A440

Play them back in realtime and record them through Total Recorder, which records them digitally on the way to your soundcard. It's slow, but you'll get them. Look for "Total Recorder" in this thread. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070

That would work in realtime. Not data transfer--recording. Depending on how serious you are about never wanting to use Hi-MD, you can find a NH600 (NOT NH600D). NH600 has line-in. But...the most PCM (uncompressed) you can get on a 1GB Hi-MD disc is 90 minutes. Next step down--compressed--is Hi-SP, about 8 hours. So you'll have to record, upload, record, upload.....

Reviews mixed so far. Some very positive, some complaints. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicroTrack/reviews/ http://leblog.exuberance.com/2005/10/review_of_the_m.html http://digitalmedianet.dealtime.com/xPR-M_...icroTrack_24_96

Not familiar with the mics, but you can get a simple mono-to-stereo adapter that will feed the mono signal to both channels. Here's a birdcall specialist that sells mics. Look under Recording Equipment. http://www.wildsounds.co.uk/

Check my album in the Gallery.

Your best chance is to contact Sony and explain the problem. Be persistent. Only Sony has the encryption keys. If by some chance you still have the original discs you can use the Total Recorder method and record them to the computer again. It's slow, but it works. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=6330 Others reading this: copying .oma files is not a reliable backup due to the extremely restrictive encryption. Convert important files to .wav as soon as possible and burn them to CD so this doesn't happen to you.

It's the MD's problem: it doesn't have a mic jack to supply preamplification to the mic. Also, if you plug a mono mic into your (stereo) line-in jack it will only record on one channel. You'll need a mono-to-stereo adapter--preferably a cord, since a simple adapter could put a lot of physical strain on your jack. Look at Ebay for used minidisc units. The MZ-R700 or MZ-N707 are both available for under $100. You'd be paying around $50 for a battery box anyway, and that will only record loud sounds through your line-in. A different MD unit is a wiser investment.

You have to set the format (buried under Tools/Options/CD Drive Settings/CD importing/Select Format) to .wav. That supposedly should do it. But I just did that with a Stevie Wonder album and it's giving the file sizes as something like 2.5 MB per song, which ain't .wav. Even if you can get SonicStage to import full .wav files--and it says it will, so maybe I missed a setting somewhere--it is going to take a lot of hard-drive space. I don't like to trust SonicStage with anything I don't have to. Why not just copy the CD itself, or use CDex to extract the audio into a folder, then burn the tracks you want onto a CD. http://sourceforge.net/projects/cdexos/ Meanwhile, at least one background process is running: SSaaD.exe . Even if you take it out of Startup, it keeps coming back.

What model is your unit? It sounds like you have an older MD. It offers three formats: SP (which runs the length printed on the disc, 74 or 80 minutes), LP2 (twice the length printed on the disc, 148 or 160 minutes), and LP4 (four times the length printed on the disc, 296 minutes or 320 minutes). The bitrates are: Standard ATRAC ("SP") is 292kbps, LP2 is 132kbps, LP4 is 66kbps. LP2 is probably the minimum acceptable for music--LP4 is decent for speech. You can set SonicStage or Simple Burner to convert to LP2. ATRAC3plus was introduced with Hi-MD, after your unit was made. It's not available on the older MD units. There's a lot more technical information here. http://www.minidisc.org/mdlpfaq.html

To my knowledge, none of the Sony remotes has a record button. Why it never occurred to them is beyond me. The best recording remote is the RM-MC40ELK, but you still have to do the initial settings and start Record on the unit . See my post above.

No link necessary. Upload the files from the Hi-MD with SonicStage. They go into My Library, probably with a date stamp. To see the most recently imported files click on the Date Imported heading and My Library will arrange by date. Once you have the file in My Library, highlight it, click Tools and you'll find Save in .wav . Save it someplace you can find it, and then burn it to a CD. The only exception is if you have made an optical recording. Then SonicStage won't convert and you have to use HiMDRenderer, which you can find under Programs in Downloads.

How about taking it out of your pocket, showing it to the goons, and just saying, "That's my mp3 player?" People are walking into shows with cell phones, PDAs, iPods, digicams and all kinds of other gadgets the same size as an MD. Are they taking those away from people? Goons are not usually trained in spotting recording devices unless you're bringing in pro gear. The trick is getting the mics in. That's another reason I like the SoundPros BMC-2s: very thin cord, very small mics that, in a pinch, you could present as headphones. Down behind the shirt buttons, looped over the top button with the little mics tucked in the shirt. Or stick them in a sock. They usually wand your sides, not your chest. Or just coil them up a pocket and say they're your headphones. It's a little more difficult with one of those big Sony one-point mics. Really, the goons are worried about knives and guns. Take the MD to a show without the mics, etc., and proudly show it to them at the door and see what kind of reaction you get. Then the next time you can sneak in the mics. Here are some other thoughts: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=9641

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've recorded classical orchestras with microphone straight into Mic-In. Like other unamplified music, the results are as good as the mics.

A lot of reviews complain that the Sony mics have high self-noise--they add their own hiss to the sound. Check out the recordings from this very serious French guy. http://infos.0db.net/micros/compare/indexe.php3 I can't find published Sony specs that reveal a signal-to-noise ratio. Whereas the Sound Professionals does have a S/N ratio, and it's 62dB, which should be quiet. The Sound Professionals also have more bass response. Not that germane to violin, but it might help give you a warmer room ambience in general. Since you'll be recording something as pristine as solo violin, I'd suggest the Sound Pros because of the self-noise question, even though I haven't used that mic myself. Also, I trust them. Which is more than anyone can say about Sony at this point. If you have a pro musicians' store nearby, you could also consult them, since you're not concerned with stealth. A mono mic like the Shure SM57 or SM58 might also suit you if you're mixing it into multitrack. EDIT: Er, never mind, see Dex below.

I'm not suggesting he get the SoundPros from Europe. But the specs are a good comparison for what might be found on European eBay from small home-made mic builders.

I've never used the 719, so you'll just have to try it to see if it's OK that the light goes out. Have you looked at the instructions? Here's the link for the BMC-2. They are the size of pencil erasers, much smaller than your Sonys. Get them with clips, you'll need them. http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2 Line-in expects a strong signal. Mic-in amplifies the signal. That's what the different names mean. You can amplify with Audition (or another sound editing program) but if the original recording is too quiet, you will also be amplifying the noise around it. Ideally, you should get the loudest recording you can (without overloading) from the start.

Find a pair of small omnidirectional or binaural (both terms used interchangeably) mics with a frequency range of 20-20000 Hz. Your best bet is probably Ebay. Look at the Sound Professionals BMC-2 and compare those specifications to the ones sold on Ebay. A lot of homemade ones use the same basic capsules.

Does your iRiver have a mic-in jack or just a line-in? A line-in jack will need a powered mic or a battery box for loud sounds, a preamp for quieter ones. The ECM 719 has a battery, so that would give it more power, and it pumps out more signal. They seem fairly similar otherwise. Neither mic is especially great for music--no bass. Sure you don't want to get a pair of full-range omnis like the Sound Professionals BMC-2?

WMA tries to lock the songs into your computer. Look at the PureTracks help file for instructions on burning to CD. You can only burn to CD a limited number of times, so use your judgment--though once you burn to CD, you can copy the files from the CD. And once you have the CD burned you can import from the CD via SonicStage. Another workaround, considerably more of a pain, is TotalRecorder, which is $11.95 at www.totalrecorder.com. It will record whatever is playing through your soundcard, so you could play the tracks in Windows Media Player and record them (in real time) with TotalRecorder as .mp3 or .wav, then transfer those files. You'll have to retitle them. Meanwhile, contact PureTracks customer service and tell them you paid for the music and you expect to be able to use it. You might want to use a different music service in the future, and read carefully the digital-rights information. You need the ability to get the tracks OUT of whatever rights-crippled format they use. All this digital-rights garbage is why people might be driven to filesharing networks like: Soulseek http://www.SLSKnet.org , Kazaa Lite http://www.p2ptutorials.com/pages/main/Net...rack/KaZaALite/ (don't EVER use Kazaa, filled with spyware) , Emule http://www.p2ptutorials.com/pages/main/Networks/eDonkey2k or Ares http://aresgalaxy.sourceforge.net/ But hey, I'm not recommending you use those. Heaven forbid.

This says the US launch was late 1992. http://www.minidisc.org/econ113-paper.htm Also, not germane to your question, but here's the propaganda version of its development: http://www.sony.net/Fun/SH/1-21/h4.html

Part one ended kind of abruptly, so here's the rest. Off-Axis Refers to an audio source that is not directly in front of a transducer, especially a microphone. This results in off-axis coloration; a distortion or change in the frequency response of the reproduced audio signal. Often this coloration is put to good use. For example, many engineers intentionally set up mics on guitar amps so that they are slightly off access to control the amount of high frequencies captured. A microphone will generally produce the "truest" results if it is used on-axis (oriented directly in front of the sound source). Omnidirectional Literally, from all directions. In audio, microphones are said to be omnidirectional if they can detect sound equally from all directions. Speakers are omnidirectional if they radiate sound in all directions equally; this tends to be the case with subwoofers and low frequency drivers. Low frequencies, in general, tend to be omnidirectional, versus high frequencies which tend to "beam" or be very directional. On-Axis In our business this generally refers to an audio source that is directly in front of a listener or a transducer such as a microphone. This is at the 0 degree axis in a polarpattern. A microphone will generally produce the "truest" results if the desired source is on-axis (oriented directly in front of the sound source), although some creative engineers have been known to get desirable sounds by using a microphone's off-axis response. For loudspeakers the meaning is similar - when the listener is directly on axis with a speaker he/she will be exactly in front of it. How a speaker's characteristics change as the listener moves more off axis is an important part of the overall response. On-Axis In our business this generally refers to an audio source that is directly in front of a listener or a transducer such as a microphone. This is at the 0 degree axis in a polar pattern. A microphone will generally produce the "truest" results if the desired source is on-axis (oriented directly in front of the sound source), although some creative engineers have been known to get desirable sounds by using a microphone's off-axis response. For loudspeakers the meaning is similar - when the listener is directly on axis with a speaker he/she will be exactly in front of it. How a speaker's characteristics change as the listener moves more off axis is an important part of the overall response. Op Amp Short for Operational Amp, a circuit component used in all sorts of equipment. Though they are technically considered amplifiers they are quite often used in circuits that do not obviously "amplify" signals. Examples would be equalizers, crossovers, compressors, mixers, microphones, keyboards, effects and many, many, many more (the list is endless). Op amps acquired their name from early uses in analog computers (computers perform operations, get it?). They can exhibit very high gain and are extremely easy to build into audio circuits. Nowadays they are available in integrated circuit chips, each of which may have many op amps inside. In some cases they are literally a dime a dozen. Open Mic A microphone that is turned on and turned up, meaning it is entirely ready to be used, whether for recording or in a sound reinforcement application. ORTF A stereo recording method created by the French national broadcast system to simulate the directional perspective of human ears. Similar in approach to the more conventional X-Y configuration, two microphones are placed in front of a sound source. The mics are spaced 17 cm (about 6 3/4") apart, at an angle of 110 degrees. The ORTF method provides good mono compatibility and stereo imaging, but captures little of the room's ambience (this may or may not be a good thing, depending on the room you are recording!) Try this mic setup the next time you are recording a small ensemble, choir, orchestra, or even a solo acoustic instrument, it works quite well. For those who just HAVE to know what the acronym ORTF stands for, the answer is: "Office de Radiodiffusion-Television Francaise"... Pad 1. An electronic circuit designed to attenuate the output of a device by a given amount. For example, some microphones have so much output that they can overdrive the input stage of many mic preamps. To prevent this, mic designers will include a switchable "pad" on the output stage of the mic, attenuating, or reducing the mic's output by 10 or 20 dB. While many devices have built-in pads, it is also possible to purchase external pads, which plug in to a device's output and reduce its level. 2. A sustainy, "wash" or fill sound, usually used as harmonic background material in a musical arrangement. Arrangers often speak of using a "string pad" during a passage; this would be a section of strings playing long, sustained chords behind the melody. With the advent of samplers and synthesizers, other types of sounds have also become common as pads; just about any sound that can sustain can be used as a pad these days! Phantom Power A DC (direct current) voltage, usually 48 volts, applied to pins 2 and 3 referenced to pin 1 of an XLR microphone connector that can be used to power transducers with active electronics. Condenser microphones require a pre amp close to the very high impedance (See WFTD archive "impedance") diaphragm which requires power to operate. Back in the '50's and '60's this power was often provided by a separate power supply that came with the microphone. Later manufacturers began to provide a source for this power at the microphone input to mixers or pre amps. Since the power is carried on the same wires that carry the audio signal, and since most dynamic microphones and other passive devices are not affected by this DC voltage it was known as "phantom" power. The theory was that only devices that needed it would be wired in such a way that they would use it. Nowadays almost all condenser microphones and active direct boxes are able to use phantom power when it is present on a microphone cable. Consequently most mixing board manufacturers include this feature in their products. Phase Cancellation Phase describes where in its cycle a periodic waveform is at any given time. The relationship in time of two or more waveforms with the same or harmonically related periods gives us a measurement of their phase difference. Phase cancellation occurs when two signals of the same frequency are out of phase with each other resulting in a net reduction in the overall level of the combined signal. If two identical signals are 100% or 180 degrees out of phase they will completely cancel one another if combined. When similar complex signals (such as the left and right channel of a stereo music program) are combined phase cancellation will cause some frequencies to be cut, while others may end up boosted. Phase and phase difference is a real-world issue in areas such as electrical wiring of audio equipment, signal path, and microphone placement during the recording process. Phase reversal can be a serious compromise of sound quality or a special effect affecting the perceived spaciousness of the sound depending on the context of its occurrence. Piezo Short for piezoelectricity or piezoelectric effect. Piezoelectricity is an electric charge that occurs in some substances when they are squeezed or otherwise subjected to mechanical stress. It is also possible to cause these materials to vibrate when a voltage is applied to them. Quartz is one of the better known piezoelectric materials, and is commonly fabricated into small pieces, called "crystals" that are used for frequency standards. A crystal of specific size and shape will vibrate at a predictable and very stable rate when a voltage is applied. This makes them ideal for use in things like watches or clocks for digital audio equipment. Piezoelectric elements have also been used various types of transducers such as phonograph cartridges, microphones and loudspeakers. Piezo microphones can be quite small and still have relatively high output at a low cost; however, their less than ideal frequency response prohibits use in critical applications. Piezo loudspeakers usually come in the form of tweeters, or very high frequency elements. They generally have very low distortion in the 5 kHz and above range, but haven't widely been used in sound reinforcement due in part to their relatively low output levels. It takes dozens of the average piezo tweeter to equal the output of one medium-sized compression driver. Plate Reverb A type of synthetic reverberation system. Plate reverbs were one of the first types of artificial reverbs used in recording. They used a steel plate under tension supplied by springs at the corners where the plate was attached to an outer shell. The plate gets vibrated in accordance with a signal from a transducer and the vibration is sensed elsewhere on the plate with a contact microphone of one type or another. Put your ear up to any large metal item and tap on it and you will hear how steel plates were used to create reverb. Plates were initially used a great deal in the early days of studio recording (even though they don't sound that much like natural reverberation) due to their relatively small size and low cost when compared to a reverberation room. While many other types of artificial reverbs appeared on the scene (spring, etc.) the plate reined king until the advent of digital reverbs. While in many cases early digital reverbs sounded even less like natural reverb than plates did, they did offer the function at a much lower price and in a much smaller package. Ultimately digital reverbs prevailed sonically as well, and even began to include plate simulations in their algorithms. Of course there are many engineers who still prefer the sound of a good old plate, just like they like other types of vintage equipment. Plosive A phenomenon that occurs when humans speak words that require a complete closure of the oral passage followed by the release of a burst of air. This commonly occurs in everyday speaking. Sounds like the "P" in the word "pit" or the "D" in "dog" will produce a sudden burst of air from the mouth. If you place your hand in front of your mouth and make these sounds you will feel the burst of air. These sudden movements of air can be a real problem for sensitive microphones recording vocals. To a microphone this mammoth air movement will sound like a loud, bassy pop or thumping sound. Pop filters are commonly used in recording sessions to reduce this problem. Point-to-Point Wiring A method of connecting electronic components in a microphone, preamp, amplifier or any other piece of equipment in which each component is directly soldered to a tube pin or solder lug or jack. This is essentially the "original" method of making solder connections, which in modern times has largely been replaced by the use of printed circuit boards, on which the wiring has been replaced by conductive traces (usually copper or silver) that run from socket to socket as required for connections. Original forms of point-to-point wiring used no "boards" whatsoever; key components such as vacuum tubes were often mounted in ceramic sockets for stability. A variation on this employed the use of tag boards - simple templates, often made of thin cardboard with a waterproof coating - on which the location of each component was marked or stamped, to speed assembly. Virtually all soldering performed in point-to-point wiring was (and is) done by hand. Polar Pattern Depending on their design and construction, microphones respond to sound coming from different directions with varying degrees of sensitivity. A plot or graph of this response is called a polar pattern (sometimes polar response curve). Looking at a mic's polar pattern will tell you how directional it is, how well it will reject sound from certain directions, etc. It is important to note that polar patterns are frequency dependent. Typically, low frequency response will be almost omnidirectional; the polar pattern will be come more directional as frequency rises. Polarize Placing a constant (usually DC) voltage across a device or circuit is said to polarize it. For example, condenser microphones require a polarization voltage to charge the capacitive element so they can operate. Pop A bassy thump or "explosive" sound heard in a vocal mic (this is called a "plosive"). Pops often occur when the vocalist pronounces words with "p", "t", "b", etc. sounds in them. These consonants can create a puff of air that strikes the microphone diaphragm, creating a thump in the audio signal. In general, windscreens will help with pops to an extent, but a pop filter will be more effective. Be careful that the pop filter you choose is transondent (see WFTD archive), and serves only to break up the plosive's effects. Pop Filter A pop filter is used with microphones to shield the diaphragm from sudden bursts of sound which can cause a popping (see WFTD archive "pop") effect. The shield is transondent (see WFTD archive "transondent") and does not interfere with the movement of sound towards the microphone. Pop filters, which usually look like a 6" to 8" circle of mesh material, are commonly seen in recording studios situated between 1" and 8" in front of a microphone. Potential Acoustic Gain A measure of the amount of gain before feedback that can be obtained with a sound reinforcement system that's based on the number of open microphones and distances from source(s) to microphones and listener(s), as well as speaker distances from listener(s) and microphones. These parameters are basically plugged into an equation that involves the application of the inverse square law. A typical equation might look like:PAG = 20 log (D1) - 20 log (D2) + 20 log (D3) - 20 log (D4) - 10 log (NOM)where,PAG = Potential Acoustic GainD1 = Distance between microphone and loudspeakerD2 = Distance between the loudspeaker and the furthest listenerD3 = Distance between the source and the furthest listenerD4 = Distance between the source and the microphoneNOM = Number of open microphonesThere are a number of subtleties to the application of this formula (what you see here is somewhat simplified) that are beyond the scope of this writing, but when applied correctly it can yield a pretty accurate estimation of the performance of a system. Potting The term "potting" refers to the sealing of pickup coils in a solid material. Potting stabilizes the components of the pickup so that they cannot move relative to each other. This eliminates vibration-induced signals that make a pickup act like a microphone causing unwanted feedback. Potting can also protect the inner coil from corrosion. The best technique for potting also includes "coil immersion." Coil immersion is allowing a solid (wax) to be absorbed into the coil. Wax is used because it works well, is inexpensive, and it makes it possible to work on the pickup later. A correctly potted pickup coil will have the wax absorbed throughout the coil as well as the surrounding parts such as magnets, pole-pieces, and metal covers. This eliminates movement of parts inside the pickup. Preamp Short for preamplifier. A type of amplifier specifically designed to amplify very weak signals before they are fed to subsequent gain stages or devices. Preamps are commonly used to bring things like the output of microphones up to a level where more equipment can work with the signal. Similarly, magnetic pickups (as used in guitars and basses), and phonograph cartridges are generally run through a preamp to prepare the signal to be used by other equipment downstream. Preamps are called upon to deliver extremely high amounts of gain while introducing very low amounts of noise and distortion. As such they are a critical component in the audio chain, and in recent years have come under much scrutiny by recording engineers causing many dozens of stand-alone mic preamps to be developed that allege to have superior sonic characteristics. Prepolarization A technique of depositing a fixed charge-carrying layer on either the diaphragm or backplate of a condenser microphone, thus eliminating the need for an external polarization voltage. Such microphones are termed "prepolarized condenser microphones" or "electret microphones". Pressure Microphone A microphone in which only one side of the diaphragm is exposed to the impinging sound. The diaphragm responds to the pressure variations uniformly and therefore pressure microphones are inherently omnidirectional. Also sometimes called "pressure operative microphone". Pressure-gradient Microphone A microphone in which both sides of the diaphragm are exposed to the incident sound. The microphone is therefore responsive to the pressure differential (gradient) between the two sides of the membrane. Sound waves parallel to the plane of the diaphragm produces no pressure differential, and so pressure-gradient microphones have figure-eight directional characteristics. These are also sometimes called "velocity microphones", since the output voltage is proportional to the air particle velocity. Proximity Effect An increase in bass or low frequency response when a sound source is close to a microphone. Proximity effect is distortion caused by the use of ports to create directional polar pickup patterns, so omni-directional mics are not affected. Depending on the mic design, proximity effect may easily result in a boost of up to 16 dB, usually focused below 100 Hz. Vocalists tend to like proximity effect since it fattens up their voice, but a constantly varying bass boost can wreak havoc on headroom and carefully set levels! Obviously, if a vocalist is "eating the mic" to get proximity effect, the Inverse Square Law (WFTD 6/12) tells us that the levels the mic sees are increasing dramatically as well - distortion can easily result, from either mic diaphragm breakup or electronic overload. (You may occasionally see proximity effect referred to as "bass tip-up") PZM Many of our recent Piano Miking Suggestions recommended use of PZM microphones. PZM (Pressure Zone Microphone), or more correctly boundary mics (PZM is a trademarked term) use a small electret capsule mounted close to a backing plate. The idea is that the mic capsule/plate is mounted to a large flat surface (or boundary). This increases the sensitivity of the mic by 6 dB (due to pressure doubling from reflected soundwaves), and gives it a hemispherical pickup pattern. The practical frequency response of the mic will depend on the size of the flat surface it is mounted to. If the surface is too small, low frequencies will not be reflected resulting in an apparent high frequency (treble) boost. Reverb The remainder of sound that exists in a room after the source of the sound has stopped is called reverberation, sometimes mistakenly called echo (which is an entirely different sounding phenomenon). We've all heard it when doing something like clapping our hands (or bouncing a basketball) in a large enclosed space (like a gym). All rooms have some reverberation, even though we may not always notice it as such. The characteristics of the reverberation are a big part of the subjective quality of the sound of any room in which we are located.Our brains learn to derive a great deal of information about our surroundings from the sound of a room and it's reverberation. Consequently it is necessary to have the proper type and amount of reverberation on recordings in order for them to be aesthetically pleasing or to sound natural to us. This can be accomplished with careful microphone placement, but it is often necessary to employ artificially created reverb.To create reverb, a device known as a reverb unit is employed. Reverb units have historically come in many shapes and sizes, and have used many different techniques to create the reverberation. These days most of the reverb units employed throughout the world are digital, where the sound of the reverb is generated by a computer algorithm and mixed with the original signal. We will be discussing other types of reverb units in the future. Ribbon Mic A type of velocity microphone. A velocity microphone responds to the velocity of air molecules passing it rather than the Sound Pressure Level, which is what most other microphones respond to. In many cases this functional difference isn't important, but it can certainly be an issue on a windy day. Very old ribbon mics could be destroyed from the air velocity created just by carrying them across a room. A ribbon mic works by loosely suspending a small element (usually a corrugated strip of metal) in a strong magnetic field. This "ribbon" is moved by the action of air molecules and when it moves it cuts across the magnetic lines of flux causing a signal to be generated. Naturally ribbon mics have a figure 8 pick up pattern. You can think of it like a window blind; it is easily moved by wind blowing at it, but usually doesn't move when wind blows across it from left to right. Ribbon mics were the first commercially successful directional microphones. Ring Out Refers to a process of tuning a PA or monitoring system involving the intentional initiation of feedback to locate sensitive or hot frequencies. Monitor systems are most prone to feedback at frequencies where the speakers and/or open microphones have peaks in their frequency response. One can quickly find these peaks by turning up the volume on the mics in question until feedback begins. This is usually where equalization is applied to counteract troublesome frequencies - i.e. if it feeds back at 4 kHz then pull 4 kHz down on your EQ a few dB. Four or five rounds of this is usually enough to get rid of the major problems. While this technique is commonly used for stage monitoring systems, it can also prove surprisingly effective for the FOH system as well, particularly in situations where there is a heavy emphasis on vocal reproduction. Sensitivity In audio terms, sensitivity is the minimum amount of input signal required to drive a device to its rated output level. Normally, this specification is associated with amplifiers and microphones, but FM tuners, phono cartridges, and most other types of gear have a sensitivity rating as well. In general, higher sensitivity is better (less input signal required for full output), but there are definitely situations where a device can be TOO sensitive (picture a very sensitive microphone in front of a wound-up Marshall guitar amplifier!) resulting in unwanted distortion. Shockmount Commonly found in two places in the audio industry, rack cases and microphone stands, shockmounts are systems designed to isolate a device mechanically from its stand or case. In rack cases, the idea is to prevent damage to sensitive gear by isolating it from shipping and transport bumps, drops and similar catastrophes. Often these cases consist of a case-within-a-case, with the inner case isolated with foam or spring arrangements from the outer. Microphone shockmounts are designed to reject vibrations transmitted through the stand or boom to the microphone. Several types are in use, one common design using a system of "rubber-bands" to suspend the mic away from its stand. Shotgun Microphone A type of microphone characterized by an extremely directional polar pattern. Shotgun mics may be condenser or dynamic, but are almost always built with a long (8 to 24 inch) tube protruding from the front. This tube has a series of holes or slots along the side, which act as a phase canceling device for sounds coming from the rear of the microphone. Sounds coming from directly in front of the mic enter each of the holes or slots in succession and therefore add in phase by the time they reach the diaphragm. Sounds from the rear enter in reverse order and thus are out of phase when they reach the diaphragm, resulting in little or no output. The longer the tube the more directional the microphone becomes. These properties make them ideal for pinpointing and capturing the audio of something from far away without capturing as much of all the ambient (or surrounding) sound. Shotgun mics are sometimes called Line Microphones. Shuffler A simple circuit used for enhancement of space or stereo width in recording. The shuffler, (first described by Blumlein) is the basis for MS microphone decoding to stereo, as well as the circuit used to create FM signals. The shuffler takes the left and right signals of the stereo pair and mixes them into two separate signals, one being the sum of the signals (A+, the other being the difference (A-. While they are in this format, we can apply processing to either signal (A+B or A-, and then convert them back into stereo. A mixing console with polarity invert switches on the channel strips can be used to create a shuffler. The A+B signal is easy to create (it's just the sum of the two); the A-B signal is created by combining the two while the polarity is reversed on B. Side Address A microphone term that denotes the parallel position of the diaphragm in relation to the body of the mic. A side address microphone accepts sound from an angle perpendicular to the mic as opposed to a front address mic where you speak into the "end" of the microphone. A good example of a side address microphone is the C414 by AKG. There is generally a front and back side to any side address mic, and in many cases usable sound can also be picked up from the backside. Signal Path Simply the route a particular signal takes through a chain of equipment and/or electronic components on the way to its destination. When we think of signal paths in audio we are usually thinking about connecting different pieces of equipment together and routing some signal(s) through them. An example of this would be something like a microphone to mixer to speaker or recorder setup. The signal path has the signal from the microphone pass from the microphone through those (and potentially other) devices on the way to being recorded or amplified (or both). But there is also a signal path inside each piece of equipment. A mixer may be configured to route signals in different ways internally bypassing or utilizing different gain stages along the way to achieve different results. Effects processors often have highly configurable internal signal paths depending upon what they are doing. Small Diaphragm Refers to the size of the diaphragm used in a microphone. While there are no final standards regarding a diaphragm size that defines Small Diaphragm, most professionals and manufacturers agree that any diaphragm smaller than 5/8" would be considered a Small Diaphragm. Generally speaking, Small Diaphragm microphones tend to do a good job of capturing high frequency content and transients. They will tend to have a bit more "air" to their sound and often have less coloration than medium diaphragm or large diaphragm microphones. Most of this is due to the reduced mass of the smaller diaphragm, which allows it to more closely follow any air disturbances it is subjected to. Sound Card An expansion board that enables a computer to manipulate and output sounds. Sound cards have become commonplace on modern personal computers and are typically associated with the consumer market. Sound cards enable the computer to output sound through speakers connected to the board, to record sound input from a microphone connected to the computer, and manipulate sound stored on a disk. Some sound cards also support MIDI, surround sound and more. In addition, most PC sound cards are Sound Blaster- compatible, which means that they can process commands written for a Sound Blaster card, a standard in consumer PC sound. Spaced Omni A method of stereo recording where two omnidirectional microphones are placed several feet apart in front of the sound source. This system was used by Harvey Fletcher in 1933 in the first demonstration of stereophonic reproduction of an orchestra. Because the omni pattern will pick up room ambience as well as the desired sound source, mic placement is critical in balancing room sound with direct sound. And, as with any stereo miking technique, phase must also be considered when placing the mics. Spaced omnis are excellent where a natural, "real" sound is desired. Sputter/Sputtering In physics, a process whereby atoms of a solid - usually a metal - are added to or removed from some surface. There are a variety of industrial applications. In audio sputtering is often used to apply a molecular layer of gold to the surface of microphone diaphragms and some electrodes to improve conductivity. Squelch A function found on some radio receiving systems such as wireless microphones and guitar units that allow the user to set the receiver to mute or gate itself when the carrier falls below a specified level. The idea is to eliminate the unwanted noise associated with a radio receiver being tuned between stations, or not properly picking up a station/transmitter to which it is tuned. Typically turning the squelch control "up" makes the receiver have more of a tendency to mute, which means the carrier strength has to be higher in order for it to operate. If the squelch is set too high the audio will mute from time to time, however, if it is set too low you run the risk of getting blasts of noise through the system when the signal strength is compromised for one reason or another. The squelch control was an important part of wireless systems for many years, but with modern technology there are more sophisticated and automated methods of handling these things, which have all but eliminated the manual squelch control from systems. STC Abbreviation for Sound Transmission Class. This is a number rating that can be used to compare, in a generalized way, the acoustical isolation of different barrier materials or partition constructions. Higher numbers indicate a material will provide more acoustic isolation when used as a barrier. The tests conducted to determine STC involves two test rooms: a ''source'' room and a ''receiver'' room. The source room will contain a full-range test loudspeaker. The receiver room will contain a microphone, which is connected to sound-measuring devices. There is a nominal opening between the two rooms - usually about 9' wide by 8' high, but can vary in accordance with the standard. The first step is to measure the sound transmitted from one room into the other through the opening. The sound is measured in decibels (dB) in 1/3-octave bands from 125 Hz to 4000 Hz. Then the opening is plugged with the material or partition construction. This could be a single layer of barrier, such as plywood or drywall, or a complete wall with as many materials, layers, air gaps, etc. that can fit in the opening. The edges are completely sealed and sound transmission between the rooms is measured again. The sound level from the ''after'' test is subtracted from the sound level ''before'' plugging the opening. The resulting difference is known as the transmission loss or ''TL.'' Next, the TL is plotted on a graph of 1/3-octave band center frequency versus level (in dB). To get the STC, the measured curve is compared to a reference STC curve. Two criteria are used to ''match'' the curves: 1. The reference curve shall not exceed the measured TL by more than 8 dB in any 1/3 octave band, and 2. The sum of all the ''negative discrepancies'' shall not exceed 32. (This actually sounds more complicated than it is. A simple spreadsheet can be used to calculate the STC for any range of TL values.) Once the two above criteria are met, the value of the reference curve at 500 Hz is read as the entire STC of the material or partition type. Stereo Bar A device for mounting two microphones on a single mic stand. They generally consist of a bar (sometimes adjustable in length) with a fixture to mount to a mic stand, and then two adjustable fixtures for microphones. Usually used for stereo recording, the stereo bar allows you the option of positioning the two microphones exactly as you wish to optimize the stereo image. Some engineers believe this approach introduces small timing differences into the recording due to the inherent imperfections of positioning the mics by hand, but it is a perfectly acceptable and time honored technique, especially if the microphones face outwards rather than inwards after you attach them to the bar and line them up. The timing differences that can occur stem from the fact that each microphone casts a sound shadow (literally, it physically gets in the way of the pickup pattern of the other) at high frequency, and if they face inwards this is likely to degrade the stereo image (particularly if the mics in question are physically large, such as AKG C414s, or Neuman U87s). If the mics face outwards, the sound shadow will fall on the rear of each microphone, where it is relatively insensitive (assuming the mics are set to cardioid, hypercardioid or supercardioid patterns) and will not cause imaging problems. Some stereo bars have detailed markings to aid the engineer in making fine adjustments to mix spacing and angle. A typical studio application using a stereo bar would be to place mics directly above the drummer, with the microphones angled down towards the drums and outwards at approximately 90 degrees from each other. This gives good separation and minimizes phase problems. Supercardioid A polar pattern name used to describe the pickup pattern of some microphones. The supercardioid pattern is very similar to, and often confused with, the hypercardioid pattern. The supercardioid pattern is slightly less directional than the hypercardioid pattern, but the rear lobe of sensitivity is also much smaller in the supercardioid. Suspension Basket A device for isolating a microphone from mechanical vibrations. A type of "shockmount." The most common way to shock mount a microphone is with the stand mounted suspension basket, which utilizes elastic bands to isolate a microphone from vibrations that can be induced into the stand through the floor or by something bumping the stand itself. Most mid to high price microphones have specific suspension baskets designed for them, and are available as an accessory. Talkback A feature offered on recording consoles, talkback is an in-board intercom system, allowing the engineer and producer in the control room to talk to musicians in the studio. Normally, there is either a built-in microphone for this purpose, or there is a dedicated talkback mic input. This mic/input is routed only to the cue/studio monitor sends, preventing feedback problems with the control room monitors. Thermal Noise Also called Johnson noise, is the random white noise found in any conductor or electronic device. It is produced by the thermal agitation of the charges in an electric conductor and is proportional to the absolute temperature of the conductor. It manifests itself in the input circuits of audio equipment such as microphone pre amps, where the signal levels are low. The thermal noise level is the limiting minimum noise any circuit can attain at a given temperature. Modern high-quality microphone pre amps, under proper conditions, have noise specifications that come very close to this theoretical limit. Time Alignment In a multiple driver loudspeaker system, it is important that the time delay inherent in each driver and its associated crossover network be the same to preserve accurate transient (see WFTD archive transient) response. In other words, the high frequencies and low frequencies much reach the listener's ear at the same time. A system which meets this criterion is said to be "time aligned." One way to accomplish this is to place the tweeter further away from the listener than the woofer, and this is done in many speaker systems. Another way is to design the crossover network to add a suitable delay to the high frequency signal before it gets to the driver.The phrase "time alignment" is also sometimes used in reference to adding delay to one or more microphones in a situation where more than one mic is being used on an instrument, and the mics are at different distances from the instrument. A good example of this is orchestral recording where several mics are employed at various distances to accurately capture the sound of the orchestra in the hall. The microphones closer to the orchestra are sometimes delayed to be more in "time" with microphones placed out in the hall."Time Alignment" was copyrighted as a trademark by a speaker manufacturer years ago and is no longer widely used as a generic term. Transducer For our purposes, a transducer is an electronic component that transforms one type of energy into another. Some examples: A microphone converts sound into electric current. Likewise, a speaker converts electric current into sound. Other common transducers include magnetic guitar pickups, piezo pickups, phonograph cartridges (remember those?) and tape heads. One of the main challenges we all face (whether we know it or not) is overcoming the physical limitations transducers put on our ability to reproduce the extremely wide dynamic range of acoustic sounds... deadly enemies of your gear! Transformer A transformer is a device consisting of two or more coils of wire wound on a common core of magnetically permeable material. The number of turns in one coil divided by the number of turns in the other is called the turns ratio. An alternating voltage appearing across one coil will be inducted into the other coil multiplied by the turns ratio. Some transformers are designed to operate at 60 Hz (see WFTD archive "Hertz") and to handle large amounts of current. They are called power transformers, and are found in almost all electronic equipment to change our 110 volt line voltage to one or more voltages more suitable for operating the device. Audio transformers are designed to operate at audible frequencies, and are used to step audio voltages up or down to send signals between devices such as microphones, tape recorders, mixers, and all types of other electronic equipment. Transformers are also sometimes used in audio to provide isolation between two audio circuits. Because the two coils of wire never electrically touch one another a transformer provides a certain amount of isolation that can help prevent ground loops and other problems that can crop up in complex audio systems. Trim Found on most mixers, trim controls provide the initial level setting for each channel's input gain. In most cases, trim adjusts gain of the microphone preamp, but it may also apply to line level signals. Optimizing this gain stage will make a tremendous difference in the mixers signal to noise ratio and in gain staging later in the signal chain. True Diversity A wireless microphone term. A more advanced form of a diversity receiver, a true diversity system contains a radio receiver that actually has two independent receiver sections, each with its own antenna (rather than a single receiver with one or two antennas), to pick up the transmission from a wireless microphone. The antennas are spaced apart on the unit, and by means of a comparison circuit the unit constantly polls the two receivers to select the one with the strongest signal. The result is an exceptionally stable signal, since the appearance of a dropout in both antennas at the same time is not likely under normal circumstances. Unidirectional With reference to microphones, the opposite of omnidirectional (see WFTD archive, "omnidirectional"). A unidirectional microphone is one which is more sensitive to sound from one direction than from others. The level of "unidirectionality" will vary with the mic's particular polar pattern (i.e. cardioid, hypercardioid, etc.). There is no such thing as a perfectly unidirectional microphone, but the more unidirectional a mic is, the better it is able to reject off-axis sound, producing more isolated signals. Variable Pattern Mic A microphone in which the polar pattern can be adjusted. The adjustment may be in the form of a switch that switches between two or more common patterns such as omnidirectional, cardioid, supercardioid, hypercardioid, figure-8, and possibly some settings in between, or it can sometimes be a knob that provides a continuous adjustment. In most cases a variable pattern mic is made by placing two condenser diaphragms back to back, and then regulating the way the signals from them are combined inside the mic. Depending upon the exact construction, and the quality (and matching) of components a particular pattern may not always behave in exactly the same fashion as a mic with a fixed pattern. Nevertheless they are very widely used because the flexibility and overall usefulness of having multiple patterns often outweighs any minor discrepancy in the accuracy of the polar pattern. In fact, some of these inconsistencies can work to an engineer’s advantage if he or she understands how to apply them. Wind Screen A device placed in front of or around a microphone to shield the mic element from wind. Wind screens are generally made of foam, or a foam-like material - something porous. The idea is for the device to allow sound to pass through without interference, but to limit larger pressure variations such as those caused by wind. Mic elements are necessarily sensitive to extremely small changes in air so they can pick up sound properly. Wind is interpreted by a microphone as a very, very large change in pressure - far beyond what it is designed to handle - thereby causing distortion either due to the element moving in a non-linear fashion and/or because the electronics driven by the output of the element distort. The result is a very unpleasant sound. When operating a microphone in windy conditions it is usually a good idea to employ a wind screen. Many professional microphones have wind screens made specifically for them and their shape, but it is not uncommon to use generic wind screens in some applications. Wireless Receiver A wireless system consists of two main components: a transmitter, and a receiver. The responsibility of the wireless receiver is to pick up the radio signal broadcast by the transmitter and change it back into an audio signal. Wireless receivers are available in two different configurations. Single antenna receivers utilize one receiving antenna and one tuner, similar to an FM radio. Diversity receivers, or dual antenna systems, often provide better wireless microphone performance. A diversity receiver utilizes two separate antennas spaced a short distance apart and (usually) two separate tuners. An "intelligent" circuit in the receiver automatically selects the better of the two signals, or in some cases a blend of both. Since one of the antennas will almost certainly be receiving a clean signal at any given moment, the chances of a dropout occurring are reduced. There are actually several distinctions among dual antenna systems (diversity, true diversity, etc.) that are variations on the same theme. Wireless Transmitter A wireless system consists of two main components: a transmitter, and a receiver. The transmitter handles the conversion of the audio signal into a radio signal and broadcasts it as a radio wave via an antenna. The antenna may stick out from the bottom of the transmitter or it may be concealed inside. The strength of the radio signal is limited by government regulations. The distance that the signal can effectively travel ranges from 100 feet to over 1,000 feet, depending on conditions and quality of signal. Transmitters are available in two basic types. One type, called a "body-pack" or "belt-pack" transmitter, is a small box about the same size as a pack of playing cards (or smaller in some cases). The transmitter clips to the user's belt or may be worn on the body. For instrument applications, a body-pack transmitter is often clipped to a guitar strap or attached directly to an instrument such as a trumpet or saxophone. In the case of a handheld wireless microphone, the transmitter is built into the handle of the microphone, resulting in a wireless mic that is only slightly larger than a standard wired microphone. Usually, a variety of microphone elements or "heads" are available for handheld wireless microphones. All wireless transmitters require a battery (usually a 9-volt alkaline type) to operate. Xophonic An artificial reverberation device made for the home by the Radio Craftsmen in the 1950's. Basically it was a box about the size of a bookshelf loudspeaker that contained a small speaker and about 50 feet of tubing with a microphone at the other end. This produced a time delay of about 50 milliseconds and this reverb was mixed in with the original signal and radiated in the room through a separate amp and speaker. The Xophonic may have been the very first signal processor designed for home use. It was popular for a short time before falling into oblivion with the advent of stereophonic sound reproduction. XY Stereo A stereo miking technique that employs two cardioid microphones angled 90 degrees from each other, but positioned at the same point (or as near as their physical size will allow). Theoretically, the two microphone capsules need to be at exactly the same point to avoid any phase problems due to the distance between the capsules. As this is not possible, the best approximation to placing two microphones at the same point is to put one microphone on top of the other with the diaphragms vertically aligned. In this way, sound sources in the horizontal plane will be picked up as if the two microphones are placed at the same point.The stereo image is produced by the off-axis attenuation of the cardioid microphones. While A-B stereo is a difference-in-time-stereo, the XY stereo is a difference-in-level stereo. But as the off-axis attenuation of a typical cardioid microphone is only around 6dB at 90 degrees, the channel separation is limited, and wide stereo images are not possible with this recording method. Therefore, XY stereo is often used where high mono-compatibility is needed - for example, in broadcasting situations where many listeners still receive the audio on mono equipment. Since the sound-sources are mainly picked up off-axis when using the XY stereo setup, high demands are placed on the off-axis response of the microphones used. Zeppelin A special type of microphone shock mount and wind screen assembly. It essentially consists of a sort of skeleton/shock mount surrounding a microphone over which some type of foam or muff type material is placed. The purpose is largely the same as a conventional wind screen only these can do an even better job of isolating the mic from the elements while also providing a more natural sound. Typically these are used with shotgun microphones, partly because these mics then to be extremely sensitive to mechanical (handling) noise as well as wind. Furthermore, shotguns are often used in applications where one is already trying to capture a signal that's difficult to get so any extra noise is a real problem. The name comes from the old dirigible as the appearance (and in some respects construction) is similar. They are also referred to as blimps for similar reasons. Zoom Microphone A type of microphone system consisting of three cardioid microphone elements and a special phase correction equalization circuit. By varying the position of a control knob, the microphone outputs are combined in such a way that the directivity of the array changes from omnidirectional through cardioid to super-cardioid. These are sometimes used in film (or video) making because the control can be synchronized with the control of a zoom lens on a camera so that the auditory perspective changes with the visual perspective.

Practically speaking, I'd use Simple Burner at Hi-SP. It won't clutter up your hard drive with library copies. You should always use the highest bitrate you can. Every compression (to mp3 or ATRAC or whatever) loses information. The lower the bitrate, the more information lost. The higher the bitrate, the bigger the file. Imagine you're carrying water in a leaky bucket. When you get it halfway to your destination, you're offered another very leaky bucket or one with a tiny leak. Obviously you take the one with the smaller leak. So if you have a 128 kpbs mp3, you've already lost a lot of information, and you're about to convert it again to get it onto MD. To save all that's left, you would convert it to .wav (PCM), which doesn't compress your source material any further. But that takes lots of space. Practically speaking, try various bitrates and use the one that makes the best compromise, for your own ears, between size and quality. If you're using 1GB discs, which will hold 8 hours of Hi-SP, then at least use Hi-SP.

SonicStage is designed to prevent you from making files portable. It doesn't want you making a HD full of files and giving them to someone else. As I understand it--and I'm not a software professional, so I may have this wrong--when SonicStage installs it derives something from your machine's hardware that identifies it. Your previous SonicStage, on the other machine, had a different identifier. So when the new SS gets connected to your hard drive from your previous SonicStage, it thinks --OH MY GOD! MUSIC PIRATE AT WORK! THE INDUSTRY WILL COLLAPSE! I hope you still have your old machine. You have to get those uploaded files unencrypted: You have to convert them from .omg to .wav on the SS that uploladed them. Once they are .wav files all the rights garbage vanishes. But .omg files are not portable. Your backed up files are still tagged with your original SonicStage. And yes, Flac for HD storage, .wav for playable CDs, mp3 for internet.

A preamp does considerably more than a battery box, which will be useless for line-in recording unless you are recording loud sounds. The preamp will amplify quiet ones, presumably adding less noise than the preamp built into the minidisc unit. Preamps do generally seem more expensive than battery boxes by the same factor as the Juice/Boost box difference: look at www.soundprofessionals.com or www.microphonemadness.com . There must be more electronics inside the box. But BuckTrump, if you're broke start small. Get mics. Set them up in your practice area and see if just recording straight into Mic-in works without overloading. Try the mics at various distances from the instruments. Then if you have problems get a battery box and go through Line-In. A preamp may be overkill. I have recorded orchestra straight into mic-in. It sounds quite good. Microphone Madness has its preamp on sale for $140. http://store.microphonemadness.com/mmsterpreamh.html Look on Ebay for Church Audio if you want a cheaper preamp. Chris Church is a member on this forum (CHURCH-AUDIO) if you want to PM him some questions. His preamp is less flexible than the Boost Box but it might be suitable for your needs.

They are supposed to reduce interference from AC power and static.