Those are your only options. I'm very happy (except for the two-fingered Record button) with the NHF-800. If you're willing to do an analog, realtime recording into your computer from your headphone out jack, you'll do fine with a Sony MZ-N707, MZ-R700 (or G750, same thing plus radio remote), MZ-R900 or whatever else looks good on Ebay (check the equipment browser to make sure it has a mic jack: Sony 7xx, 9xx, 1 and 10, while Sharps are even more confusingly numbered. Get a pair of basic mics and you're good to go.

Can't answer your 3.1 question, but possibly it's because binaurals face out to each side, like your ears, so that may affect the phasing. Listen to the sound samples on the Giant Squid site, they sound tinny to me. Maybe they were using too much bass roll-off, but if not they just don't have a decent low end. Core Sound should be better, and Sound Professionals is still selling its most basic binaurals on Ebay for $25, and they sound superb too.

I don't know if the options are different on the 600, but my NHF800 has Format under MENU/EDIT.

So that's why the PSM-4 didn't show up under the list of Stereo microphones but did show up when I searched the site! I should have realized. You would need a connector cable from the AT825's XLR connectors to the minidisc's mini stereo plug. Sound Professionals has it listed as an accessory with that mic. The bottom note of a piano is 27Hz, so 30 is pretty close. Search for Rode NT4 on this board--it seems people are thrilled with them. It's supposed to be a great mic.

deafplayer, is there space left on your hard drive? Maybe Sonicstage needs some empty MB to do its processing. And Kurisu, I can't believe your blanket condemnation of P2P. Unlike Kazaa or Grokster or Edonkey, Soulseek ( www.slsknet.org ) has no adware or spyware and I haven't gotten a spoofed file on it yet, while I have found plenty of music that's not in stores or on (miserable-sounding) iTunes. I've got Norton Internet Security, which had SP2 problems. I also regularly run a VPN. Do a search on www.symantec.com for SP2 and VPN and you'll see that Norton has some lovely SP2 fixes that are "not to be applied to the firewall computer"--that is, my only computer. I'd rather have Soulseek and a working VPN than the dubious benefits and documented problems of SP2.

It's possible that the adapter is slightly underpowered, even though it fits the plug. Recording needs more power than data transfer. You may have to get one of Sony's overpriced adapters. I had something like this this happen with a used CD player. The seller had bought it in Japan, and although the adapter came with the CD player and plugged into a US socket, it didn't have enough juice to run the CD player here.

The AT 825 looks ideal for your purposes, and that sounds like an excellent price if you can afford it. You're right: cardioids are unidirectional. Cardioid means heart-shaped: imagine the microphone at the bottom point of a heart, picking up sounds within that heart shape. So it would exclude sounds behind you and off to the side, which would help if there's a lot of conversation around you. About battery modules: The MD provides a tiny bit of power, plug-in power, to a microphone in the mic jack. Battery modules (or batteries that go inside some of the mic models you're looking at) provide more power, which makes any mic able to withstand louder sounds. As for the SPSM-4, 116dB is nearly as loud as a jet airplane takeoff, so it should be fine without a battery box for music. 130db is a jackhammer. I have no idea what the difference is, if any, between those two Sound Pros PSM-3 and EMC-MS907. They may simply have renumbered the same microphone so that people searching the internet for the Sony would also find their 907. You could email and ask them--they've got great customer service. But they are both omnidirectional, not cardioid. From the specs, it does seem like the PSM-4 is the better deal since you can switch between omni and cardioid. It's possible there's a more expensive microphone capsule in the PSM-3, but again, you should email and ask. If you do, it would be great if you could post their reply here.

That's bizarre. Simple question, but is your battery charged?

Also, try using some of the clamp filters that came with the MD on the mains cord and anything going into the MD. It can't hurt.