A440

WinNMD seems to have been abandoned years ago. But Hi-MD Renderer, which you can find in Downloads on the upper right, has the same function and it's free. Install it, connect your NetMD with both USB and headphone-out-to-Line-in, and click on MD Recorder.

Where did you download the mp3s from? Are they mp3 and not .mp4 or .aac or .wma ? Were you previously able to download the same files before you upgraded?

In Audacity, look under Edit at Preferences. It gives you lots of ways to save files, including Mono.

The DS30P is really made more for dictation than music. Its frequency response--100 - 10000 Hz--cuts off both highs and lows. Full frequency range is 20-20,000 Hz. The lack of deep bass will, however, make it less susceptible to clipping (at the expense of richness). I don't have any personal experience with that mic. If you can really blast "Eruption" on your stereo and put the mic up next to the woofer, you might try it without an attenuator and see what happens. The attenuator is a mixed blessing. It cuts the signal going into the MD, which is useful. But it also cuts the plug-in power going to the mic, which makes the mic more susceptible to distortion if things get too loud. Usually the tradeoff is worthwhile--not always. Personally, I would bring along the an attenuator just in case. Make a test recording without the attenuator during the opening act, and listen to the results during intermission. But, yes, you should have a fighting chance of getting a good recording. Don't plug the mic directly into the recorder, sitting on the recorder, because it could pick up the noise of the disc spinning. Put it on an extension lead instead. Also, note that the mic is directional. You should be careful to keep it pointed at the PA system. Don't swing around a lot, because you'll probably hear it in the recording.

There's no mic sensitivity control on the MZ-N707, even if has been hacked, and you can't change recording level unless you are in PAUSE. It doesn't really matter because--even at low sensitivity--loud music, especially bass, will overload the mic preamp. If you just plug in the mic and turn on Record you will get nothing but distortion. To get a decent recording you are going to have to use either: a battery module into Line-in (white)-- http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm or, if it's too late to mail-order, an attenuator from Radio Shack, the Headphone Volume Control (pictured as my avatar), into Mic-in. With the headphone volume control, plug it into the mic jack (red) and turn the volume knob on the cord all the way UP, to maximum. You're actually using it backwards for its original purpose, and it lowers the signal just by being in the circuit. With either setup, you also have to use Manual Volume settings. The MD default is Automatic (AGC), and that's not made for loud music either. You have to switch to Manual at the time you are recording--the unit will not hold the Manual settings as a default. With a disc in the unit, press Record and Pause at the same time (so the display blinks), and then press MENU, click up to REC SET, down to REC VOLUME, switch to MANUAL and either leave it where it is (13/30, if I remember) or push it up just a bit to 15/30. Un-PAUSE to record--the display stops blinking and the time starts counting off. (You can use the Pause button on your remote control if you want to keep the unit hidden). I usually set the levels and leave the unit in PAUSE before I go in to an arena, or do it in the rest room during intermission. Once you have un-Paused, put the unit and the remote on Hold so you don't accidentally stop recording. I don't know how stealthy you're going to have to be, but if you can, look at the level meter on the unit while you're recording. If it's peaking, you can use the headphone volume control to lower the level even more without going into Pause or getting out of Hold. Try this at home with your stereo a few times. It sounds complicated, and it's annoying, but you can actually do it pretty easily once you get used to it. Cross your fingers that Van Halen isn't too punishingly loud. If it is, and the microphone itself overloads before its signal gets into the MZ-N707, there's not much you can do. Luckily, they're older now.... Despite all these warnings, I've got a lot of good recordings from when I had my MZ-N707. The best mindset for concert recording is to be methodical and do everything you can--and if it works, great, and if it doesn't, well, you weren't supposed to be recording anyway, were you? Oh yeah--put in a brand new fresh Duracell just before the show. Nothing feels dumber than losing a recording to a dead battery.

I don't. It's a digital recorder. It should have been fully integrated as soon as possible into the drag-and-drop universe. It's the pointless, user-insulting halfway measures that have always been the problem. Think about the the effort Sony put into the encryption/decryption of SonicStage, Open(ha ha)MG and the .hma file structure, and how much better that effort would have been spent on engineering MD.

Yes, it does need phantom power. http://www.avlex.com/pdfs/S241_U3.pdf You'll need an external power supply, or a different mic. http://www.zzounds.com/cat--Phantom-Power-Supplies--2829 Also, if that's a mono mic you are going to need an adapter for stereo.

@superboy: It has long been agreed here that the whole SonicStage rigamarole is beyond stupid. Obviously, it's what killed minidisc. Unfortunately, it's the compromise we make for the other good features of minidisc. Guitarfxr is using Mac, which is apparently faster than PC because Sony loosened some of its encryption for Mac Transfer. Are you (1) uploading as-is or 2) uploading and converting to .wav? If (2), no wonder it's taking forever--it's not only getting the files by USB 1.1 but chewing on them before it's done. Do an as-is upload. Then convert to .wav later, maybe overnight. The total time will be the same, but you'll know you have the files off the disc. U-Nes, you should start a different thread.

All the recording modes are stereo. PCM is highest quality .wav files (equal to CD). SP is compressed but very good quality. LP is compressed, decent enough for speech. You can get the equivalent of mono recording--same sound on both channels--by sending a mono mic through a mono-to-stereo adapter cord. The mono mic will have one ring around the plug. The stereo end of the adapter will have two rings around it, like your (stereo) headphone jack. Use a cord rather than a solid adapter to avoid strain on the mic jack. I guess you didn't get a manual with that unit. Maybe Sony has one online .

It does make noise. It is spinning the disc inside that gets written to when recording and read when uploading. All minidisc units do that. In most recording situations, with the mic a foot or two away from the unit, the noise is negligible. The noise doesn't matter at all when uploading. But if you are recording in such quiet conditions that it is bothersome you could: 1) swaddle the unit in something soft and sound-absorbing or 2) get a flash recorder with no moving parts: Edirol R09, Microtrack M-Audio, Zoom H2 . There should be lots of takers for the RH1 if you can't return it.

http://www.audiocubes2.com/category/MiniDi...0fa133ca783e571 http://www.minidisc-canada.com/shopexd.asp?id=734 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4468...D_Recorder.html SonicStage is supposed to be around for awhile. Get 4.2 now (or 4.3 for Vista) and hold on to the full program for future use. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...mp;#entry117697 Edirol R09, Zoom H2, M-Audio Microtrack and the old iRiver H120 and H140 can be used for live music, and there are probably other gadgets too. They're not minidisc and have their own advantages and disadvantages. I still hold out hope that by the time my last minidisc recorder expires, someone will have figured out the ultimate flash recorder.

Sounds like a dramatic improvement--good for you. I'm glad you didn't overload, because with music you run that risk going straight into Mic-in. I record nearly everything with my BMC-2 into a Microphone Madness Classic Mini battery module into Line-In, and in fact my last attempt at straight mic-in recording, a church organ, was a disaster. Hard to define what you mean by crisp. If you feel like the high end is muffled, try placing the mics someplace different, probably higher up (but it depends on the room). They can only record what they pick up, and maybe you had them too close to the woofer of the PA. But if you mean there's a hint of static, that's the mic preamp at work, and you probably would get a slightly cleaner recording by going mic-->battery box-->Line-in. You'd have to experiment. With music so quiet you can record through Mic-in, you'd probably have to set the level somewhere around 20/30, maybe even up to 25/30. I haven't looked at the warranties lately for Sound Professionals and Microphone Madness, but you could probably get what's essentially a 30-day trial on a battery module for the price of shipping. And for anything louder, the battery module would definitely come in handy. You can't record into Line-in without a battery module (or a preamp).

What were you recording, what microphone were you using, what were your settings, etc?

Some one-point stereo mics give a surprisingly good stereo spread. Some don't. Set up your current mic and walk across the room in front of it. Do you hear your changing position when you play back? I recorded my first concerts with the dinky one-point microphone that came with a cassette recorder. It was essentially like recording in mono, and the difference when I switched to a stereo pair separated by six inches was enormous, not just in the microphone quality but in the spatial richness of the recording. But better one-point mics can mimic stereo separation. Check out King Ghidora's post (#2) in this thread, where he recorded a bluegrass band with a one-point mic. The second "here" link works. (KG does some camcorder recording, so you might also search some of his other posts with "camcorder" in them.) Also, is the sound in the room primarily from the PA or from the instruments on stage? With sound from the PA, you'd want to point mics at the speakers (and if you're too close, you might miss whatever is coming from the PA because it's pointed over your heard--though that's more a problem when recording a full-on rock concert from close to the stage). The basic situation is simple: the microphone(s) should be placed where the music sounds best. Whether you'd screw it up is a serious question but hard to answer. Can you see levels on the camcorder while you record? Since your band doesn't play at brutal rock-club volume, can you try a practice run with your home stereo? You don't want your very first try at a new setup to be a crucial one. But a few practice runs should get you used to it. You should find the users' group for your camcorder--there has to be one somewhere.

A lot of the little mics are built with exactly the same capsules: Panasonic WM-61a. I know the Sound Professionals are. How can you tell? Compare the specs. If they're all the same, then it seems pretty likely they have the same capsule inside, with a different housing . These are the specs for those capsules: Sensitivity –35±4dB (0db = 1V/pa, 1kHz) Impedance Less than 2.2 k Directivity Omnidirectional Frequency 20–20,000 Hz Max. operation voltage 10V Standard operation voltage 2V Current consumption Max. 0.5 mA Sensitivity reduction Within –3 dB at 1.5V S/N ratio More than 62 dB As for bass response, the frequency response for a full-range mic is 20-20,000 Hz. Voice mics, lower-priced cardioids and Sony mics "for minidisc" often just go down to 100 Hz which is far less bass. Oh, and if you're the New Orleans Quintron, say hi to Miss Pussycat, the Drum Buddy and the Spellcaster Lodge....

http://www.minidisc-canada.com/shopexd.asp?id=734

That price is so ridiculously low that I would be very suspicious, but hope for the best. You will have two mono mics. What you really need is a battery powered mixer with phantom power. Guitarfxr, are there any you recommend?

If I remember right, Mic Madness was started by a former Sound Pros employee, so they're both using pretty much the same techniques. Choose by the housings, clips, size, etc. that you want. My general recording setup is Sound Pro BMC-2 and Mic Madness Classic Mini battery module, both chosen for small size and low price. http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2 http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm You could easily upgrade to a better mic than the BMC-2 depending on your budget. Note: If you get lower-price cardioids you probably are going to get less bass response--check the specs . I've gotten quick help from both companies on small glitches during the warranty period. What glitches, you ask? The black sticky dot covering the Sound Pro mic element fell off--I stealth them in under my shirt, and things can get sweaty there--and they sent me new ones. The Mic Madness battery module had a slightly loose connection, because they said they had gotten a bad lot of parts from some supplier, and they fixed it. Bass rolloff is going to lessen your bass. Use it if you feel you desperately need it, but try without it first.

First you need to go into the REC SET menu. With a disc in the unit, press REC and PAUSE at the same time and the display will blink. Hold down Menu, click up to REC SET, click down to REC VOLUME, switch from AUTO to MANUAL. Then you'll have control over incoming level with the controls from the wizard of oz. One advantage of the RH1 is that you only have to do this once and it will become the default setting until you change it.

If it's really that quiet then your problem may just be signal-to-noise ratio. You barely had the sound pressure you needed for Line-in with the battery box, which only boosts the signal a tiny bit. Unfortunately, even relatively quiet bass can overload the mic input. I just recorded a church organ via mic-in, well below peak level, and every time bass notes were used, it distorted. Possibly going through the attenuator would have worked for you, but it's a tricky situation either way. What was LCD Soundsystem doing in a place where they couldn't make the floor shake?

Those first-generation Hi-MD recorders--MZ-NH700 or MZ-NHF800--are disappearing fast. Minidisc Access and Minidisc Canada aren't carrying them any more. Check eBay. If you like minidisc recordings and already have a library of recordings from your Sharp, the RH1 is a good investment. It makes higher-quality (PCM) recordings than the Sharp does, and as everyone else has noted, it is the only unit that will upload the old MD recordings. (The NH units will not do that.) The MZ-M200 is exactly the same RH1 bundled with a mediocre Sony microphone, and more dealers are making it the only option, so snap up the MZ-RH1 if you intend to stay with the minidisc format. This is the best deal I know about on the MZ-RH1. http://www.minidisc-canada.com/shopexd.asp?id=734

The software is in Downloads up there on the right. But that's the least of your problems. All those other items are proprietary. Try Ebay, or go to Sony DAPC if you can afford it. http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/web/produ...earchText=MZNH1

The unit itself makes noise spinning up the disc. Maybe the tieclip isn't sensitive enough to pick it up and the other mics are. That would explain why the extension lead worked. Or, if it is a jack problem, maybe the extension lead somehow fits the jack better.

What are you trying to do with the MZ-R900? SonicStage will never be able to control or connect to that unit, with or without the Xitel. SonicStage was made for later MD units that had their own USB connectors. If you're trying to get recordings from the unit to the computer, you have to record them in realtime out of the headphone jack (or buy the MZ-RH1, which is the only unit that will upload them). You can use Audacity, as guitarfxr said. If you are trying to get music into the unit, you also have to record in realtime through the line-in port. The Xitel was made to provide an optical signal for that port, but you can also just record with a plug-to-plug cord: headphone out (or line out if your computer has it) to line-in.

Here's some information on remotes. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=8147 http://www.audiotstation.com/forum/showthr...;threadid=25859