Thanks for that Volta and Greenmachine I hate re-inventing the wheel but ignorance must be overcome. One thing I failed to think of yesterday, but remembered today, was whether it is possible to run two mikes into an MD so that balance of recording volume input for each mic can be individually adjusted? i.e one mic for drones one mic for the melody part of the instrument with independant adjustment of each mic? Is there an easy and cheap way to pre mix? I suppose one really good omni-directional mic with careful placement would pull off what I am trying to achieve but I am fussy. For my instrument it is crucial to get a good balance in the volume of the various parts. I dont know whether there is a way of modifying the volume of the bagpipe drones after the recording using software. I am utterly ignorant of these finer points. Is this beyond the scope of MD? Sorry but how can I get A440's schematics for the mics and battery box? thanks again