unseenreal

Thanks for your advice KG, sorry it's taken so long to get back with a reply. I've been on a bit of a journey of discovery. I think the simple fact is that the output from the ATR25 was too low and the mic preamp background noise therefore became much more noticeable. Unless of course the one I got was particularly low on output, I don't know. Anyway, I borrowed a Shure SM58 and made up a short cable to go from XLR to 3.5mm stereo jack (wired in mono) and tried it out. Wow what a difference, background noise almost gone, surprisingly good recording of acoustic guitar and vocals with the mic on a tabletop stand about 2 feet away. So then I tried my AKG C1000S condenser mic with 9V battery, however far too quiet, almost inaudible. So after a bit more pondering and internet trawling (I had a look at variuos mic preamps (from home made to expensive) and some mixers and some hard disc recorders) I ended up taking back the ATR25 to the marvelous Digital Village in Southampton, UK and getting a brilliant little Tapco Mix 60 mixer fo a mere £46. What a great piece of equipment, the sound quality is excellent and means I can get top quality recording on the NHF800 through line in. I can even attach an effects unit through the aux out/in loop to add some reverb if required. If you are trying to get a good quality recording of live music or speech and don't mind a small amount of external equpment, this is a good solution. Here's a picture [attachmentid=2079]. Obviously not for covert recorording but excellent for capturing rehearsals etc. I would go so far as to say that I see no particular reason why you couldn't end up with a semi pro demo with this equipment. And that's what I intend to do!!!

Thanks A440, I'll try out your suggestions and post back my results (if I can find some time today). I'm definately using the mic input BTW.

Hi guys, great forum! I've had a look around the forum and found some very good stuff regards md recording but I still have a question someone might be able to help with... I have just bought a Sony NHF800 Hi-MD recorder and an Audio Technica ATR25 stereo mic. I've spent a few hours today trying things out but seem to have a problem with hiss. I was previously using a MZ-R700 with an inexpensive direct plug in mono mic with reasonable results at least for capturing song ideas. I was hoping that the combination of PCM recording and a better (albeit still budget) mic would give m a big improvement in quality. However, although I have significantly more clarity from the recordings, I can't seem to get a decent level without introducing a lot of hiss. In AGC mode the hiss is quite pronounced but the recording level is OK. In Manual mode, there is less hiss but it's still present and the recording level (when played back) is low. I've tried changing the mic sensitivity from high to low but that just reduces the overall level. I've read on this forum that it may be necessary to use an external preamp and record from line-in to get rid of hiss or could it be that I need to spend a lot more on my mic or get a mic with a much higher output? BTW, I tried a new battery in the mic in case it was low, no difference. I bought the ATR25 to get an idea of what was possible before spending £200+ on a pro stereo mic setup (e.g. Rode NT4 or AT 822/825) or a matched pair (e.g. Rode NT5, ES1a). I'm quite willing to do this but want to be sure that I will get good results. For me the beauty of MD is the simplicity of recording in comparison with say a DAW or PC. All I want to do is get reasonably good recordings of my acoustic guitar and vocals and other small acoustic groups. I don't particularly want to have to carry around loads of gear to get the results I want. Any thoughts or advice gratefully received. UPDATE: Before posting this I thought I'd better double-check my facts so did a couple more recordings with different settings. The best recording I have got is with MIC Sens Low and AGC on. The result was *very* quiet (I plugged the MD into my stereo with headphones and at full volume the sound level was OK) but significantly the sound was quite natural (taking account of the quality level of the mic) and the hiss level nearly acceptable. I guess I wasn't hitting any AGC thresholds as it was finger picked acoustic guitar and fairly quiet vocals. The mic was about 1m away from me on a table top with small table top stand. If anyone's interested, I could do post some side by side recordings of different settings, but then you'd have to listen to my singing!!!