Sharp 420H and mic - how much noise is normal?

[Guest Anonymous]

I've just bought a Sharp DR 420H minidisc recorder, and I'm using together with a Sony ECM MS957 mic and a small contact microphone.

When recording with the Sony I've found that I need rather high input levels to get acceptable levels for the recording. The level adjuster is split into Low and High, Low goes from 0-20 and High from 20-30. I more or less have to use High to get good ambience/field recordings.

However, I can hear something similar to static noise in the background, a noise which becomes very apparent when the signal being recorded is rather quiet. It's not really static, but a kind "moving static".

When I use the contact mic, which is higly sensitive, I can use lower levels and so the noise is much less apparent.

Questions: When I have the output and the input levels set to max, how much noise is it normal to hear (both hiss and "static")?

Also, is there a way to amplify the Sony mic? Should I buy a pre amp, and use the Sharp's line level instead? Any recommendations for a good preamp?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Oiv.

[Guest Anonymous]

The mic preamps in little recorders aren't high-quality, so it's probably adding some noise. The preamp and line-in combo should be cleaner.

But if you're getting different levels of noise from different mics, the problem might also be in the mics themselves, which are not silent.

This guy did a test of various mics with quiet sounds and put up the results to hear, and the small Sony mics did not do well, although he did not use your exact model.

http://infos.0db.net/micros/compare/indexe.php3

If the problem is in the mic, the preamp won't solve it completely. If the problem is in the mic preamp, then it will. But the only way to find out for sure is to test and see. You might want to start by getting a preamp, which will give you better sound anyway, and then see if you need to upgrade the mic.

[Christopher]

Yes, the guest just about hit it right on the head. I believe if you employ a preamp you will have much better success.

p.s. You two need to register!