A440

You may be out of luck with those files since you now have a new installation of Sonic Stage. If you used the Backup Tool, you may be able to get their rights restored by importing the backup into SonicStage, which will connect to some mysterious internet site and verify the rights. But if you just copied them as files, probably not. But you can remove digital rights garbage from all of your uploaded SonicStage recordings that you make in the future. Use the File Conversion Tool under Tools. It will read the database, and then you'll see how long the conversion will take and a checkbox for copy protection. Uncheck the checkbox for copy protetion (as if ANYONE would want to add copy protection...). Then it will remove the copy protection from all of the .oma files and they will be readable by any SonicStage. You could back up the converted files just by burning them onto discs.

I hope it's the RH710. The N710 won't play Hi-MD discs or mp3 files. Maybe it has to do with the Mac transferring, since the RH710 is not Mac compatible. But it's puzzling.

The two jacks on the laptop are headphone--sound going out--and probably microphone--sound going in. (Desktop computers, with bigger soundcards, sometimes have a third jack, line-in.) You want to send the sound OUT of the MD's headphone jack and IN to the microphone jack, not the headphone jack. Look at Start/Settings/Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices/Volume/Advanced. That will show you all the inputs of your sound card. Make sure Line In or Mic In, whatever is there, isn't muted.

The MZ-R700 is six years old. Look carefully at it for wear around the buttons, which will tell you something about how much it has been used, and of course try it out. http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R700.html If it's working, it will make a decent rehearsal recorder, and I liked the relatively big controls and wheel when I had mine. But--important--the music stays stuck on the disc. The R700 has no USB connection and the only way to get the music copied off a disc to re-record out of the headphone jack. (Or to borrow someone's RH1 and upload.) If there's no H in the model number, then you can't upload. There are USB-connected NetMD units--later than the R700, earlier than Hi-MD--but NetMD goes just one way, PC to MD. (The idea was to use minidisc as an iPod-like player, not to get recordings off the disc.) For very good musical quality with the R700 you'll need to use SP (a compressed format), which will only hold 74 or 80 minutes per disc (disc lengths are marked). For tolerable quality you could switch to LP2 (twice as long) but you will hear the difference. Unless you really need something immediately, save your pennies and wait for one of the M models or an RH1. Or if you need an affordable recorder immediately, look into the $200 Zoom H2. If your mic has a stereo plug that looks like a typical mini headphone plug, then it should be compatible with an MD unit. How good a mic is it?

Was the destination on a USB hub? A RAID array? Something that made SonicStage confused about where it was or whether it had enough power?

Assuming you want to upload recordings to your PC--instead of just recording them in realtime out of the headphone jack--your choices are limited to Hi-MD, which is what your M100 was. Your M100 was the more expensive Mac-compatible version of the RH10, which is only compatible with Windows PCs. Same unit otherwise. The fancy display was its big draw. I recommend either the basic, durable MZ-NH700--which takes one AA battery rather than the rechargeable gumstick, useful for field recording since you can replace it easily--or the last and best Hi-MD unit, the RH1, which has more features, faster uploading to computer and better headphone playback (recording is identical in all the Hi-MD units), but might be a tad more delicate. MD, MDLP and NetMD units (all terms you'll see) do not upload. Those are MZ-R** and MZ-N** units without the H. No Sharp/Panasonic/Aiwa/Kenwood recorders upload either. Don't bother with any of them. That eliminates about 3/4 of the choices. Hi-MD's all have an H in the model number, and the recorders are NH***, RH*** or M*** (Mac compatible, though the MZ-RH1 is also Mac compatible). Hi-MD's with a D anywhere in the model number--for Downloader--are just iPod-like music players that play songs downloaded from the computer and do not record. Here on one gigantic page is all the Hi-MD equipment ever likely to be made. You can also find them individually at the Browser tab at www.minidisc.org . http://www.minidisc.org/himd_table.html For interviews, you might also consider the $200 Samson Zoom H2, which is a handheld digital flash recorder with a built-in mic. Instead of SonicStage, it just uses drag-and-drop. If you haven't uploaded all your old recordings and still want to do so, but decide to switch to flash from now on, you could get a relatively inexpensive MZ-NH600D just for uploading. Mine was $60 back in the day, but they are rarer now. Yes, that D makes it a downloader, but it also uploads Hi-MD recordings.

The Wizard's list is correct. Whoever told you that about MZ-R is wrong. The MZ-RH10 and MZ-RH100 are NOT Mac-compatible (or particularly good in general). Among R models, only the RH1 is Mac-compatible. I'm on a PC, but supposedly the Mac Transfer software that comes with the MZ-M* units and MZ-RH1 (which is also the MZ-M200) is easy to use. You will need a microphone with all minidisc units. It's not built-in. Be aware that Hi-MD discs only hold 94 minutes of uncompressed (PCM) music. Hi-SP, which is compressed, will give you nearly 8 hours of recording time and should certainly be good enough for a rehearsal recording. Compression is a word that is used two ways. Dynamic compression makes soft parts louder and loud parts softer. Radio stations use it when broadcasting, and sometimes recording engineers use it to shape the sound of certain instruments. Rock and other electrified music is usually compressed. That's the compression that classical people hate because it flattens the subtleties of a pianissimo. But there is also file compression, which lowers overall sound quality slightly but takes much less storage space. That's what MD (and other recording devices) often do. Hi-SP is compressed for file size, not for dynamics. Mp3 is another kind of compressed format. Few people can tell the difference between the best-quality mp3 (320 kilobits per second, how much storage is needed for how much time) and PCM or WAV (1411 kbps). Hi-SP is 256 kbps. The RH1 is likely to be the last minidisc model. There are non-Sony possibilities among flash-memory recorders, which use little memory cards instead of minidiscs, and which allow you to simply drag-and-drop your recordings onto your computer. (Minidisc needs its own software.) If you have any sound-geek friends, or a good musicians' store nearby, you should ask them about the Samson Zoom H2 and the Edirol R09. I think the on-unit editing of minidisc is more convenient than the flash recorders, but I haven't used them and you might want to ask someone who has. They probably have their own forums....

I certainly didn't mean uncommercial as any kind of putdown whatsoever. I applaud and admire it. It's part of any true definition of community. Marcnet, have you looked at that software? Do you think it's using the same method as Hi-MDRenderer?

There's no bling factor on the RM-MC40ELK. It's a little stubby gray thing. But especially for recording, it's the best available.

Hey, thanks to all. I'm just now recovering from the festivities....

What ATRAC device are you using? If it's not a minidisc you might find more knowledgeable help at http://www.atraclife.com .

From what you say, I'm wondering if you have a problem USB port. You should connect SonicStage directly to a port, not a USB hub. Hubs have given some people problems through the years. If it's a hub, try a direct connection. Those connect/disconnect noises are suspicious. Just for the heck of it, take a look in Settings/Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager and see if there are any exclamation points in the list. Probably not, but worth a check. Anyway, there's a full 4.0 installer here: http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/details.php?file=21 Before running the installer, make sure you have your library backed up (with the tool, not just a copy) and then get any stray junk out of your Registry. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=8071 And you are exactly right: SonicStage was what killed MD--especially because there wasn't a decent, stable version until around 3.2, which is rather late in the development of a program. By the time a reliable SonicStage arrived, many of the computer-savvy people who would have been competent with the program had already been turned off by prior bad experience. With drag-and-drop instead of SonicStage, minidisc might have ruled the world. But 3.4 and 4.2, especially, are very reliable versions of SonicStage, so it may be something in your laptop too.

Unless you have Vista and thus have to use 4.3, that version seems buggier than 4.2 (for XP). There are links in this post for web and offline installers for 4.2 thanks to Avrin. Back up the library (with Backup Tool under Programs/SonicStage) before making the change. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=18645

I still see the Sony Connect store among those listed, but I don't see the page that was there a few days ago with .oma and .omg files listed or the ATRAC.zip file which that page said to download. Dang, should have downloaded it while I could. I wonder if they were contacted by Sony after it appeared here. Now it's only saying it will deal with files playable by Windows Media Player, Quicktime and Real Audio. Edit: Oh, never mind. Here's the ATRAC claim. http://www.dvdvideoconverter.com/atrac/ Regardless, the FAQ say they don't circumvent the DRM. I strongly suspect it works like Hi-MDRenderer does and in essence plays the file at high speed (through WMP) and records it. If Marcnet weren't so un-commercially oriented he might have marketed something like this. I'll let you know my results with the trial software shortly, but all my .oma's at the moment are unprotected via File Conversion Tool.

If you like that mono mic and you're used to it, and you know it works, an adapter would be easy to find. Compare it to the Griffin and just decide which sounds better. The Griffin does have two elements, a little separated, so you might get more spatial depth in the recording--a little, anyway. Separate mics do better. A fun thing about those little BMC-2 mics is how easy they are to hide. Don't even put them in your bag. The wires are super thin. I drop the cord under my shirt and fold the mic cord over a button and tuck it back in. When the show starts I pull out the mics and clip them to my collar. Security folks pat down your sides, not your front--especially since you're a woman. And if someone ever does say--"You're bringing in a minidisc!"--just say it's your mp3 player and point out that it would need an external mic to do any recording. Which, of course, is nowhere on your person....

Mics are all different. But when you get yours, try it next to the woofer of your stereo speaker at full blast and see what it does and whether you need the attenuator. You don't have to wait for the show. The mono-to-stereo cord (if you can, rather than a jack) should be at Radioshack. But don't use it if you have a stereo mic. Putting the mic under clothing won't work because the clothing will rub against the mic. It's got to be unencumbered--or completely still if it's under something. I have accidentally left my mics under a shirt or in a pocket, and they're a little muffled by the fabric, but as long as they don't rub they're OK. I understand your shoulder situation, but how about on top of a shirt collar? It's hard for someone to bump into it if you place it right--your shoulders, chest and chin are in the way. You will hear a direct bump on the mic and close conversation, etc. Moving around is no problem as long as there's no impact on the mic. The sound mix will change as you walk through the room. Leaving it clipped onto a bag somewhere might be more practical in a mosh-pit situation. But a bag on a table, raised up, or hung from a coathook or something would be even better. Be creative. The clips on the BMC-2 are pretty hard to dislodge. I've been in some tight crowds, and as long as the wires are tucked in and no one can get snagged on them, I've never had a problem with them coming loose. You're thinking they are bigger than they actually are. The tip of the mic is smaller than a shirt button. Look at the measurements of the battery module and check it against a ruler--it's thumb-sized. White mic? Wear white, or don't worry about it. In a big rave situation you'd probably have to wave it on a glowstick and yell "I'm recording!" for anyone to notice.

First of all, don't stress. The way I feel about recordings is that if you get them, great, and if you don't, you weren't supposed to be recording anyway... You got some serious bottom on that recording, and if that's your same mic and you're short of time, go for it. The vocals are probably louder on the recording than they were at the show because that mic picks up more midrange, less highs and lows. That's what I mean by squished. But for a techno thing you're mostly going to have the big beat, so it would probably sound good enough. It also sounds like that mic was not sensitive. This is good, because it can handle loud sounds. (Sensitivity is how much electronic signal the mic sends with how much volume.) Since you're already recording loud rock you can probably also record techno without a problem. A more sensitive mic would just send a stronger signal and distort. I'm a little geeky, so f I were you, I'd get the headphone volume control anyway and take it along and try to do some kind of test--go early, make a recording of the opener without and with the HVC, then go to the men's room and play it back (pack the earbuds too) and see which you like better. But as I said, you can probably get away without it. For a couple of bucks you can get a mono-to-stereo adapter that will run the mono signal from your original mic through both channels. If you can find it, get a cord with a jack on one end and a plug on the other, rather than an all-in-one plug, because a cord will put less stress on the mic jack and be easier to squeeze into a pocket. I don't know which recording you meant, but they are generally clubs, big or small depending on the band. Radiohead was outdoors but I was in an exceptionally excellent spot. My setup is not bulky at all. It's pocket-sized. The BMC-2 mics are the size of pencil erasers on a 3/4-inch black clip. I clip them to the collar or lapels of a black shirt or jacket (for camouflage), put the thin wires down my shirt, put the MD and battery module (also small, like a car-alarm remote) in my pocket. Six inches apart, like your ears, the mics pick up stereo like your ears--subtle differences between left and right signals that your brain decodes--and a full frequency range (20-20000 Hz). That's why you get that depth in the recordings. I don't monitor while recording. Every so often I look at the level if I can, but I rarely change it from 20/30. With the R700 you have to pause the recording (or use the headphone volume control) to change level, but unless it's smashed up against the top end there's no need to change it. As for the camera-bag setup....Mic placement makes a huge difference in what you get. Bend down to the floor where your mics are and you'll hear what they're picking up, which will be much more muffled than what you get standing up. That's why I prefer clipping the tiny mics to a collar. But if you're pressed for time, just take what you have. (And, I suggest, clip the lapel mic to your lapel and slip the MD into a pocket.) You might look in Japan when you get there for little binaural mics. I hear it's a nice country for gizmos. Don't get a Sony mic "for minidisc." It has meager bass response (to make up for the preamp problem) and will be bigger and more expensive than better mics. Again, don't stress out. You can save up and get better mics later for your next round of recording....because MD can be addictive that way.

Ipods don't have a mic input, so I think that mic should probably have a basic stereo plug. It would be nice if they showed it or named it, though. But I'm not sure that mic will be adequate for music. It looks like it's made for speech, which means it probably picks up midrange but not highs or lows. Music is going to sound pretty squished through a voice mic. If you are willing to spend about $100, you can get very lifelike recordings of music with these tiny, eraser-sized mics: http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2 and this battery module: http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm I was just looking at the Sound Pros site and in the fine print on the BMC-2, it says that two are $24.50 each, so you can actually get one for $49 or add a spare pair for zero cost. (Get two, save one as a spare or sell it here or on eBay.) Include the microphone clips, so you can put them on your shirt collar, hat, camera bag strap, etc. Get regular, not high-sensitivity. You need the battery module because while the preamp in the minidisc recorder is good for unamplified sounds like speech, it gets overloaded by amplified music or anything with bass. (I recently tried to do a mic-in recording of a church organ--no go.) You connect mic-->battery module-->Line-in, which has no preamp, and with the level set about 2/3 of the way up, you're good to go. A cheaper way to do it is to substitute a $7 Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control--picture in my avatar--and go Mic-->RSHVC-->Mic-in. It's a volume knob on a cord, and used backwards like this, with the volume knob all the way to its maximum, it still cuts the mic signal enough to make overloading less likely. But if you're at some titanically bass heavy show, like reggae or metal, it will overload, because the HVC method isn't quite as tolerant as the battery module. You can hear recordings with this setup in the Gallery (upper right) in my Album, and also look around at other people's recordings and setups. ------------------------------ By the way, you can do a quick test of your unit for stereo recording by plugging your headphones--yes, your headphones--into the mic jack and yelling at them. Headphones can work like weak microphones. Tap each one and you'll ascertain if you have stereo.

That mic should be good for recording speech--not necessarily music. What are you planning to record?

Well, someone has to plunk down the $15 and try the thing. Personally, I'm skeptical, unless it works like Marcnet's Hi-MDRenderer.

It's possible you are using a mono microphone. Compare your microphone plug to your (stereo) headphone plug. Does it have the same two bands around the plug? Or just one? Just one is mono. A mono mic will record into the left channel only. Running into the computer....your computer may, like mine, have a mono mic jack that is fed to both sides of the stereo. So you're getting playback of the same signal on both sides.

There's also a separate Hi-MD Renderer forum under Software. And if I were you I would try sending an email to marc or marcnet @ his website address and if see it goes through. Are you on Vista? I don't know if Hi-MD Renderer has been updated for Vista. The only SonicStage that works on Vista is 4.3 The XP computer will also have to have SonicStage on it.

Here's what I got there with yen. 1.00 USD = 115.447 JPY Just knock off two decimal places .

I was adjusting Manual Volume with the wheel on the MZ-NH700 today and....no change....then a few numbers...then no change. Obviously the wheel is losing traction. Still had control from the remote. But...nothing lasts forever.

Your HMA archives may be useless on the PC. HMA files are encrypted, and there was hidden information on the minidisc itself to help decrypt the .hma files. You should contact http://www.sonymediaservices.com/ and see if they can help you--it may cost $45 or more per disc, and they may not be able to help you at all (though they won't charge you if they can't help you). Other people with .hma files stuck on the disc should also contact Sony Media Services. They did manage to fix one disc for me.