Shepherd

"Forbidden" error for the "Pepperoni's Tavern" download location.

I'm having a heck of a time trying to get another cable for my MZ-NH1. It seems to be proprietary and nobody seems to stock just the cables.

Hi all, I'm (attempting to) work with Sonic Stage 2.1.1, and I'm wondering if there's any way I can shift the location of the OMA files from C:......................Sony Corporation.................Packages. I'd love to have them all sitting closer to a root. Help?

Well, I sold my old computer about six months ago and bought a new one. Hooray! And in a last-minute oh-my-god thing, I just took all my SonicStage music and dumped it onto a bunch of CDs. So now I have three CDs with about 24 folders each, all chock-a-block with music. But when I try to import it back into SonicStage on the new computer, I get a blank folder with the album name and some blather about rights when I try to play said album. I'm now aware that it's the damn "copyright management" crap that's screwing this up, but I don't want to have to friggin' re-record all the music again. Is there a workaround here? - Matt

Okay, I've got a bunch of albums with those aggravating freakin' "hidden tracks" on them, where the genius engineers decide to make a twenty-minute final track and add three minutes of music to the end of it. So I have the last song, an immense gap, and then the "hidden" song. Needless to say, when I transfer this to MD, it leaves me with these staggeringly annoying gaps. I can't just insert track marks and delete the silence thanks to our friend TrPROTECT. Does anybody have a workaround for this problem? Is there an ATRAC file editor anywhere out there? Thanks, Matt

I'm trying to insert track marks on a netMD MD using my non-netMD Sony MZ-R900, and can't. Just FYI if anyone is searching the same queries I am.

Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and try to fix that concert as vividly as you can in your memory. Or see if you can find a fan who will trade you another concert for your half-bootleg of this one. Condolences, but it's gone, dude. We feel your pain. Believe me, we do. - Matt, who screwed up recording his best friend's graduation-from-university-amazing-jazz-concert

It plays, just doesn't record. Basically I'm looking for DIY ways to realign the record head (more appropriately called the OWH, I guess). I do a lot of field interviews so I'd like to hang onto this as a back-up unit with a mic in. - Matt

I have a R37 that I bought from somebody over the Web years ago, and it's never worked. Some day I will track that man down and have my revenge. But for now, I've had an R37 moldering in a drawer for years because I haven't wanted to pay to have it fixed. My understanding of the problem is that the record head got whacked out of ... uh ... whack at some point and needs to be re-aligned. Has anybody had any experience with actually doing this at home? What are the odds that I'd make the unit much, much worse if I try and fail? - Matt

I'm not familiar with that model, but in general a mini-jack is the small stereo jack, like the one you use for typical computer speakers/regular headphones. LCD just means a digital display but not necessarily backlit, I think.

I'm no electronics genius, but if it's a simple mic, could you splice a headphone volume control into the mic cable? Just a thought...

Poop! I misunderstood your post -- I DO need a special KIND of USB cable, don't I! The 510 arrived today, and it needs a l'il connector at one end, which is unfortunately different than the USB cable for our Kodak digital camera. Any idea where I could buy one online? Bonus points for CANADIAN locations! - Matt

Sweet! Hey, are there any good repair places in MTL? I've got an old R37 that blanks any disc you try to record on with it. It's bizarre. You can put in any disc you want, try to record, it'll record away then give you a TOC error and blank the disc. Bought it off a jerk in Toronto who said it worked, made me pay COD for it and refused to reimburse me after it arrived DOA. - Matt

About a three-hour drive, I guess, but I'm in a midsize city and the repair centre is in (more or less) Montreal, so I imagine the postal arteries are pretty robust. And yeah, it was a very simple problem that I'd diagnosed (more or less) before it arrived at the depot. Now if I can just find somebody who can fix my R37... - Matt

My girlfriend just called, and it's back home with a note that says "replaced faulty phone jack, functional test passed" with a signature. Elapsed time: eleven days since sending. Assuming everything was put back in the box AND it really is working right, that's pretty impressive for a warranty repair job. - Matt

Turned 31 today, actually. Been using MD since '96, working in community radio with decks for editing; bought my own R900 about three years back and am looking forward to HiMD...

Ut! Think I found SonicStage. The other questions still apply, though: - is the USB cable I need for the 510 just vanilla, or is there some fancy doohickey I'll require? - can I use the accessories from a 410 or an Aiwa NX9 with an N510 -- power adapter, USB cable, software?

Hi all, Lots of questions here! Just picked up a cheap N510 on eBay, but it's just the unit -- no cables, no remote, no nothin' else. And that's fine -- I never used the remote on my R900 that much, and I don't mind a slower record transfer through the line/opt in. I have some variable power adapters for recharging, and I have better headphones and an optical cable and USB optical adapter from the R900 too. I'm not sure, though, of two things: 1. Does the N510 just use a traditional USB cable, or would I need some fancy-dan USB cable to use NetMD? 2. Is Sonicstage/Simple Burner downloadable anywhere? If the USB cable is normal and SonicStage can be downloaded, I'll probably just stick to the existing N510. If I need special USB cables and getting SonicStage/Simple Burner would be a major pain, I'll probably wait until I can pick up another unit. Which brings on the second question: Is the paraphenalia on the R410 or the Aiwa NX9 transferable to the N510? If I could pick up a cheaper "jukebox" for my girlfriend, which is all she wants, and be able to share the - power adapter - software and - USB cabling, that would be great. Thanks, all! - Matt

Well, I do. :love:

I'm a bit of a doofus and no XP expert, but if I were in your shoes I'd try reinstalling the drivers for the sound card or, failing that, unplug and plug in the sound card (assuming it's not integrated) so Windows recognizes it as a "new device" and runs through the install process. The driver reinstall might-might result in XP restoring the volume control as a reaction to the "new" device. Of course it might NOT, but no harm in trying. I think. - Matt

Hi Damien, Do you have any discs of material you could try to play, or does a friend maybe have some? It's a bit hard to tell if it's the record function that is screwy or if it's something more fundamental from your description. If you CAN borrow a disc from somebody else, make sure it's not something important to them! As the others have said, this is definitely an issue you should raise with the seller on eBay. - Matt

Lookit you two go at it. I've loved my R900 and used it for everything from intimate interviews to concert recording since February of 2002. The headphone jack just packed it in, but it's been very solid under consistent use and as good quality as anything else you can drag around that easily. Personally, I hate lapel mics, as they record more shirt than room, but there are lots of other options out there. But the 900 is a great unit.

Steven, there is nobody here that has not shared your pain at one time or another. :-) Sadly, erased discs are pretty much doomed. AFAIK. The "stop" button is your friend in these cases, though... it's usually the all-purpose "god, don't do THAT!" cancel button if you don't like the way things are shaping up. As far as erasing titles goes, I think (and I could be wrong on this, my MD is away at the shop right now) you should have opted for EDIT/TITLE and overwritten or blanked it. I don't know if titles can just be flat-out erased in one fell swoop. Sorry, man. Like I said, we've all done it. It's a pain in the arse.

Well... I have stickers with my address on the MD itself. It's in the original packaging, with the Sony Factory Service address and my address on it. Then it's in two layers of brown paper sealed with duct tape with the Sony address and return address on the front, on the paper itself in marker, and as labels stuck to the back of the package as well. I've enclosed a photocopy of the receipt and a letter explaining the problem both inside the packaging, outside the original box, and a second copy of both inside the original box. I'm going to send it registered mail insured for full original (replacement) cost. A little redundancy never hurts... ...now it's just a matter of seeing how fast Sony gets around to fixing it, and how good a job they do... - Matt

The headphone jack on my MZ-R900 (bought in March '02) started to crap out last week. At first it was sensitive to which way the headphone jack was turned but worked OK with the remote; now it only plays in the left ear. You can make contact with the right ear by pulling the headphone jack partway out, and I know it's not the 'phones. Fortunately, I shelled out for a four-year warranty on the melonfarmer, so I'm just gonna ship it back to the repair depot next week. I figure there's just a bit of loose solder in there somewhere and hopefully a Sony tech will be able to crack 'er open and put it back in place. Any tips before I send it, though? Should I be sending this registered mail or something? Will a complicated description of the problem expedite things, or should I just let them ramble through and fix it (and maybe other problems they find) themselves? I'm a little weirded out because an MD died up on me two days before the headphone jack went crazy (it would just spin and thunk in the drive without playing or being accessibel), but I expect it's unrelated. - Matt Shepherd