New Zealand Heavy Metal Forum & Discussion

[Obzen]

Any ideas about where to get heaps of these for cheap?


Need 8 of them, they seem to retail brand new at about $30.... I'd rather not spend $240

[Obzen]

sheeeeit... $1 each
http://cgi.ebay.com/XLR-3-Pin-Female-1- ... 43a401c622
too bad they dont ship to NZ

[Torturor]

How is that a three pin? Shouldn't that be TRS to XLR female?

[Obzen]

How is that a three pin? Shouldn't that be TRS to XLR female?

you tell me buddy, thought thats what they were called. I'm only a drummer so I dunno them fancy names for the dohickeys wat transmit electrical rays. The picture is right.

[electircred]

Rockshop/Musicworks sell Ballanced TRS Jack To XLR for reasonable prices, Except most of the time they only have microphone length ones. Can always make them, its really easy and Jaycar has all the parts.

Theres also the Jensen PA store in auckland who generally sell cables in bulk.

Otherwise http://www.sweetwater.com

Best online store for PA and other cheap musicgear. Ships to NZ too.

[Torturor]

you tell me buddy,

That be a picture of a Female XLR to TS ¼ inch jack. The TS is mono, TRS is a stereo jack. You don't want TRS for mono applications, your shit will come out one side and cause much rage.

[Obzen]

Purpose: drum mics into multi-track interface.

What do I want?

[Torturor]

TS (mono).

5meter 10metre

Just buy one extra 'cos you'll probably get a bad one.

[Rob]

yep. mono. unless they are stereo eg. condensers for your overheads. they will always be mono.
just make sure the jack has only 1 ring. like your picture

Can always make them, its really easy and Jaycar has all the parts.

yep. really cheap 2. and such a selection.

[soundstorm]

Actually, no, you'll likely want TRS, not TS.

Despite it being known as TRS providing a stereo signal, it is more commonly used to provide a balanced signal, as opposed to unbalanced which is subject to both electrostatic an electromagnetic interference. Ever noticed your phone makes crazy noise when sitting next to an unbalanced guitar cable, but wont when next to a balanced mic cable?

What is the interface you're going into? Unless its a a piece of shit, it'll likely have balanced inputs, so you would be better off going TRS.

As said above, cheap as chips and easy to make, probably a better option than getting cheap no-brand ones off trademe that are likely to break after not too long - takes no time at all. I made a bunch of TRS to FXLR adapter cables not long ago for a similar purpose, flick me a PM if you want me to let you know how to go about doing it and where I'd buy the cable and connectors, etc.

[Obzen]

Its a pretty old cheap shitty interface... Fostex FD-8
Gonna get some cheap as shit drum mics ( http://www.globalmediapro.com/dp/A01C45 ... phone-Set/ ) . the setup will be pretty pathetic by your standards, but I'm just trying to put together something for immediate use for a few hundred bucks, then gradually upgrade bit by bit over the next few years. Recently recorded a demo on a similar setup my friend has and was quite surprised with the sound for how cheap the gear was.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan99/a ... d8.256.htm
Specifications:
Inputs 1-8 (Line): 8 x quarter-inch jack (unbalanced)
Inputs 7-8 (Mic): 2 x XLR (balanced)
Insert (Ch 7-8): 2 x quarter-inch TRS jack
Aux Send (1/2): 2 x quarter-inch jack (unbalanced)
Aux Return (1 L/R, 2 L/R): 4 x quarter-inch jack (unbalanced)
Stereo Out/Monitor Out: 2 x phono
Headphone Out: Quarter-inch stereo jack
Recorder In: (L/R) 2 x phono
Data In/Out: 2 x Optical S/PDIF or ADAT optical
MIDI In/Out
Punch In/Out: 1 x quarter-inch jack
SCSI: 1 x D 25-pin; a maximum of two units can be connected (auto SCSI ID select)
Equaliser (Ch 1-8): High Shelving (12kHz ±15dB), Low Shelving (80Hz ±15dB), Parametric Mid (200Hz-5kHz variable ±15dB)
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz (Mixer & Recorder, typical values)
Dynamic Range 105dB (Mixer, typical), >90dB (Recorder, typical)
THD 0.008% (Mastering Mode)
Simultaneous recording: 2 tracks (8 using ADAT optical)
Simultaneous playback: 8 tracks
Vari-pitch: ±6%
Dimensions: 552mm (w) x 110mm (h) x 355mm (d)
Weight: 5kg

[Torturor]

Actually, no, you'll likely want TRS, not TS.

Sounds like this guy knows his stuff. Thanks for the knowledge man!

Should he mix the 2 balanced inputs with the unbalanced or use all the same type?
If mixed type, which drum mics/placements would benefit most from the balanced inputs?

Regarding the DIY, I feel the time it takes to learn/shop/make leads would be better spent experimenting with mic placement/drum tuning/room dampening/sample replacement than something that's going to make little difference in the sound. Or should he buy monster cables?!

Just do it brother, learn the process before trying to get it right!

[moliere]

Just a warning before you spend money on mics & cables, there are only 2 mic preamps on that fostex unit, the other inputs are line level inputs, so there's a good chance that if you connect your mics to them, you won't have enough gain on the channels to get a decent signal.

[soundstorm]

Just a warning before you spend money on mics & cables, there are only 2 mic preamps on that fostex unit, the other inputs are line level inputs, so there's a good chance that if you connect your mics to them, you won't have enough gain on the channels to get a decent signal.

Good point - didn't notice that until reading the article just now. Have you tried it yet? could work fine, but again, may have difficulties. Interested in hearing how it turns out though

[Obzen]

Havent bought mics or cables yet, havent tried it out.
From what i've gathered from forums about this fostex unit is it can take 8 mics at once but they will end up on only 2 separate channels, so that fully sux for mixing, however if I buy an external 8 track analogue to ADAT converter it can record onto 8 separate channels at once.. quite a confusing device, and I hadnt quite figured out that little catch when I paid for it. But it was only $250 so thats not too bad for now

[Death]

can always resell haha

[Obzen]

seems a little difficult to find unbalanced TRS to XLR

[moliere]

you'd be wanting TS to XLR. TRS to XLR invariably means balanced.

[moliere]

something like this :

http://www.jansen.co.nz/product.php?g=1 ... =RECORD410

[Obzen]

perfect. cheers