A440

That's strange. The Core Sounds should be better, if anything, than the BMC-2--they're certainly more expensive. Do you have the line-in gain up around 20? Maybe you got very low-sensitivity ones? Or could there be something wrong with the battery box? Are the batteries fresh? You should email Core Sound and ask about the low level. I had Core Sound budget cardioids for a while, and I didn't like the cardioid sound (lacked bass), but they were low-sensitivity and I still got plenty of signal. I don't think a second battery box would help, and you're going to end up with a jumble of wires and boxes that you're trying to stealth into the show. The battery box sends power TO the mics, not into the unit, so you could also try mic-battery-box--Mic-in and see if that gives you enough (or too much) signal, or just mic alone into mic-in. Under Rec Settings you should be able to switch Mic Sensitivity to high (though I don't know what unit you have), which affects the mic jack. Test it with your home stereo. You can get my whole setup for the cost of a preamp, and it sounds good with very pocket-sized equipment, so I think it's a better arrangement than adding another box.

I use Sound Professionals BMC-2 (with clips), tiny mics on thin wires, smaller than your pinky nail. Get them with clips, which are essential. http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2 Check ebay for them, too--sometimes Sound Pros knocks off a few dollars and sells them directly there. For a battery module I use the Microphone Madness Miniature Classic: http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm You can hear what they sound like in the Gallery (Live Recordings) under my album. The Giant Squid sound samples have always made me turn away from them. King G, have you used Giant Squids? Do the actual mics, as opposed to the Giant Squid samples, not have that horrible exaggerated midrange and lack of bass I hear in their B-52's and Blue Notes samples?

In from the Storm: You can't edit tracks that have been downloaded to the unit on the unit itself. But mp3s that have been imported to SonicStage can be divided. Highlight the track, and Divide is under Edit in SonicStage. Or you could edit the mp3 with a sound editing program like Audacity--just use "Export as mp3" (or "Export Selection as mp3") to save your edited version. Ratbagradio: Once you have uploaded the tracks from the disc into My Library, you can also use Hi-MD Renderer to convert them directly into .mp3, which can then be edited with Audacity, and skip the .wav step. Hi-MD Renderer is free, from Downloads, though you can send a contribution to Marcnet, the lone programmer who invented it. BTW, those aren't my quotes above on Audacity, so no credit taken.

I have an NH700 and an NHF800. I plugged the remote from the NHF800 into the NH700. I got radio reception. No, this will not work for the NH900 or the RH units, which cannot accommodate the plug from the 37LT or 39LT remote. But the only discernible difference between the NH700 and the NHF800, besides the different model number on the unit, is that the NHF800 came with the radio remote.

Just out of curiosity, give it a try. If you don't have a microphone, plug your headphones (yes) into your mic jack, start recording, and yell at them. See how it comes out.

You are seriously old-school. Welcome to MDCF. People who have the RH10 are not entirely enthusiastic about it. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...p;hl=doggy+rh10 The RH10 will also not make realtime recordings in the old MD formats: SP, LP2 and LP4. You can download music onto it in "fake" SP (actually LP2 that that unit will recognize as SP), LP2 and LP4. If you can't afford the RH1, I strongly recommend the MZ-NH700, which you can still find for about $160 on eBay and elsewhere. PCM recording, Line-in and Mic-in, very durable, runs on an easily replaceable AA battery. My NHF800 (same basic unit) is going strong after two years of considerable use. One thing about the RH1 is that it can upload your old MD recordings. The NH700 can only upload Hi-MD recordings. I don't know if you care, but you should be aware of the difference. For a player that you could use as a recorder with your DAC or preamp, you could also seek out the NH600--NOT the NH600D as in Downloader. The genuine NH600 has line-in recording but not mic-in (the advantage of the NH700). Be careful on eBay, since most of the so-called NH600 units on there are actually the NH600D, which only has a USB input--no realtime recording. However, simply as a player, the NH600D will play back everything, if that's all you care about.

You can use a lot of programs to burn CDs. Here are the instructions for Winamp, from http://www.winamp.com The procedures are similar for iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. To burn tracks to a CD 1. Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW into your computer's CD Recorder. 2. Open the View menu in the Winamp main window and select Library (or press ALT+L) to launch the Media Library. 3. On the left pane of the Media Library, select your CD recorder within the Devices list. CD Recorders will be identified as CD-R <Drive Letter> (e.g. CD-R E:). Note: You may have to double-click Devices to see your list of devices. 4. You can queue tracks to burn in the following ways: 1. Add menu in Burn view: Open the Add menu and click one of the following: * Files: Click this to add one or more files. You can keep CTRL pressed down to select more than one file. * Folder: Click this to add all the files in a folder. * Current Playlist: Click this to add the tracks in your current playlist. Note: As you add tracks to burn, the used and available time is displayed above the list. Make sure you do not exceed your blank disc's capacity. 2. Drag and Drop o Select a file or group of files (press CTRL or Shift to select individual or group of files when clicking on desired items) from the Local Media views o While pressing the left mouse button, drag and drop the selected files onto your CD recorder device 3. Burning Playlists o Using the Playlist view of the Media Library, create a new playlist or import an existing playlist. o Switch to that playlist by clicking it in the left pane of the Media Library. o Click the Burn button located within the Playlist view. Note: This action will queue all the playlist items into the CD Recorder view. The Media Library should automatically switch you to the Recorder view. 5. Click Burn when you are done adding tracks to the list. The final dialog box for burning appears. 6. Choose from the following options: * Burn speed: Use the drop-down list to select the speed at which you want to burn your tracks. If you have Winamp Pro, you can select the maximum speed that your CD recorder allows. * Enable burn-proof mode: Select this to help ensure that CD burning doesn't fail. * Test mode: Select this to do a test burn that doesn't actually affect the CD. 7. Click Burn to start burning your tracks to CD.

I'm not familiar with either your mic or the Beachtek, so this may be off-base, but... It looks like the output of the Beachtek can be at either mic level (which is lower because there is a preamp behind the mic jack) or line level (which is higher, no preamp). Is it possible you were outputting mic level into the line jack (white)? That would give you a quiet recording. Try some combinations. Try setting the Beachtek at Mic level and going through the (red) mic jack at High and Low sensitivity. And try setting the Beachtek at Line level and going through the Line-in Jack (white). Looking at the specifications, the Sanken needs phantom power--48V--unless it is the COS-11BP. The minidisc only provides 2V (which is called plug-in power and confuses people), and a battery module would provide 9V, neither of which is enough. I don't know if the Beachtek provides phantom power, but it doesn't appear to do so. So while that looks like a fantastic mic, you might need to invest in a phantom power module to use it. To my way of thinking means it you would be better off just getting another mic--one with a stereo miniplug that goes into the mic jack. If you are in the United States, try http://www.soundprofessionals.com or http://www.microphonemadness.com or http://www.bhphoto.com for lapel mics. For the cleanest sound, you can go mic--preamp--Line-in. But you should see if you get good enough quality through the mic jack. The minidisc's own preamp is pretty good. Microphone recording should not be complicated with your RH1, and my motto is that the fewer boxes you use, the fewer things can go wrong. EDIT: I just looked at phantom power boxes, and the AC ones are about $50, so that's not a big investment. Since the lapel mic you have is probably very high quality--it had better be at $400--then maybe you should get a phantom power module for it instead.

Before changing your computer in major ways you are supposed to run the Backup Tool because your SonicStage library is encrypted. Each SonicStage installation is keyed to the hardware of the computer it is in, and changing the guts of your computer probably confused it. A backup would have allowed you to re-import the backup, contact Sony online and reauthorize the library. I don't know if you will be able to get your library back. For future transfers, one thing to try when the computer has problems recognizing the RH1 is the MDAC Repair tool, from Downloads.

I did a lot of recording on LP2 when I was using NetMD and now I regret it. There's a certain dullness in the sound that I only recognized after using Hi-SP on later recordings. Using Hi-SP will give you about 2 hours 20 minutes per 80 minute MD, and while you could get a lot more on a disc with LP2, you will definitely hear a difference if you compare them.

What device are you trying to upload from? If you truly mean an analog recording, then you can't "upload" because it's not a digital file--it's analog. You need to record it digitally in realtime with your computer. The way to do that is to get Audacity" http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Install it, connect the output of your device that plays the analog recording to your computer input (preferably a line input, a mic jack only if that's the only choice). Open Audacity and use the drop-down menu next to the picture of the mic to make sure Audacity is picking up your input--Mic Volume if it's the mic jack, Stereo Mix for the line-in jack--and hit the Record button and start playback on your device. You can watch the waveform to make sure it's not too small (too quiet) or flattened on top and bottom (too loud).

That's good to know about the MS907--I edited to reflect what KG said. Not to confuse things, but with a bigger budget, you can always look at some of the pricier mics from Sound Professionals or Microphone Madness, too--the ones with Audio-Technica capsules instead of the Panasonics in the BMC-2. My preference for the BMC-2 is more for stealthiness than for the sound, though I am very satisfied with the sound. I also have what are either CMC-4 or CMC-8 (I got them used and didn't write down the model number). They take interchangeable capsules--I have the binaural, not the cardioid capsules. They sound richer than the BMC-2 and definitely have lower noise. Because they are bigger and heavier, they don't sit as well clipped to my shirt collar, so I don't use them too often for concert recording. A preamp will definitely help you with nature recording, but of course it will also amplify mic noise. If your budget has an extra $150 or so, you might want to look at those mics, too. Sound Pros, and I think Mic Madness as well, have a 30-day money-back guarantee if you don't abuse the mics. You could experiment with the mics for the price of shipping.

Most of the important settings on the RH1 are under Menu--you have to hold down the button. REC LEVEL is under REC Set. For voice recording, I would leave it on AGC. For music, Manual Volume will give you much better results, but you have to make sure that the level is low enough so that it doesn't overload.

I think you're right. Since you are having the same kind of trouble with every disc, it must be a bad unit. Return it if you can and get the RH1. It's a shame that you are having this kind of trouble. I have found minidisc to be very reliable for recording, and at this point I have given a lot of use to at least four different models: MZ-R700, MZ-N707, MZ-NHF800 and MZ-RH1. Your problem is absolutely not standard minidisc behavior. I have had exactly one gap on what must have been a defective Hi-MD disc among many, many discs I have used, and it behaved the way yours did: it wouldn't upload until I put track marks around it. But it seems like your unit is introducing the gaps, and since the RH10 was used when you got it--even if it wasn't dropped--I suspect something is wrong with the write head. Maybe it is just very worn. In what you suggest about combining tracks 1,4 and 6, I have never tried that, but I think that you can only combine tracks that are next to each other. I don't think Shift will highlight more than one track at a time. What you could do is delete the tracks in between (2,3, and 5) from My Library--they are still on the disc, and you could upoad them again if you needed them--and then Combine what's left. By the way, if you decide to remove track marks on the unit instead of Combining later, you should still have no problems uploading with SS 3.4. That's one bug that was fixed.

As milomind says, everybody does it differently. First, in SonicStage, what he means is that under Tools/Options/Transfer/Hi-MD/Transfer Settings you should check (or leave checked) Standard Transfer Mode, Transfer file "as is." That means that whatever is on your disc is uploaded in the same format you recorded it in. It's the default setting unless you accidentally changed it. The more complicated the signal, the higher the bitrate you should use. Voice is a simple signal; music is much more complex, with a wider frequency and dynamic range and a lot more subtleties. It needs a lot more digital information--a higher bitrate--to be reproduced accurately. I do most of my recording in Hi-SP, since I am mostly recording live music. If a disc held longer than 90 minutes, I would probably use PCM, but I don't want to be changing discs in the middle of a concert. And Hi-SP sounds good enough to me. For recording just voice, I'd be happy with Hi-LP unless it was for broadcast or something like that. Unlike milomind, I prefer to upload first and then convert to .wav only the files I'm sure I want. For one thing, uploading and converting at the same time doesn't always work--SonicStage occasionally says "can't convert," when it actually will convert the files if you do it separately. For another, .wav files take up a lot of hard drive space. And hey, milomind, I was a major proponent of the attenuator, but now that I've got a tiny battery module (Mic Madness Classic Mini), I prefer that. If you're doing a lot of live loud recording, you should definitely try it. http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm

Since the behavior is so inconsistent, it's really hard to guess what's going on. Was there anything different about the .wav files from the studio? Were they recorded optically, which might add some kind of control code? When you rip the files with EAC, does it have them buried deep in some sub-sub-directory? How about just putting the files you want to import in a folder that's just on the C: drive, like C:/EACrips Before you go through formatting again, which always jeopardizes your Backup, you really should contact Sony Support since that's a brand new unit and you're using it with its own newly installed software. Don't bother using the Chat support, which is elemantary-level--call up the support line and prepare to have something to do while you're on hold. You'll probably have to escalate through some levels of tech support, but they owe you some help, especially since you're also using Sony's Sound Forge and CD Architect. Who knows? There may be conflicts between Sony's own programs. You could try uninstalling them and see if SonicStage starts working right.

My only guess is that for some reason your computer can't handle the upload of a very large file. I don't know why. But you should be able to work around this with no problem. Put a disc in the unit. Hold down the Menu button and then click up the list to REC Set. Press Enter (>) and click down the list to Time Mark and change it to ON. Then you can set the TIME: to AUTOMATICALLY make a new track every 5 or 10 or 15 minutes. You won't have to press the button and can record without worry. The Time Marks are silent and there is no gap. After you upload, you can use SonicStage to Combine the tracks (under Edit) if you want. Try that with a microphone recording--just plug it in and let the unit record for an hour or two--and see how that works. And don't worry so much about vibration. That's one good thing about minidisc--it's usually very shock-resistant.

Absolutely. 4.0 will be better in every way--including, most important, that you will be able to upload material from the same disc multiple times. With 2.1, you only got one chance at an upload and it would mark the material as not uploadable a second time. 2.1 also had lots of bugs. So please, uninstall 2.1 as soon as you can and install 4.0. Here is a link to Sony's own full installer, which was on Sony's FTP site. http://s23.quicksharing.com/v/9374647/Soni...200_UN.exe.html Or use the one for the MDCF installer in Downloads.

Your deck is, in essence, a better version of a cassette recorder, with minidiscs as 74-minute or 80-minute cassettes. Minidisc has come a long way since then. Unfortunately, while newer units are backwards compatible--that is, they will play any minidisc new or old--a unit like yours will only play in the original minidisc format, SP. Not the others: LP2, LP4, Hi-SP, Hi-LP and PCM. The portable units are palm-sized. For a minidisc recorder, you can't beat the price of the MZ-NH700, which can still be found (on Ebay or elsewhere) for $160. It has microphone and line-in jacks so it can record in realtime. You would still need to buy a mic--you wouldn't want a built-in mic anyway because it would pick up the whir of the disc. You could actually record in SP on that unit if you wanted to use 74-minute or 80-minute (a.k.a. legacy) MDs. The smallest coolest minidisc unit around is the MZ-RH1, about $330. It can upload recordings made on your deck (or on other pre-Hi-MD units) to your computer, the only unit that does that. For a portable minidisc player, you'd be fine with the NH600D. It is a Hi-MD downloader--that is, its only input is USB from your computer. It takes 1GB discs, which hold nearly 8 hours of music in very good Hi-SP compressed format and nearly 32 hours in Hi-LP, which would sound OK if you're hiking around outdoors. Everything--mp3, CDs, etc.--needs to be converted to the minidisc format, .oma , which can be done through SonicStage on a PC as it transfers the music to the disc. The 1GB discs will not play in your deck. But discs recorded in your deck will play on the NH600D. You can find the NH600D for under $100 on Ebay. But at this point, I wouldn't really recommend MD as a portable player. You can find a 1GB flash unit like the 1GB red iRiver T30 (refurbished on Ebay) or the 1GB Creative Zen Nano Plus (I saw it new for $70 at Staples, of all places) and pack a whole lot of mp3s on there with very little weight or size.

MZ-NH700 and MZ-NHF800 are exactly the same except that the NHF800 has a radio in the remote. If you don't care about a radio--I don't--then get the MZ-NH700.

Are your 500 GB in a RAID array? SonicStage has had trouble with those. SDMI was a very old record-company attempt to stop copying, and frankly I'm amazed that its remnants are still in SonicStage since it was cracked. http://cryptome.org/sdmi-attack.htm What are you trying to convert to or from .wav?

The stereo imaging is a matter of mic placement--I put them on my shirt collar, about as far apart as my ears. And that's one thing I didn't mention about one-point stereo mics like the DS70P. Because the two mic elements are so close to each other, your stereo signal is going to sound a lot closer to mono. Your ears decode very subtle cues in the sound to recreate a sense of space, and even a few inches makes a big difference. The Visivox mics are bigger than the BMC-2. One spec you might want to look at for nature recording is S/N (signal to noise) ratio. The bigger the number, the quieter the mics will be, which will make a difference when recording nature sounds.

First step for this is MDAC Repair Tool, under Programs in Downloads (upper left).

Are there gaps on the new discs when you record them? Or is the problem only uploading? If the problem is just in uploading, the first thing might be to try a different USB cord in case that is the problem. Otherwise, from your description, it sounds like a bad disc, because you are hearing gaps in the recording on the disc itself. Those gaps would stop SonicStage from uploading. But you need to do a careful test. I suggest you plug your microphone into mic-in and record a full disc on one of your new MDs. Use PCM so you can fill up the disc in 90 minutes, and use Time Mark to make fairly long tracks, like 15 or 20 minutes. Make sure the unit itself is very still. Don't just put it on a table, put it on something soft on the table so you're absolutely sure there is no vibration. I record all the time with the unit in my pocket, standing up at concerts, and I never have a problem with vibration, but we are trying to rule out every possible cause of trouble. Then try the upload. If you still get gaps, write down where the gaps are and try the same kind of recording with another disc. With a gap in the same place, it must be the unit. Otherwise it's the disc. Another possibility is computer problems. Is there space on your hard drive? What is your computer's processor speed? Do you have programs running in the background, like anti-virus or firewall, even if you are not running other programs with SonicStage? One more thing not relevant to your problem: Why are you recording voice through Line-in? Why not use Mic-in and get a louder signal?

Most of the podcasters' gripes are based on old models (no uploading) and old software (before 3.2), which left a lingering prejudice against Sony in general and MD in particular. Sony was asking for it, of course--it could hardly have done more to alienate potential buyers than combine restrictive hardware and buggy software. The MZ-RH1 fixes nearly every problem. (The main remaining gripes, for me, are not being able to turn off auto trackmarking with Line-in and not having a record button on the remote.) But don't tell that to people who are still just figuring out (RTFM) that they can't upload via the USB connection from an NetMD unit, and are angry about it. Sony also ignored Mac users for many years, and apparently lot of podcasters have Macs. Someone complains that the MZ-NH700 is fragile. No way. My MZ-NHF800 (same basic unit) has had two-plus years of very frequent use, has been dropped more than once on hard surfaces, and just keeps going. The IFP 7xx series is, indeed, a useful player and a nice little voice recorder if all you want to do is record mp3. But... PCM recording? Nope. Hi-fidelity mp3 recording? Maybe, if you don't do the firmware "upgrade" that limits recording to 96kbps. (And without that upgrade, you have to install iRiver Music Manager to transfer anything, though it's an easier drag-and-drop interface than SonicStage.) Hi-fi music recording? I tried using the same mic-->battery module-->Line-in I use with MD and the iRiver sounded like the music was recorded underwater. Use with any mic? No, because it has a weird recessed mic jack. Intuitive interface? Maybe it depends on what you're used to, but to me the iRiver interface makes MD look user-friendly by comparison. Durability? I don't trust that joystick to last. Recording time? Probably long enough for most uses, especially in mono. But what do you do when the 1GB is full and you don't have a computer with iRiver Music Manager to upload onto? On the other hand, since it's a flash unit there's no disc noise, a big plus. It records directly from its FM tuner--some people find this exciting--and plays back .ogg, .wma and .mp3 files without conversion. And it has a very well-designed case. Those that can still be found (refurbished) on eBay are a bargain for a unit with a mic input. But people who think it's a true hi-fi recorder on par with Hi-MD ... well ... ignorance is bliss.