My first mic...omg already confused!

[heyindie]

Hi, this is my first post here

i just bought a net md n510 last week from ebay, received it, uploaded an old recording to the pc with line cable...everything ok, pretty much satisfied! i plan on using the line in recording option to records some gigs of my band (playing rock-rockabilly-psychobilly), linking it to the mixer.

but, i'd like to record reharsals too, to study at home new solos, etc.. problem is that,among other problems, we never use mics for playing drums at reharsal, the recording would be really ineffective..

so i read that i can link a powered microphone into the line in of the mini disc and record (would be really nice even when going to a show )... that's possible, right?

can you suggest me some mic models that could work connected to the line in? i'd prefer portable mics working with batteries, i dont know nearly anything about microphones...

i don't look for professional quality recording, just something that works decently and maybe could costs around 50 euros on ebay

thanks you all in advance

[A440]

Most microphone recordings need to be pre-amplified to get a strong enough signal. Your N510 doesn't have a mic jack, which includes a preamplifier. It only has line-in, with no preamplifier. That's fine for a mixer output, but not for microphone recording.

If you are recording truly blasting music, then you can try plugging the mic into line-in and see if it's a strong enough signal. You can also get a battery box, which provides some power to the mics, but that will be about 50 euros. What you really need is a preamp, and that will be over 100 euros.

A better choice would be to sell that MD unit and get one with a mic-in jack and built-in preamp. For a NetMD unit like the one you have, which can download songs from the PC (but not upload), look for MZ-N707. If you don't care about downloading songs to use it as a portable player, then you don't even need NetMD: get MZ-R700. Try to make sure they are in good condition--they are old models.

For microphones, look for a frequency response of 20-20,000 K--not Sony mics that go 100K-17,000K. Hobbyists sell homemade ones on eBay. Or look at the pinned thread at the top of Live Recording and build one yourself.

[greenmachine]

The MZ-R700 lacks a low sensitivity setting for mic-in, which i use most of the time. Other than that a good machine with a somewhat noisy motor.

[A440]

The MZ-R700 lacks a low sensitivity setting for mic-in.

Ah, you have a good memory, greenmachine. I'm pretty sure the MZ-N707 doesn't have low-sensitivity either. Yet even with a low-sensitivity option, the preamp still overloads easily, necessitating an attenuator or battery box-->line-in.

What I liked about the R700 was the giant jog wheel and the best setup for one-handed control.

[greenmachine]

Sorry to disappoint you again - although the giant four way button might look like one, the R700 doesn't have a jog wheel either.

I did a pictorial a few weeks ago:

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=11724

[A440]

Yeah, you're right. Looking at your pix I remembered why I found it so ergonomic--no need to search for the hold button because it was right on the menu knob, and the track button was easy to find. Did a lot of starting and stopping with it in my pocket, with no mishaps.