Adrian Ganem Sada, you wrote,
>I have a SENNHEISER microphone with a little "box" attached to it that it=
s
>also SENNHEISER MZA14 P48 that I think its an amplifier, but not really
>sure.
It's a phantom power supply for the microphone. What model is the mic?
>Both the mic and the "little box" have switches on them. The mic has
>three red switches, one with a little line going straight and then UP,
That switch adds a boost to the high frequencies.
>the
>other one with a line going UP and then straight
That's a high pass (low cut) filter for removing rumble or wind noise.
>and the other switch has a
>"-10dB". What do this mean and what are they for?
The -10 switch cuts the level of the mic down. It would be used in
loud situations where the signal was distorting the mic preamp.
>The "little box" has three
>switches that u can be pushed up, the leave in the centre or push down. Th=
e
>first one says on the top "EIN", on the bottom "TEST" and in the middle it
>says "AUS" (I'm thinking it's the ON button and the Battery test button).
Right you are, labeled in German.
>The second button says on top "-10dB", the middle says "0dB", and in the
>bottom it says -20dB.
That's a "pad" for reducing the mic level for loud sources, same as
the -10 switch on the mic itself.
>The third button says on top "80Hz", the middle one
>says "20Hz", and bottom says "140Hz". What do this do and mean and what ar=
e
>they for?
That's a "high-pass" filter, again like the one on the mic, except
they give you a choice of no filter (20 Hz), 80 Hz which is moderate
(cuts rumble but won't affect vocal tone), and 140 Hz (cut most bass).
Those switches are all there to help a recordist survive difficult
situations in the field. You'd use the pads for when you were
recording something so loud it was distorting even when the record
level on the recorder was turned down.
The high-pass filters are used when you want to get intelligible
recordings in the presence of loud low-frequency noise. In an urban
environment, for example. You might use them in nature when your
windscreens weren't enough to stop rumble from wind hitting the mic,
or near a waterfall.
Normally leave those switches in their neutral position. Only use
them to solve problems.
>I also have a SONY TCM-5000 tape recorder and a SONY MD MZ-R700. Do both
>work for recording and what do you recommend should use?
I'd use the MD and carry the TCM-5000 for backup. The MD has higher
fidelity than the cassette.
>MANAGEMENT
>
>I have many recordings in cassette that where recorded by my grand father =
I
>wanted to preserve them for future generations of birdwatchers in the fami=
ly
>and friends. How can I transfer these recordings from cassette to my
>computer as .mp3 files?
Use a digital audio interface or a high-quality sound card with
Digital Audio Workstation software to transfer the tapes to .WAV
files. Then burn audio CDs from the WAV files. Also burn data CDs of
the WAV files for archives.
>Thank you so much for all your help with this. I can't wait till I go to t=
he
>field and record some Warbler "chips" that are migrating down to South
>America.
You're welcome, have a good time recording.
-Dan Dugan
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