A440

OK, take a deep breath. Welcome to the Sony software World of Confusion. Actually, it's not that bad. You need SonicStage. This is necessary for uploading from minidisc to computer. If you have a fast and reliable internet connection, then download an installer for SonicStage 3.3: probably Asia-Pacific version if you're in Australia, but it's up to you. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=9586 It's a little file that will then connect to Sony and download the rest of SonicStage 3.3 . If you are on a dialup connection or it's unreliable, then instead download the standalone offline installer for 3.2 http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=11889 or the exciting new 3.3 offline installer. http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/download.php?file=21 The recording is done in the unit. Use PCM (and good mics) for highest quality. More on that here: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...993entry49993 You'll record on the unit, connect via the included USB cord (don't worry about your USB port, SonicStage uses the older slower universally compatible USB 1.1) and use Sonic Stage to upload to your hard drive. (Click Transfer to see what's on the disc.) You can then play back the files you've uploaded with SonicStage only. When you decide which tracks you want to burn or edit, SonicStage will convert them to .wav, which is unencrypted and ready to edit/copy/burn etc. Highlight the track and under Tools, Save to .wav. To edit, get Audacity from Downloads. http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/details.php?file=11 You'll upload from the disc, use SonicStage to convert to .wav, and then edit the .wav file with Audacity. Edited or not, .wav files can be burned to CD with any burning program: Windows Media Player, iTunes, RealPlayer, Nero, even....SonicStage. Simple Burner does something you don't mention among your needs: downloading CDs onto minidisc so you can use the NH900 as a portable player like an iPod. Download it from here if you want to do that: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=5552 For the moment, you can live without HiMDRenderer. Once you have uploaded with SonicStage, HiMDRenderer can convert the uploaded files into other formats: mp3, etc. It's more flexible than SonicStage, and marcnet is a hero. But that's for later, after you're up and running.

Sony BMG pulls CD software Fri Nov 11, 2005 3:12 PM ET AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Music publisher Sony BMG said on Friday it would stop making CDs that use a controversial technology to protect its music against illegal copying. "As a precautionary measure, Sony BMG is temporarily suspending the manufacture of CDs containing XCP technology," it said in a statement. The decision follows the discovery on Thursday of the first virus that uses Sony BMG's CD copy-protection software to hide on PCs and wreak havoc. A hacker had mass-mailed e-mail with an attachment, which when clicked on installs malware. The malware hides by using Sony BMG software that is also hidden -- the software would have already been installed on a computer when consumers played Sony's copy-protected music CDs. The malware, a trojan program which appears desirable but actually contains something harmful, tears down a computer's firewall and gives hackers access to a PC. Sony BMG provided a patch to protect computers against the virus, which is available on its Web site. "We also intend to re-examine all aspects of our content protection initiative to be sure that it continues to meet our goals of security and ease of consumer use," Sony BMG added. The firm provided software to remove the "cloaking element", which enables the virus to hide inside the computer, but the patch does not disable the copy protection itself. The music publishing venture of Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony and Germany's Bertelsmann AG is distributing the copy-protection software on a range of recent music compact disks (CDs) from artists such as Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan, according to user groups on the Web. Sony BMG did not say which CDs or how many CDs were equipped with its software. "The XCP software is included on a limited number of Sony BMG content-protected titles," it said. The Sony copy-protection software does not install itself on Macintosh computers or ordinary CD and DVD players. When the CD is played on a Windows personal computer, the software first installs itself and then limits the usage rights of a consumer. It only allows playback with Sony software. The software last week sparked a class action lawsuit in California against Sony, which claimed that Sony had not informed consumers that it installs software directly into the "root" of their computer systems with rootkit software, which cloaks all associated files and is dangerous to remove. British anti-virus company Sophos on Thursday offered a tool to disable the copy protection software. ZoneAlarm, a product of Check Point, also protects against the software. Sony BMG said it stands by content protection technology "as an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists". © Reuters 2005. All rights reserved.

Not really. Greenmachine likes Line-in with battery box, I tend to use Mic-in and attenuator. Theoretically, greenmachine is better because there's not the additional preamp stage to change or screw up his signal, and actually most recording aficionados agree with him, not me. I use mic-in mostly for pragmatic reasons: so I don't have to carry an additional box that's one more thing to pocket and one more thing that could become accidentally disconnected. It also makes for a louder recording, but it does risk overloading now and then. You shouldn't get any brickwalling with line-in and battery box unless it is punishingly loud. Brickwalling usually comes from the mic preamp. With line-in, the limiting factor is your mics, and if they're overloading with battery power then you're getting a full-body massage from the bass.

To record from your CD player, you have to connect CD headphone out to MD line-in and record in real time. But you can put the CD in your computer CD player, connect the MD unit with the USB cord, and copy the songs from the CD to the MD much faster with the Simple Burner software.

True--the FAQ will make more sense when you have an MD in hand.

Older versions are less stable and do less--the crucial thing about 3.2 and 3.3 is that they allow infinite uploads. It wouldn't hurt to try this: Uninstall (with Add/Remove Programs) and clear out the registry as in the FAQ, and download the offline 3.2 installer. Install that with your computer disconnected from the internet and all antivirus and firewall software turned off. (Put them back on before you go back online.) Do it without the unit connected via USB. Maybe some security program has interfered with the install.

This long post is from this link at www. sweetwater.com, which may disappear, and I thought it would be good to have it all here. http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:650GV...lient=firefox-a · 2:1 Rule of Ambience · 3:1 Rule of Microphone Placement · A-B Stereo · Absolute Phase · AES42-2001 · Ambience · Ambisonics · Anechoic · Back-Emf · Backline · Backplate · Baffled Stereo · Bass Management · Binaural · Bleed · Blumlein Microphone (or Blumlein Pair) · Body Pack · Boom Operator · Boundary Microphone · Brownian Movement/Motion · Capsule · Cardioid · Claw/Drum Claw · Coincident · Coloration · Compression Driver · Condenser Microphone · Conductor · Contact Mic · Control Room · COSM · De-Esser · Decca Tree · Decoupling · Diaphragm · Din Stereo · DirectSound · Diversity Receiver · Ducker/Ducking · Dynamic (Microphone) · EIN · Electret · Equivalent Input Noise (EIN) · Feedback · Field Effect Transistor (FET) · Figure 8 · Front Address · Gain Before Feedback · Gap · GoBo · Gooseneck · Handling Noise · Hi-Z · Hypercardioid · In Line Mixer · Inverse Square Law · Jecklin Disc · Large Diaphragm · Lavalier · Line Input · Lobar Polar Pattern · Lobe · M-S Stereo · Maximum SPL (Sound Pressure Level) · Medium Diaphragm · Mic Amp · Mic Level · Microphone · Minimum Terminating Impedance · Mix-Minus · Moving Coil · Multi-Pattern · Multipattern · Near-Coincident Pair · Neodymium · NOS · Off-Axis · Omnidirectional · On-Axis · On-Axis · Op Amp · Open Mic · ORTF · Pad · Phantom Power · Phase Cancellation · Piezo · Plate Reverb · Plosive · Point-to-Point Wiring · Polar Pattern · Polarize · Pop · Pop Filter · Potential Acoustic Gain · Potting · Preamp · Prepolarization · Pressure Microphone · Pressure-gradient Microphone · Proximity Effect · PZM · Reverb · Ribbon Mic · Ring Out · Sensitivity · Shockmount · Shotgun Microphone · Shuffler · Side Address · Signal Path · Small Diaphragm · Sound Card · Spaced Omni · Sputter/Sputtering · Squelch · STC · Stereo Bar · Supercardioid · Suspension Basket · Talkback · Thermal Noise · Time Alignment · Transducer · Transformer · Trim · True Diversity · Unidirectional · Variable Pattern Mic · Wind Screen · Wireless Receiver · Wireless Transmitter · Xophonic · XY Stereo · Zeppelin · Zoom Microphone 2:1 Rule of Ambience To capture an equal amount of room ambience, a cardioid microphone must be placed twice as far from a source as an omnidirectional pattern microphone. Keep this in mind the next time you are trying to capture some of a room's natural sound when recording! 3:1 Rule of Microphone Placement Yesterday we discussed the 2:1 Rule of Ambience. Today let's go one better with the 3:1 Rule of Mic Placement. When using two microphones to record a source, normally you will get the best results by placing the second mic three times the distance from the first mic that the first mic is from the source. Confusing? An example: If the first mic is 1 foot from a source, the second mic should be placed 3 feet from the second mic. Using the 3:1 Rule will minimize phase problems created by the time delay between mics.This rule originated when engineers were micing multiple sources in the same vicinity. The same principle applies. If you are recording two different sources of sound, their respective microphones should be at least three times further apart than they are close to their respective sources. Keep in mind that rules are meant to be broken; you may prefer the sound created by ignoring the 3:1 Rule - experiment and let your ears be your guide! A-B Stereo Sometimes known as Time Difference Stereo, A-B Stereo is a stereo miking technique that employs two spaced omnidirectional microphones to capture a stereo image. The microphone spacing introduces small differences in the time or phase information contained in the audio signals (according to the relative directions of the sound sources). As the human ear can sense these time and phase differences in audio signals and use them for localization, they will act as stereo cues to enable the listener to "capture the space" in the recording, and experience a stereo image of the sound-field. Omnidirectional microphones and A-B Stereo are often the preferred choice when the distance between microphone and the sound source is large. One reason is that true omnidirectional microphones are able to capture the true low frequencies of a sound-source regardless of the distance, while directional microphones are influenced by the proximity effect. Directional microphones will therefore exhibit loss of low frequencies at larger distances. (See Spaced Omni) Absolute Phase A positive pressure to a microphone diaphragm will (in most mics) produce a positive voltage at its output. If the correct polarity (see WFTD archive polarity) of the signal is maintained throughout the signal path this should ultimately produce a positive voltage at the speaker terminal, which will (on most speakers) cause the speaker to move forward creating a positive pressure wave in the listening position. This is known as absolute phase (see also WFTD archive phase): The original polarity of the source sound is thus reproduced in phase by the loudspeaker for listening. AES42-2001 An emerging new AES standard that's an extension of the current AES3 digital audio interface standard. AES42-2001 provides for interfacing digital microphones and includes the ability to transmit and receive a great deal of data along with the digital audio signals. For example, a user of a digital microphone will be able to remotely control parameters such as polar pattern, pre-attenuation, low cut filter, pre-amplification, mute, and polarity in addition to getting feedback about signal levels and the status of the mic. Ambience Generally thought of as the character or quality of some environment. In audio we specifically mean the acoustical (sonic) characteristics of a space, including everything from the size of the space to what type of sounds are a normal part of it. For example: a big auditorium may, as part of its sonic character, have a large HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system that runs, which provides a constant background noise level. Any noise existing or injected into a space will of course be acted upon by the space based on things like size, shape, and the various surfaces that reflect sound. Humans have a great ability to discern a lot about an environment from these aural cues. As an experiment put up a microphone in some different rooms of your house or apartment and make recordings. Listen to them later at an exaggerated volume so you can really hear the ambient noise level as it is being acted upon by the room acoustics. You will most likely be able to identify each room by its sound. Ambisonics A British-developed surround sound system designed to reproduce a true three-dimensional sound field. Based on the late Michael Gerzon's (1945-1996; Oxford University) famous theoretical foundations, Ambisonics delivers what the ill-fated quadraphonics of the '70s promised but couldn't accomplish. Requiring two or more transmission channels (encoded inputs) and four or more decoded output loudspeakers, it's not a simple system; nor is the problem of reproducing 3-dimensional sound. Yet with only an encoded stereo input pair and just four decoded reproducing channels, Ambisonics accurately reproduces a complete 360-degree horizontal sound field around the listener. With the addition of more input channels and more reproducing loudspeakers, it can develop a true spherical listening shell. As good as some think it is, a mass market for Ambisonics has never developed due to several factors. First, the actual recording requires a special tetrahedron array of four microphones: three to measure left-right, front-back and up-down sound pressure levels, while the fourth measures the overall pressure level. All these microphones must occupy the same point in space as much as possible. So far, only one manufacturer (first Calrec, bought by AMS, bought by Siemens, sold, now Soundfield Research) is known to make such an array. Next, a professional Ambisonics encoding unit is required to matrix these four mic signals together to form two or more channels before mastering or broadcast begins. And finally, the consumer must have an Ambisonics decoder, in addition to at least four channels of playback equipment. Anechoic Literally, without echoes. Anechoic refers to the absence of audio reflections. The closest thing to this situation in nature is the great outdoors, but even here there are reflections from the ground, various objects, etc. It is almost impossible to create a truly anechoic environment, as there is no such thing as a perfect sound absorber. At high frequencies, it is possible to create near-anechoic conditions, but the lower the frequency, the harder this is (Absorption is wavelength dependent. As an example, a 100 Hz wave is about 10 feet long; the absorber must be at least 1/2 a wavelength deep to function properly. It quickly becomes impractical to create a large enough space with enough material in it to absorb low frequencies).It is not desirable to create anechoic or near-anechoic conditions in a recording studio. The total absence of reflections skews perception, and will not result in good recording or mixing decisions. Anechoic chambers are used for testing and spec'ing microphones and loudspeakers, as well as for a variety of other audio measurements. Back-Emf Literally,, back-voltage, is a phenomena found in all moving-coil electromagnetic systems, but for audio is most often used with respect to loudspeaker operation. This term describes the action where, after the signal stops, the speaker cone continues moving (due to inertia), causing the voice coil to move through the magnetic field (now acting as a microphone), creating a new voltage that tries to drive the cable back to the power amplifier's output. If the loudspeaker does too much of this, the cone flops around unpleasantly. It is not pleasant-sounding. To stop back-emf, the loudspeaker must "see" zero ohms looking backward (a dead short), or as close to it as possible from the output of the amplifier. Backline A general term that includes all necessary band gear including guitar, bass and keyboard amplifiers, drums, microphone stands and cables, sometimes also encompassing keyboard instruments and rarely guitars and basses. It excludes any part of the house or stage monitor sound systems, which serve to amplify the backline gear. Originally a bit of tour jargon, the term is now accepted in touring groups' contract riders and insurance forms. Note that the term refers to the equipment itself and NOT to a specific area of the stage. Backline gear can be offstage, under the stage or in other locations. Backplate The part of a condenser microphone that's behind the diaphragm. The diaphragm is stretched over the backplate leaving a very small gap between them. The backplate and the diaphragm together form a sort of variable capacitor, the value of which changes as the diaphragm vibrates sympathetically with sound waves hitting it. This vibration modulates the supplied voltage between the two plates and gives the microphone capsule its output. Baffled Stereo When one is confused about how to mix in stereo and just mixes to mono instead. Actually it is really a generic term for a lot of different stereo miking techniques using an acoustic baffle to enhance the channel separation of the stereo signals. When placed between the two microphones in a spaced stereo set-up like ORTF stereo, DIN stereo or NOS stereo, the shadow effect from the baffle will have a positive influence on the attenuation of off-axis sound sources and thereby enhancing the channel separation. Baffles should be made from an acoustic absorbent and non-reflective material to prevent any reflections on the surface of the baffle to cause coloring of the audio. Bass Management A circuit or process that takes all the frequencies below 80Hz (according to the Dolby spec) from the main channels in a surround or stereo mix and the LFE signal and mixes them together into the subwoofer. In other words, Bass Management is the act of placing an electronic bass frequency crossover on all the channels, and redirecting those bass frequencies. Stereo or surround rooms, especially with smaller near field monitors placed on the console, can benefit from the correct integration of Bass Management and a subwoofer. With such, the engineer is now able to hear low frequency anomalies caused by room rumble, microphone stand thumping, breath pops, and other undesirable artifacts. Plus, even the least expensive Dolby Digital consumer decoder, found in millions of homes, has bass management built in, allowing the bass from all channels to be fed to a single subwoofer - which means that control rooms with proper Bass Management will be able to make sure that their mixes translate well into consumer systems. Binaural A system of recording with a plastic replica of the human head, with microphones placed in the ears, replicating as near as possible human hearing functions regarding phase, directionality etc. This signal information is absent from ordinary microphone pickups. Signals from the two mikes placed in each ear of the dummy head are kept entirely separate all the way to the two drivers of the final listener's stereo headphones. The result is a convincing preservation of the 360° soundfield and localization abilities present where the dummy head was placed. Bleed In audio, bleed is the leakage of one audio source's output into another audio source's input. This can happen onstage, such as a drum or cymbal's sound bleeding into a guitar amp mic, or in the studio, such as the output from a singer's headphones leaking into the vocal mic. Some solutions to reduce bleed include: mic selection and placement - using a cardioid or supercardioid mic on a source to reject signals from other directions; use of noise gates to attenuate mic sensitivity so they don't pick up outside noise; and optimizing the gain stage of your mixer and peripherals to achieve an ideal signal-to-noise level. Blumlein Microphone (or Blumlein Pair) Named for Alan Blumlein (chief engineer at EMI in London during the 1930's, and a pioneer in stereo audio), a Blumlein pair uses two coincident bi-directional (or figure 8) pattern microphones set up at 90 degrees to each other. This stereo miking technique provides a strong center image, and good room ambience. When using this technique, absolute polarity in the entire audio system is essential, mic distance from the source is critical in balancing ambience with direct sound, and since so much ambience is captured, a good sounding room is critical. (See also WFTD "Coincident") Body Pack In the world of wireless performance a body pack is the device a performer wears somewhere on his or her body that houses the electronics that handle sending a signal to a remote receiver or, as in the case of personal monitoring systems, receives a signal from a remote location. Typically body packs hold a battery and some combination of electronics that do the transmitting or receiving, and amplifying. Some wireless systems do not require a body pack as all of these electronics can be housed right inside of a microphone or a small plug that can be connected directly to a guitar or other musical instrument. Boom Operator A member of the sound crew skilled in the operation of a long pole with a microphone on it, otherwise known as a boom microphone. Typically found in video and film work, the Boom Operator is responsible for capturing the audio of a given shot with his boom mic, while keeping it out of the shot. Boom operation is both physically grueling and artistically demanding. Boundary Microphone A type of microphone that detects sound pressure level (SPL) changes at a boundary of the acoustic space in order to reduce interference between direct and reflected sound. In a boundary microphone, the capsule is fitted flush in a surface that is large and flat compared to the wavelength of sound being captured. This produces a semi-omni-directional pick-up pattern. Boundary Microphone is also referred to as Pressure Zone Microphone (see WFTD PZM). Brownian Movement/Motion First demonstrated by Dr. Robert Brown (about 1827), the random, rapid, vibratory movement of tiny particles in a fluid such as water or air caused by collisions between them and molecules of the fluid. Brownian movement is known to be a significant contributor to the self-noise of microphones due to the action of moving particles against the diaphragm. Capsule The portion of a microphone that converts acoustic energy to electrical energy. The capsule usually includes shock mounts, acoustic isolators, protective covers and electronic circuitry in addition to the basic transducer. Also called an element. It's basically the 'heart' of any microphone. Cardioid A microphone polar (pickup) pattern. Characterized by strong sensitivity to audio from the front of the mic, good sensitivity on the sides (at 90 degrees, 6 dB less than the front), and good rejection of sound from the rear, the cardioid pattern can almost be visualized as a "heart-shaped" pattern (hence its name).The ability to reject sound from the rear makes cardioid patterns very useful in multi-miking situations, and where it is not desirable to capture a large amount of room ambience. Popular in both studio and live use (where rear rejection cuts down on feedback and ambient noise), cardioid mics are used for a very high percentage of microphone applications.Keep in mind that like all non-omnidirectional mics, cardioid mics will exhibit pronounced proximity effect (see WFTD archives, "Proximity Effect"). Claw/Drum Claw Microphone holders that that clip directly onto drum kits or other percussion instruments such as congas or timbales. Drum Claws allow for easy positioning of mics to avoid having them hit by drummer's sticks and eliminate the need to carry a number of mic stands while keeping the stage clear. Coincident In audio terms, coincident is normally used in the context of stereo microphone pairs. The idea is to get the capsules of the two mics as close together as possible to minimize phase problems in the final recording. Often the mics are directional (i.e. cardioid) and are "stacked" one atop the other, commonly at an angle of 90 degrees. Another coincident miking approach is called "MS" or "Mid-Side". Here a bi-directional (figure 8) and cardioid mic are placed close together. By combining the outputs of the two mics in varying amounts, the apparent width of the stereo field can be changed. Coloration A subjective term used in the audio industry to describe subtle types of alteration or distortion of sound. When we say some piece of audio has a certain "coloration" to it we mean that it doesn't sound pure, or as it normally would. The sound has been affected in some way. When audio passes through a device we say it "colors" the sound. For example, microphones color the sound, each in their own way. We choose microphones based largely on the type and degree of coloration we prefer. The same is true for literally everything in the audio chain. The subjective differences in sound - the colors - from one device to another provide us with different palette to choose from when creating our audio masterpieces. Compression Driver Developed by Bell Laboratories in the early 1930's the compression driver is a special type of dynamic loudspeaker (meaning it works just like a dynamic microphone, but in the opposite direction) designed to fit onto the small end of a horn. The horn acts like an acoustic transformer, with the driver providing a high sound pressure level at throat of the horn, with the mouth of the horn providing a large area of low pressure to radiate the sound efficiently into the air. They work by attaching a voice coil to a diaphragm (much like any tweeter) whose surface radiates sound into the horn through a small opening known as the throat, which is where the compression occurs. There are many sophisticated design variables involved in producing a high quality compression driver. Condenser Microphone The condenser microphone is a very simple mechanical system, with almost no moving parts compared to other microphone designs. It is also one of the oldest microphone types, dating back to the early 1900's. It is simply a thin stretched conductive diaphragm held close to a metal disk called a backplate. This arrangement basically produces a capacitor, and is given its electric charge by an external voltage source. This source is often phantom power, but in many cases condenser mics have dedicated power supply units. When sound pressure acts on the diaphragm it vibrates slightly in response to the waveform. This causes the capacitance to vary in a like manner, which causes a variance in its output voltage. This voltage variation is the signal output of the microphone. There are many different types of condenser microphones, but they are all based on these basic principles. Conductor The opposite of a resistor. A conductor passes (or conducts) electricity easily. All conductors do have some resistance to current flow, but the idea is that this resistance is relatively low. In electronics a conductor is something specifically put in place for the purpose of conducting electricity down a specific path. This may be to protect other assets, as is the case with something like a lightening rod, or simply to get a signal from point to point in the most efficient manner. In wire terminology conductors are specifically for carrying the desired signal. This may be an audio signal in your studio or an electrical "signal" in your household wiring. A ground wire or shield generally is not counted as a conductor because its purpose is not solely to carry a signal, but rather is for safety and/or rejection of interference. So even though a standard microphone cable has three electrical paths it is really two-conductor cable, or sometimes referred to as "two conductors and a shield." In unbalanced cable this distinction gets blurred because the shield is also used as a conductor. Contact Mic A microphone designed to be in physical contact with the object producing sound. A contact mic receives and derives most of its audio signal from mechanical vibrations instead of airborne sound waves. These are sometimes called piezo or transducer mics, but contact mic is the most accepted name. They are also sometimes confused with PZM microphones because they too are generally affixed to some surface, however they still work from air vibrations and are thus shouldn't be considered contact mics. Control Room In general this refers to a space - usually an enclosed room, or booth - where the operations of something are handled, the central control point. In radio and television production, this refers to the room that houses the equipment used to bring all the audio and video signals together into a composite signal that's broadcast or recorded. All the different cameras and microphones are fed into video switchers and audio mixers here. Similarly in theater applications, this is generally where all the audio signals are mixed, additional recorded sound effects may be added, and where the lighting is controlled (though these may be in separate control rooms). In theater it is sometimes referred to as a "Bio-Box," which comes from the Greek word "Bios," or Way of Life. In a recording studio, the control room has a similar function. It's where the engineers and producers sit and take care of making sure good signals get recorded as well as controlling, in many cases, what the band hears during a performance. Ideally, control rooms are designed to be carefully regulated in terms of sound isolation and accurate sound reproduction, as this is where the final decisions are made about how a recording will sound. On some audio equipment - typically mixers - there are control room outputs and associated control room level (volume) and mix controls. This pertains to sending signals to the control room speakers, which are usually a specially selected set of very accurate speakers designed to enable producers and engineers to hear a true reference of the audio signals being recorded and mixed. In some cases these speakers are custom designed to properly react with the control room space. In other cases a control room space may be built with a specific set of speakers (and other equipment) in mind. COSM Abbreviation for Composite Object Sound Modeling. COSM is a powerful modeling technology that Roland premiered in 1995 with the VG-8 V Guitar System, and continues in the newer VG-88 system. It enables guitarists to emulate a range of classic and modern guitars, amps, cabinets, and microphones, plus it can produce "futuristic" synth-like tones. Today COSM can be found in keyboards, digital recorders, mixers, etc. It can model rotary effects, different speaker colorations, and can even approximate expensive microphones using just an ordinary dynamic mic. Its name comes from "composite object" because its core function revolves around breaking audio producing or reproducing devices down to their component parts and creating a set of instructions to emulate how these various parts interact with each other to produce a new composite that can be dynamically controlled. Of course, that's what all modeling is, but Roland coined this name to call attention to it. De-Esser A special type of compressor that is tuned to be sensitive to sibilant sounds, or sounds with high frequencies such as the sound produced by the letter "s", hence the name de-esser. The need for de-essing arises out of a combination of the presence peak many microphones have in their frequency response to accentuate vocal recording combined with close proximity vocal work and possible added high frequency boost from equalizers and tone controls. While these things often make a vocal track have more "air" and high-end clarity, they can also add enough accentuation to certain consonants (especially the "s") that they become too pronounced. The problem can range from being slightly annoying to being bad enough to cause distortion in the signal path. Many years ago broadcast engineers figured out they could tune compressors to be more sensitive to these frequencies, which in effect produces an automatic volume control that can turn down the audio anytime one of the sibilant sounds occur. In fact, any compressor with a sidechain input can be turned into a de-esser by inserting an EQ and boosting the offending frequencies. Even more flexibility comes from using a multi-band compressor. The de-essing action no longer has to lower the overall signal level. It can just lower the level in the specific range of frequencies specified. Some modern de-essers, however, have very sophisticated circuitry and controls that are optimized for achieving results beyond what would be easy with a simple compressor with an EQ in the sidechain. Decca Tree A stereo miking technique. A Decca Tree configuration is characterized by having three omnidirectional microphones in a "T" shaped setup. Two of the microphones are positioned about two meters apart. The third microphone is positioned between the first two, but about 1.5 meters forward (closer to the source) of them. This configuration is sometimes used for orchestral recordings and film scoring due to its natural sound with good separation. It is useful in film because the image doesn't usually cause problems with Dolby or other surround processes. In many cases the Neumann M50 (or now, the newer TLM50) is used as the center microphone because of its unique directional characteristics and smooth sound. Decoupling The process of isolating one stage of an amplifier from another. Decoupling prevents unwanted oscillations (see WFTD Oscillator) and other noises that may occur due to unwanted feedback through common power supply connections (see WFTD Coupling). It also provides further filtering of the power supply to reduce any lingering AC ripple, producing a cleaner DC supply for the low-level preamp stages. This decoupling is often accomplished by adding a resistor in series with the power supply to a gain stage and a large-value electrolytic capacitor from the supply to ground after the resistor, however, there are a number of other designs employed as well. In acoustics decoupling refers to mechanically isolating masses from one another, particularly masses that are vibrating, such as speaker cabinets. This prevents the undesired transmission sound through additional materials that can result in a compromise in sound quality to he listener or at the microphone. Diaphragm In the audio world, diaphragm refers to the component in a microphone that vibrates sympathetically with air disturbances such as sound waves. It is typically a circular shaped very thin piece of mylar or other delicate low mass material that will range from .2 to 2 inches in diameter. When the diaphragm in a microphone vibrates it generates an electrical signal often by either moving an attached coil of wire in and out of a magnetic gap (in the case of moving coil microphones) or by changing the distance between it and another electrically charged plate (as in condenser microphones). These electrical impulses are then present at the output of the mic and ready for amplification as an audio signal. Din Stereo A stereo recording technique where two cardioid microphones are spaced 20 cm and angled 90° creating the stereo image. This is remarkably close to an ORTF configuration. The DIN stereo produces a blend of intensity between stereo signals and time delay stereo signals, due to the off-axis attenuation of the cardioid microphones together with the 20 cm spacing. If used at larger distances to the sound source the DIN stereo technique will lose the low frequencies due to the influence of the proximity effect on these types of microphones. The DIN stereo technique is more useful at shorter distances, for example on piano, small ensembles or used for creating stereo on an instrument section in a classical orchestra. DirectSound First introduced by Microsoft in Windows 2000, DirectSound is an API that adds an additional software layer between applications and the sound hardware. This layer uses today's high-speed CPUs to mix all waveform sounds before they go to the soundcard. This means that you could have a basic, two-channel soundcard, yet any number of applications could be producing sounds, and you would hear all of them. DirectSound enables the playing of sounds with very low latency and gives applications a high level of control over hardware resources. By using the DirectSound interfaces in music applications, you can do the following: * Play sounds from files or resources in WAV format. * Play multiple sounds simultaneously. * Assign high-priority sounds to hardware-controlled buffers. * Locate sounds in a customizable 3-D environment. * Add effects such as echo and chorus, and change effect parameters dynamically. * Capture WAV sounds from a microphone or other input. Diversity Receiver In wireless microphone applications, diversity receivers are often used to improve reception of RF signals. A diversity receiver utilizes two separate, independent antenna systems. The receiver looks at the signal coming in from the each antenna, and determines which one is the stronger. It then switches to that stronger signal. The receiver is constantly comparing to see which antenna is providing the better signal, and can quickly switch from one to the other as signal strength changes. Ducker/Ducking A dynamics processor/process that lowers (or "ducks") the level of one audio signal based upon the level of a second audio signal. A typical application is paging over background music: A ducker senses the presence of audio from a paging microphone and triggers a reduction in the output level of the music signal for the duration of the page signal. It restores the original level once the page message is over. Most dynamics processors (usually compressors are used) that give the user access to the detector circuit can be used for ducking. It is simply a matter of routing a copy/split of the second audio signal (the page in the example above) to the detector input such that it will trigger the gain cell to lower the level of the main signal (the music). Dynamic (Microphone) A dynamic mic is one in which audio signal is generated by the motion of a conductor within a magnetic field. In most dynamic mics, a very thin, light, diaphragm moves in response to sound pressure. The diaphragm's motion causes a voice coil which is suspended in a magnetic field to move, generating a small electric current. Generally less expensive than condenser mics (although very high quality dynamics can be quite expensive), dynamics feature quite robust construction, can often handle very high SPLs (Sound Pressure Levels), and do not require an external power source to operate. Because of the mechanical nature of their operation, dynamic mics are commonly less sensitive to transients, and may not reproduce quite the high frequency "detail" other types of mics can produce. Dynamic mics are very common in live applications. In the studio, dynamics are often used to record electric guitar and drums. EIN Abbreviation for Equivalent Input Noise. EIN is a specification we most commonly encounter when looking at microphones and preamps. Because the output of most microphones is so low the amount of self-noise they produce can be important. Apply a lot of gain and any little bit of noise becomes pronounced. Further, any self-noise of the preamp also becomes pronounced under the high amounts of gain required. There are established theoretical noise floor limits for electronic equipment. All devices operating at a temperature above absolute zero produce their own noise. Even a simple resistor, or any source of resistance in a circuit will produce noise. In fact, a 200 ohm resistor on its own produces 0.26 microvolts of noise. Referenced to standard line level signals this is equal to -129.6 dBu of noise (for more on dBu, see our Summit on dBu versus dBV). When a microphone is connected to a preamp you can think of the microphone as a 'source resistance.' 200 ohms is often considered typical, though mics do vary quite a bit, however the EIN specification is supposed to be measured with a 200 ohm source impedance (for the sake of comparing apples to apples). So you start with .0.26 microvolts of noise, and then add whatever noise the preamp has and you get the real working noise of the system (the system being the mic and the preamp). Preamp manufacturers know they are more or less starting at this theoretical noise limit (-129.6 dBu) so the value they quote is Equivalent Input Noise in their specs. EIN basically takes this 'source noise' into account. Therefore the theoretical lowest EIN spec you could encounter with preamps is -129.6 dBu, which would mean the preamp itself produces no noise at all. If the preamp produces the same amount of noise as the source resistance this value will go up by 3 dB to -126.6 dBu (you may also see dBm). Most mic preamps fall somewhere within this range, however, like most things in specs it is fairly easy for the manufacturer to tinker with the methods to produce better results. Consequently it is not unheard of to see values in the -130 to -135 range. This is usually accomplished by measuring with a lower source impedance, or even a direct short across the input. Resistors of lower impedance will produce less noise, but also offer an unrealistically low source impedance to the preamp, which means the measurements don't have as much 'real world' relevance. Occasionally you will see EIN rated in dBV. Be careful there because the dBV standard gives a result that is 2.2 dB better just because it is referenced to a different voltage to begin with (again, see the dBu versus dBV summit). Clearly this information is pretty technical and not for everyone. For those who don't want to digest it all you can sleep at night knowing that most modern preamps you encounter are of such high quality that they are within a tolerable range in terms of their self-noise. In short, don't lose too much sleep over this unless you are recording very low volume sounds. Electret A type of microphone design, similar to condenser. Basically, there is a permanently charged plate in the mic element. As the diaphragm moves in response to sound pressure, it creates a changing capacitance with the plate. The big advantage to using electret (also called back-electret, or occasionally prepolarized condenser) technology is that it does not require an external polarizing voltage (battery or phantom power). In some cases, the microphone includes an impedance changing preamp that requires battery or phantom power, but the electret element itself does not require voltage. Electret mics can lose their charge in high humidity and high temperature environments, so some care should be used in storing and using them. If the electret loses charge, the mic's sensitivity will suffer, resulting in an reduced signal to noise ratio. Equivalent Input Noise (EIN) A rating of the overall noise performance of an amplifier (typically a microphone preamplifier). Basically, this is a measure of how much noise a mic preamp will add to a microphone's signal. Measurements are normally made with a 150 Ohm resistor on the preamp to simulate the load a mic would present. The theoretical limit on EIN is -130.0 to -131.8 dBm (the thermal noise generated by the resistor). When comparing this spec, keep in mind that larger negative values are better (i.e. -124 is better than -118). But don't place TOO much weight on this spec, most current EIN specs are infinitesimally small (can you REALLY hear the difference between -120 dBm and -122 dBm??) Feedback Literally the return of a portion of the output of a process or system to the input. In our discourse (of audio and video production) we mostly encounter feedback when an open microphone is picking up sound from a nearby loudspeaker that is also being used to amplify sound from the same microphone. This forms what is known as a feedback loop. The sound of the room enters the microphone and is then amplified by the speaker. This amplified sound then becomes part of the sound of the room entering the microphone, which causes it to get amplified by the speaker again. If too much of this "feedback" occurs the signal will "run away" and quickly degrade into an oscillation at some frequency. This sound is the "squeal" we've all come to know and hate and is what we typically call feedback (though technically feedback occurred well before the squeal happened). It is also possible to produce electronic feedback. Routing the output of a mixer or effect unit back to its input is a sure way to do this. In fact, many effects are based on using this phenomenon creatively, the most obvious one being an echo with multiple repeats. Feedback and "feedback loops" are also used in all kinds of electronic circuits to achieve specific results. Old analog oscillators are based on electronic feedback. Field Effect Transistor (FET) A particular type of transistor, an FET behaves in a similar fashion to a triode (tube). There are actually several types of FETs, a common one in the pro audio world being the MOSFET (Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistor). FETs have a high input impedance, and respond in a linear fashion. This makes them ideal for condenser microphone preamps, as well as for certain power amplifier designs. Figure 8 A microphone polar pattern in which the mic is (nearly) equally sensitive to sounds picked up from front and back, but not sensitive to sounds on the sides. This produces a pattern that looks like a figure 8 on paper, where the microphone is at the point of crossover on the 8. The pattern is also known as bi-directional. Front Address A microphone term that describes the perpendicular position of the diaphragm in relation to the body of the mic. In general, you sing, speak or play into the "end" of a front address microphone. Typical front address mics include the Shure SM57 and SM58 dynamic mics. Most hand-held vocal microphones have a front-address orientation. A common alternative, often found in the recording studio, is the side address mic, such as the Neumann U87. Gain Before Feedback An often not very scientific measure of how loud a sound reinforcement system can be turned up before any open microphone(s) will feed back. The point at which feedback occurs is effected by numerous variables, including atmospheric conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.) so it's not something that anyone considers an objective measure of performance. Instead the phrase is used to state relative differences: "By adjusting the EQ I was able to get 'more' gain before feedback." Gap In dynamic transducers such as most loudspeakers and dynamic microphones, the gap is a narrow circular trough in a magnet assembly in which the voice coil resides. The voice coil is attached to the cone of the speaker or mic diaphragm. In the case of a loudspeaker the voice coil becomes energized with electricity from an amplifier, which creates a magnetic field of varying polarity, which causes it to move in and out of the gap, thereby moving the speaker. In the case of a dynamic microphone the action is the opposite: acoustic energy moves the diaphragm, which causes the voice coil to move in and out of the magnetic gap, which generates an electrical signal that can be amplified. GoBo Short for "Go-Between." A gobo basically forms a type of barrier: sometimes this can be between a light source and an area to be lighted where you want to keep the light off of part of it, or it can be to form a barrier for sound such that a particular sound source is shielded from a microphone during recording. Gobos are often used in recording studios for just this purpose. Say you have an acoustic guitar and a drum set in the same room. In order to help reduce the amount of drums bleeding into the acoustic guitar mic sound, absorbent panels, or gobos, are place between the drums and the guitar mic. Gooseneck A flexible, spiral, metal coupling usually between 8 and 18 inches long that can be used to attach a microphone to a stand. The gooseneck is flexible and allows the microphone to be oriented in almost any direction. Most metal goosenecks squeak when moved so it is generally not possible to move them while the microphone is in use. Recently, however, manufacturers have started using rubber and plastic compounds to build goosenecks that can be move without generating excessive noise in the microphone. Handling Noise A specification for quantifying the sensitivity of a microphone to movement and shock. Handling noise is expressed as an equivalent sound pressure level as is a function of the construction of the microphone. This is an often overlooked concern when choosing a microphone as there can be vast differences in handling noise between two otherwise similar mics. Some manufacturers actually employ internal shock mounting devices to reduce handling noise. Hi-Z As the letter Z is the commonly agreed upon abbreviation for impedance, then Hi-Z simply refers to “hi-impedance.” This refers to the input or output impedance of a device (in our cases an audio device). Precisely what Hi-Z means, and how it is applied in the audio industry, is not entirely concrete. In general devices with impedances up through 600 ohms are said to be “low impedance,” while devices with impedances of several thousand ohms and up are considered “high impedance.” Typically we only come in to contact with these generic terms on microphones (usually low cost microphones), some direct boxes, and certain types of line inputs (on mixing boards, some tape decks, etc.). A typical guitar, for example, generally needs to be connected to a Hi-Z input. Otherwise the electronics will be “loaded down” and the sound will be significantly altered. A Hi-Z microphone – which we don’t encounter very often in pro audio (we generally use low impedance mics) – definitely needs to be connected to a high impedance input, and even then the cable length can’t be more than 10 or 20 feet before the signal degrades. Hypercardioid A polar pattern name typically used to describe microphone pick up characteristics. Hypercardioid patterns are similar to cardioid patterns in that the primary sensitivity is in the front of the microphone. They differ, however, in that the point of least sensitivity is at the 150 - 160 and 200 - 210 degree positions (as opposed to directly behind the microphone in a cardioid pattern). Hypercardioid microphones are thus considered even more directional than cardioid microphones because they have less sensitivity at their sides and only slightly more directly behind. Hypercardioid microphones are frequently used in situations where a lot of isolation is desired between sound sources. In Line Mixer An audio mixer configured to be able to monitor multitrack tape returns through the same channels that are used for inputs from microphones, line input sources, etc (see WFTD In Line Monitoring). This is in contrast to a configuration known as a split mixer, which has separate inputs dedicated to tape sends and returns. In line mixers have the advantage of being able to be smaller and less expensive, since each channel does double duty. It can often be accomplished with a couple more knobs and switches on each channel strip. This can potentially be a drawback since resources such as EQ, aux sends, etc, may have to be split between the input signal and the tape return signal, however, in many practical applications this limitation isn’t considered a problem since a resource like EQ will be used on the input source during tracking and overdubs, and then can be devoted to the tape return on mixdown since the mic/line input portion of the channel won’t be active. Inverse Square Law Useful when setting up a microphone or speaker, the inverse square law states that, in a free field the intensity of sound drops by 6 dB for each doubling of distance from the source. Now, none of us ever work in a truly free field (no reflective surfaces), but for most applications these numbers are accepted as workable. In real world terms, this means that for each time you double the distance between your sound source and a listener or microphone, the power of the audio drops by 75% - a fairly significant amount! How much is this in terms of volume? Well, it depends on the source you consult, we've seen both 6 dB and 10 dB convincingly listed as doubling or halving the volume (let's just say it's subjective and leave it at that...) - regardless, 6 dB is a very noticeable drop in level! Consider this the next time you place a microphone or speaker: Rather than just cranking up or attenuating the mic preamp or amplifier level for gain control, look at the distance to your source... Jecklin Disc Jecklin Disc A specific type of baffled stereo miking technique based on use of high quality omnidirectional microphones. Inventor Jorg Jecklin, the former chief sound engineer of Swiss Radio, was impressed by the spatial qualities of binaural recording but he tried to find ways to overcome the necessity of small-diaphragm cardioid microphone use. So he replaced binaural recording's artificial head with a 12'' disc of about 3/4'' thickness, which had a muffling layer of soft plastic foam on each side. Then he took two free-field equalized omnidirectional mics and attached them to the disc in such a way that the disc was between them. The capsules were above the surface of the disc just in the center, 17 cm apart from each other and each pointing 20 degrees outside. The result was an amazingly well defined stereo image, with true side separation and natural sounding depth. Jecklin began referring to this as an "Optimal Stereo Signal" (OSS). Almost every Swiss studio, and many others in Europe, uses an OSS disc for at least some stereo recording. Experiments with smaller-diameter discs proved unacceptable. Large Diaphragm Refers to the size of the diaphragm used in a microphone. Any microphone with a diaphragm larger than (and potentially including) 3/4" is considered to be a Large Diaphragm microphone. In general, Large Diaphragm microphones tend to have a "big" sound that engineers find especially pleasing where a little more character might be advantageous, such as is the case with most vocals. Large diaphragms are generally more sensitive than small diaphragm or medium diaphragm mics because of the increased surface area. A common myth is that large diaphragm mics capture more low frequencies than small diaphragm mics. Sometimes their coloration may make it sound like this is the case, but a properly designed small diaphragm mic is more likely to be accurate throughout a wide range of frequencies, whereas the coloration of a large diaphragm mic can tend to enhance certain desirable characteristics in a sound, which sometimes amounts to more apparent bass or low end. Lavalier A lavalier (a.k.a. Lapel Mic) is a small microphone designed to be worn on clothing or to hang around one's neck. They are used in applications where a large hand held microphone would either be too cumbersome or unsightly, or both. They are typically made with an extreme low frequency rolloff to reduce rumble and noise from moving against clothing. Line Input On mixing boards this is an input to a channel that is specifically designed for line level signals. Unlike the XLR microphone input, which is designed for low level mic signals, line inputs are usually 1/4 inch connectors, and are quite often unbalanced, though this will vary depending on the mixer. Line level signals are usually much higher than typical mic level signal and do not need as much amplification to be dealt with by the rest of the mixer. As such, on some mixers, the line inputs actually bypass the microphone preamp stage providing for a pure signal path into the board. Regardless of this, however, line inputs are always capable of handling higher level signals and high impedance signals better than the XLR mic input. Lobar Polar Pattern A type of polar, or pickup pattern found in many shotgun microphones. A microphone with a lobar polar pattern has the highest possible directivity. Lobar polar pattern is often referred to as: Supercardioid/Lobar, or Hypercardioid/Lobar polar pattern, but both Supercardioid and Hypercardioid patterns are slightly less directional than the lobar pattern. A lobar pick-up pattern is achieved with a shotgun microphone only. Lobe In acoustics and wireless communications, a lobe pertains to a pattern of transmission (in wireless systems and speakers) or pickup (microphones) that is not spherical, or omnidirectional. Essentially the lobe is the portion of a directional pattern bounded by one or two cones of nulls where there is little or no pickup or transmission. For example, a microphone with a figure 8 pickup pattern has two lobes in its pattern, one on each side of the mic. A hypercardioid mic also has two lobes, it's just that the front (desired) one is much more pronounced than the rear. A cardioid mic generally has one big lobe. As soon as you concentrate the energy of any transmission in a particular direction you create one or more lobes by definition. Wireless systems that use directional antennas also have this type of lobing, and so do loudspeaker systems. The characteristics of most lobes will vary by the wavelength of the sound or electromagnetic energy being radiated. M-S Stereo Abbreviation for Mid-Side, a method of stereo miking and recording. MS recordings capture the relative intensity of different sounds across the stereo soundfield. In order to make an M-S recording one must deploy a cardioid pattern mic facing the sound source(s) and a figure 8 pattern positioned sideways to the source. The figure 8 mic is connected to two channels of the mixer, with one channel having its polarity reversed. Each of the two signals (one of which is polarity reversed) of the figure 8 mic, when combined with the signal from the cardioid mic produces either a left or right "image" that is roughly equivalent to two cardioid mics positioned with a 90 degree angle between them. The only advantage to the MS method is the user can alter the width of the stereo image by varying the relative levels of the two microphones. There are several disadvantages, most of which are a function of having two dissimilar mics reproducing the same signal. Of course they can't occupy the exact same space either, which produces other phase and frequency response anomalies. Maximum SPL (Sound Pressure Level) A common specification for microphones, max SPL indicates the highest sound pressure level a mic's electronics can handle before the onset of distortion. Normally, this spec is referenced to 0.5% distortion at 1 kHz. Keep in mind that the presence of an attenuator switch on the mic may allow an increase in the volume level the mic can absorb before distorting.Obviously, this is an important spec for many applications - if the mic is going to spend its life in front of a screaming Marshall stack, or in a kick drum, it must be able to adequately deal with the volumes it will be seeing... Medium Diaphragm Refers to the size of the diaphragm used in a microphone. The definition of Medium Diaphragm is a potentially controversial subject. Historically there have been large diaphragm and small diaphragm mics, but more recently the medium size has began to carve out its own category, though not everyone agrees on the precise upper and lower limits. Most professionals and manufacturers agree that any microphone with a diaphragm near 5/8" to 3/4" can be characterized as a Medium Diaphragm microphone. Generally speaking, Medium Diaphragm microphones tend to do a decent job of accurately catching transients and high frequency content (as a small diaphragm would) while delivering a slightly fuller, round and potentially warmer sound (as a large diaphragm might). Mic Amp A type of amplifier specifically designed to amplify signals from microphones. Mic amps come in all shapes and sizes. Usually there are several built in to most mixing boards, but there are hundreds of different outboard units as well. Mic amps are often referred to as preamps, or mic preamps. Either way they are designed to work with the relatively low level and potentially fragile signals produced by microphones (see WFTD Mic Level). Since there are so many different types of mics (condenser, moving coil, ribbon, etc.) signal levels and impedances can vary widely. Besides sounding better in general, a good mic amp is better equipped to maintain the integrity of the signal under these widely diverse conditions. Mic Level The level (or voltage) of signal generated by a microphone. Typically around 2 millivolts. Compare this with the two normal line levels (1.23 volts and .316 volts), and it becomes apparent just how much amplification is going on in a microphone preamp, and why it is essential that preamps be of as high quality as possible! Microphone In honor of Microphone Month... Microphone - The word "microphone" comes from the Greek words "micro", meaning "small", and "phone" meaning "voice". A microphone is a transducer, or instrument whereby sound waves are caused to generate or modulate an electric current usually for the purpose of transmitting or recording sound. In all microphones, sound waves are translated into mechanical vibrations in a thin, flexible diaphragm. These vibrations are then converted by various methods into an electrical signal. Minimum Terminating Impedance The lowest impedance at which a piece of gear, usually a microphone, can effectively drive a signal into without degradation in performance. If the unit is connected to something with a lower impedance spec, it will usually have a lower output voltage or greater distortion or both. As it relates to microphones and preamps, this does not necessarily imply a bad, or undesirable resulting sound. Mix-Minus A specialized matrix-mixer where there is one output associated with each input that includes all other inputs except the one it is associated with. (The output is the complete mix, minus the one input.) In this manner, the simplest mix-minus designs have an equal number of inputs and outputs (a square matrix). For example, if there were 8-inputs, there would be 8-outputs. Each output would consists of a mix of the seven other inputs, but not its own. Therefore Output 1, for instance, would consist of a mix of Inputs 2-8, while Output 2 would consist of a mix of Inputs 1 & 3-7, Output 3 would consist of a mix of Inputs 1,2 & 4-7, and so on. Primary useage is large conference rooms, where it is desireable to have the loudspeaker closest to each microphone exclude that particular microphone, so as to reduce the chance of feedback. Moving Coil A specific type of dynamic (as opposed to condenser) microphone design. Moving coil microphones are among the most commonly used in music and sound production. The ubiquitous SM-58 and SM-57 mics are examples of moving coil design. These mics work on very simple principles. In fact they work just like a speaker in reverse. The diaphragm has a coil of wire attached to its base. This coil is inserted into a magnetic gap. When changes in air pressure cause the diaphragm to vibrate in and out of the magnetic gap it generates an alternating current in the wire that represents the signal.Moving Coil is also one method used in making phonograph cartridges. Moving coil designs were all but replaced by moving magnet designs (same principle, but the magnet moves instead) in the 1970's. Moving coil phonograph cartridges have very low output (requiring a different preamp) and are very expensive compared to their moving magnet counterparts, but there are some sonic advantages to them including lower distortion and better frequency response. Multi-Pattern A feature of certain microphones where the polar pattern for the mic is selectable between more than one pattern, either by changing the setting with a selector switch or replacing the capsule of the microphone. Multipattern A type of microphone design where the user has access to more than one polar pickup pattern. In some cases as many as a dozen different patterns can be made in a microphone. This is accomplished by using more than one (usually two) elements and combining them in different ways. Mostly two cardioid pattern elements are used. By using different levels and phase relationships between the two, which is accomplished in the electronics of the microphone, it is possible to have them cancel each other in ways that produce pickup patterns ranging from omnidirectional, through figure-8, all the way to very directional supercardioid patterns. Near-Coincident Pair A stereo miking technique similar to coincident pair, although in this case the mics are set up with some distance in-between them. Depending on the specific technique (examples of this type are ORTF and NOS) the distance and the angle at which the two microphones are pointing will differ. This technique creates a more defined stereo image, although it may not sum to mono as well. Neodymium Pronounced NE - O - Dim - E - Um, and holding atomic number 60 on the periodic table of elements (Symbol = Nd), neodymium is a silvery rare-earth metal element most commonly used for coloring glass. However it is also sometimes used to make magnets. Neodymium magnets are often stronger than magnets made of other materials, and as such come in handy for the audio industry because they enable manufacturers to produce microphones, and/or speaker drivers that are more powerful for a given size. Neodymium based microphones, for example, may have 6 dB (or more) greater output than their non neodymium counterparts. NOS Like the ORTF method (WFTD 4/17/97), NOS, which stands for Nederlandshe Omroep Stichting (that's the Netherlands Broadcasting System for all you monoglots) is a stereo miking technique. The NOS method is to place two cardioid microphones 30 cm (11.811023622 inches) apart and angled at 90 degrees from one another. This method produces more ambience than a strict coincident placement of mics, and fewer phase problems than widely spaced pairs of mics. Try the NOS method when recording ensembles or group performances, as well as on acoustic instruments. The center image of the recording will be nice and strong, but with a good amount of subdued room sound blended in as well... (for further information on mic patterns and placement, see inSync TTOTD 3/25) 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 characteristi

When you see "voice" or "business," those are tipoffs that the microphone records in a narrow frequency range and will make music sound very constricted. Human voices have a much smaller frequency range than instruments. And as you've noticed, one-point mics don't separate the elements. Like greenmachine, I'd try the Panasonics. The clips look a little ungainly--you might want to paint them black. And you have to just cross your fingers that the two mics are well matched. Or spend another $20 and get Sound Professionals BMC-2's. Where greenmachine and I inevitably disagree is over using an attenuator. I suggest getting the Panasonics and a Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control (attenuator) and taking them to your next concert. If that doesn't sound good to you, then you can either get the Ebay 3V battery module or get a better, higher-powered battery module from Sound Professionals or Microphone Madness for around $50.

1) Back up My Library if you can. It should be under Start/Programs/SonicStage/SonicStage Backup Tool, and it might work even if SonicStage is messed up. 2) Do a careful uninstall by these directions. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=8071 3) Reinstall SonicStage 3.2 or 3.3--no lower-numbered versions. About those files on the MD: Have you uploaded them already before? If you haven't, then SonicStage should upload them easily. If you have uploaded them before, there is a danger that SonicStage will delete them if you try to upload them a second time. Versions 3.2 and 3.3 no longer impose this limit, but just in case, for important files, spend $11.95 for Total Recorder and use Dex's Total Recorder method from this thread http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=6330 And then, when you've played them back on the computer, try uploading them just for the hell of it.

With those old MD units the only way to get the music off the disc is by recording in realtime out of the headphone jack or, with the deck, from the optical out. There's no digital transfer. It's detailed here: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070 For the best quality, you'll have to find a way to give your computer optical in, probably with an external soundcard. Otherwise you can run through line-in and get an analog recording, if your computer has line-in. Mic-in on a laptop probably won't sound so good since it's going through a meager preamp and soundcard. But Greg is right: a far better way would be to spend that money on a Hi-MD recorder, which will not only give you PCM recording quality (90 mins on a 1GB disc) but also do digital uploading. Charming as the old units are, they're growing obsolete.

NH700, NHF800, NH900, RH910, RH10 All about the same size, all with the same recording/upload abilities. See what's available and affordable near you. You'll also need a mic and either an attenuator or a battery box. www.jr.com has the RH910 for $170 shipped to the US By the way, there's a reason they're called FAQ's http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...993entry49993

Here's a good price on the RH910, reputable dealer. http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4029518

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...tegory/310/mics http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...tegory/540/mics http://www.microphonemadness.com/categorie..._filter_module_ stereo.html http://www.microphonemadness.com/categorie...ers_stereo.html Battery module will only work with loud music. Preamps aren't cheap. Seriously, your best choice would be to find another MD with Mic-In.

The other Hi-MD models for your recording purposes are the MZ-NH700, MZ-NHF800 and MZ-NH900. Depending on what's available where you are, any of those models and the two RH*** models mentioned above will do your job. Don't get: MZ-NH1 (unconventional battery and connectors), MZ-NH600 or MZ-NH600D (no mic-in). The recording and uploading capability is basically the same for all of these recorders. The MZ-NH900 has digital pitch control, which may be useful for you as a musician--or not. Once you have the recorder, take a look at some of the Live Recording FAQ at the top of this thread. You'll need a microphone and either an attenuator (see the thread) or a battery box, and then you will be making surprisingly high-quality recordings.

It may be recorded in a format the deck can't play. That's an old deck and it only plays SP. Later ones also play LP2 and LP4. Do you have any portable MD units around the electronics store? Try any newer one--NetMD or Hi-MD will both work--and see what format it is on the display.

Just to respond to something potentially confusing from sparky191 higher up in the thread: DO NOT combine tracks on the unit before uploading by removing any track marks you made. SonicStage will choke if it finds the remnants of a track mark. Upload the tracks as you recorded them. Then you can use SonicStage to combine them if necessary. It sounds like sparky191 is doing just that, but a quick read might be misleading--and you've suffered enough.

Don't get the N10. It looks cool, but the person selling it has probably lost one of the custom-sized parts like a battery or a connector, and you'll have a hard time replacing it. The NH600 will make you much happier.

Just to expand on greenmachine's post a little: Mic-in provides a little bit of power to the mics to help them pick up sound. It also has a preamplifier behind it because the signal from a mic is not as strong as the signal from a device with line-out--a stereo, a soundboard, a mixer, etc. That little built-in preamplifier has limitations: it can't handle loud music and it can't handle much bass at all--it overloads. Most of the time for live music I use an attenuator, the technical name for the Headphone Volume Control you can get for $7 from Radio Shack (see my avatar) or Maplins in England (VC-1). It's stealthy--just a knob on a cord--and it cuts the signal going into the Mic-in jack. It's a makeshift thing, but it usually works for me. See the Live Recording FAQ. With super-loud music the mic itself can also overload. (This has happened to me at hip-hop shows and lately at NIN, though I was using new mics and they may have been overly sensitive.) Usually the mic preamp overloads first. However, if you're using an attenuator, it slightly reduces how much sheer volume the microphone itself can take. If you can feel the bass caving in your eardrums, the mic is probably overloading. So for superloud music, there's another strategy: Line-in. You need a battery module (about $50-$60 from Sound Professionals or Microphone Madness). The battery module provides more power (from its battery, of course) to the mics, which broadens their dynamic range and lets them take in more sound without overloading. Run that through Line-in, which has no preamp to overload. They make little battery modules now, the size of a car-alarm remote. Bass rolloff will make your recordings sound tinny. Some boxes have it because a lot of live concert mixes use too much bass and, as above, bass makes the mic preamp overload. But it's better to use the attenuator or battery box and get all the bass without overloading--you can always lower it on playback. PC Link was for old units, before Hi-MD. It's no longer relevant. The USB transfer is a digital upload. The crucial thing in your recording is the mics. Make sure the frequency response is 20-20000K or wider. Also see if you can find low-sensitivity ones since you are generally recording loud music. Basic newbie mics: Sound Professionals BMC-2, $49 with clips (you'll need the clips). Attenuator: $7. Mic-->attenuator (with volume full UP)--Mic-In. Plug in the mics, hit Rec and Pause together, use Menu to get to Rec Set/Rec Volume/Manual at 18/30 for a loud show. Leave the whole thing on Pause, tuck it in a pocket or wherever, un-Pause it to start recording when the show starts and you're good to go.

The RH710 has line-in, not mic-in, so you are going to have to record from your mixer or other amplified source. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7989 What are you trying to copy now that says "format cannot be copied to CD"?

Are those plugins for Audition? What do they do?

Unfortunately, you're out of luck. Sony won't decrypt for you. The .omg or .oma files are keyed to one machine. Sony thinks that the first thing a music pirate would do is copy everything to a disc player (at a low bitrate), upload it to a computer, and copy it to another disc player, and the whole point of SonicStage and .omg is to prevent that. Meanwhile they put CD burners in all of their new computers. Contradictory. I think Real Player worked for NetMD but not Hi-MD. And it won't decrypt either.

Do your local stores sell 8cm CD-Rs? Can you burn an 8cm CD-R in your computer? Check first. It looks cute, but you're going to have to make the CDs to feed it.

From the alternatives on your list, get the NH600. The Aiwa will be used, and you don't know how badly it's been used. (The photo looks like a stock photo, not the unit itself.) Also, Hi-MD holds more music per disc and is more versatile. Make sure it is NH600 and NOT NH600D. The NH600 will record through line-in (amplified sources, not just a plain mic). The NH600D is only for downloading music from your computer. With the recording capacity of the NH600, say you run into a copy-protected disc that won't be transferable from your computer. With the NH600 you could always hook up a cord to the headphone jack of your CD player and simply record it in real time. Also, have you looked at Ebay? Some of the NetMD units like the Aiwa should be there, too. You could try any Sony model that begins MZ-N . Models made essentially for downloading music from your computer, like the NE410 (download only) or the MZ-N505 (downloading and line-in recording) should be cheap--but again, look at the condition. With any of those old units, DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE THAT COMES WITH THEM. Get SonicStage 3.3, or at the very least 3.2 --look in the Downloads section here. Another alternative, since you mostly want playback, would be to save for a while and get a (much smaller) solid state MP3 player.

The microphone capsule is the guts of the mic, the little thing inside that actually picks up the sound and is connected through the wires. Obviously you want the mic to be solidly built, but whatever's holding that capsule ought to be sonically transparent. And it's what the capsule inside picks up that matters. There are all sorts of mic capsules. Some are more sensitive, some are less sensitive. Some pick up a broad frequency range (20-20,000 Hz) and some a narrower one (100-16,000 Hz , like a lot of Sony mics). What you're calling a capsule mic--a little one-point stereo mic?--must use different capsules (two for a stereo mic, one for mono) inside than your 20-20,000K mic. You might ask your eBay guy for the specs. A more sensitive mic will overload the preamp more easily--there's more signal coming in. And for some reason bass overloads the preamp. This is why Sony makes its microphones "for minidisc," like the DS70P, with limited bass response, only going down to 100 Hz. (Not much highs, either, 15K). It won't overload the preamp unless the music is really blasting. But the recording doesn't have any bottom. The lowest key on a piano is 27.5 Hz--that's nearly two octaves below 100Hz. That's a lot of music to miss. To keep your better mics from overloading, first go into REC SET and switch to Low Sens unless you are recording something exceedingly quiet. And for loud music, plug the mic into an attenuator (Maplin VC-1 headphone volume control, about 3 GBP) through mic-in, which in effect lowers the sensitivity of the mic, or a battery box through line-in, which has more headroom. Either way will make your duller mic obsolete.

That very old SonicStage is most likely your problem. First, get it out of your computer. Uninstall it with Settings/Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs and, to be extra-careful, follow the steps here: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=8071 Then, if you have a dependable internet connection, go to one of the links here: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=9586 and get a link to install SonicStage 3.3 from whichever region you prefer. It's an online installer, and will take some time. You can also download an offline installer for 3.2 from this page http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/files.php?cat=2 But 3.3 is better. Simple Burner is also on that Downloads page. If Sonicstage 3.x gives you any problems, then first try the MDAC Repair Tool from the Downloads page above. Should all that fail, ask for help in the Software Discussion/FAQ zone .