Mic to amp help needed.
Discussion
Merry Christmas All.
Santa brought a mic for one of my children, which I presumed would plug directly into his bass amp. It doesn't of course, it has a 3-pin plug whereas the amp has a jack. Many thanks to the music shop for mentioning this.
Can anyone suggest how I can fudge things to get him working over Christmas please? I have an old hi-fi I can involve if necessary, we have guitar leads, PCs and I might even still own a soldering iron somewhere (though I am only 50% sure of this).
Help appreciated chaps.
Right, as above you can simply swap the xlr for a jack. You can also make an xlr to jack adaptor but I guess you don't have the components to hand for this.
However, does your mic require phantom power?
And does the amp accept mic level signals (as opposed to line level)?
It might not be as simple as just plugging the mic into the amp.
However, does your mic require phantom power?
And does the amp accept mic level signals (as opposed to line level)?
It might not be as simple as just plugging the mic into the amp.
Assuming the jack has only two "pins".
Open up the XLR, you may need some tiny screwdrivers for this dependent on type.
Note which wire goes to which pin.
Unsolder (don't chop it off, shudders /engineer) the XLR, you may want to do things properly after the Christmas red mist has evaporated!
Solder the screen and (usually) black wire to the large tab (body/shaft) of the jack and the (usually) red wire to the smaller tab (tip).
Plug in and allow the child a minimum number of minutes of wailing feedback as you can stand.
Ah, SSM above also notes another assumption of mine which is indeed that the amp has a mic level input. If it's a guitar input then it'll do.
get summat like this to do it "properly"
Robert is your mother's brother
ETA mic level input
Open up the XLR, you may need some tiny screwdrivers for this dependent on type.
Note which wire goes to which pin.
Unsolder (don't chop it off, shudders /engineer) the XLR, you may want to do things properly after the Christmas red mist has evaporated!
Solder the screen and (usually) black wire to the large tab (body/shaft) of the jack and the (usually) red wire to the smaller tab (tip).
Plug in and allow the child a minimum number of minutes of wailing feedback as you can stand.
Ah, SSM above also notes another assumption of mine which is indeed that the amp has a mic level input. If it's a guitar input then it'll do.
get summat like this to do it "properly"
Robert is your mother's brother
ETA mic level input
Edited by jet_noise on Monday 26th December 08:56
Without knowing the microphone type it's not possible to be certain but you almost certainly need a microphone amplifier as the mic output will be very low. Amazon isn't helping too much:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=se...
There is this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Microphones/Saramonic-S...
& you would need an adapter cable as well:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/R%C3%98DE-SC3-iPhone-Acce...
plus a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter to get it into the amp.
This one is out of stock but might be better:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-MIC100-Ultragai...
None of this helps you today I'm afraid.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=se...
There is this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Microphones/Saramonic-S...
& you would need an adapter cable as well:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/R%C3%98DE-SC3-iPhone-Acce...
plus a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter to get it into the amp.
This one is out of stock but might be better:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-MIC100-Ultragai...
None of this helps you today I'm afraid.
Thanks for the input chaps.
The amp is an Eden like this:
The mic is a Samson Q7VP http://www.samash.com/samson-q7vp-complete-dynamic...
If I butcher a guitar lead and the mic lead, plug it in, will it work or will buggerage result?
This is what you need to try & knock up:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/van-damme-balanced-635mm...
If you are going to modify the cable that came with it then remove the XLR3 male & solder on a 1/4" jack.
Tip: One of the cable cores
Ring: the other core
Sleeve: cable screen
No idea what it will sound like as I don't know how much gain the amp has got.
All this is at your own risk of course, although there isn't too much to go wrong.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/van-damme-balanced-635mm...
If you are going to modify the cable that came with it then remove the XLR3 male & solder on a 1/4" jack.
Tip: One of the cable cores
Ring: the other core
Sleeve: cable screen
No idea what it will sound like as I don't know how much gain the amp has got.
All this is at your own risk of course, although there isn't too much to go wrong.
Lucas CAV said:
A maplin will have what you need
Lucas, thank you. Not only do they stock the right item but they are open today and I have procured an adaptor. Christmas is saved.With all the controls on the amp switched right up, it's fairly quiet. But loud enough for now. Is thre some sort of cheap pre-amp I could get in the future to improve matters?
When the shops open again!!!!!
Ideally You want a little mini mixer with an XLR input that you can plug the mic into and then output the mixer (phone tape out to stereo jack) to the stereo media input on the back of the amp. You can then sing and play along to tracks.
Everything will be balanced and no hum.
V8A*ndy said:
When the shops open again!!!!!
Ideally You want a little mini mixer with an XLR input that you can plug the mic into and then output the mixer (phone tape out to stereo jack) to the stereo media input on the back of the amp. You can then sing and play along to tracks.
Everything will be balanced and no hum.
This?Ideally You want a little mini mixer with an XLR input that you can plug the mic into and then output the mixer (phone tape out to stereo jack) to the stereo media input on the back of the amp. You can then sing and play along to tracks.
Everything will be balanced and no hum.
http://www.instruments4music.co.uk/mixers/4_channe...
13m said:
Lucas, thank you. Not only do they stock the right item but they are open today and I have procured an adaptor. Christmas is saved.
With all the controls on the amp switched right up, it's fairly quiet. But loud enough for now. Is thre some sort of cheap pre-amp I could get in the future to improve matters?
Yes, it's as we mentioned earlier, the mic puts out a mic level signal, your amp is expecting something more like line level which I think is 30db louder. Don't quote me on that as I'm not a sound expert. With all the controls on the amp switched right up, it's fairly quiet. But loud enough for now. Is thre some sort of cheap pre-amp I could get in the future to improve matters?
You just need a mic to line pre amp. I would imagine Maplin sell them.
Edit to add it doesn't look like maplin sell them, but there seem to be a number of varieties available online.
Edited by Super Slo Mo on Monday 26th December 13:51
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-502-Xenyx-mixer...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MIX02-1A-4-Channel-Mini-M...
Just double checking here.... Does that little amp have the stereo media input on the back OK? If so consult the manual and in theory you could go with above or similar.
Keep the mic an xlr or TRS (three pin jack plug) for balanced inputs. A normal jack is usually for unbalanced instruments that cannot be directly connected to a mic level or line level input but to an amps or di box and only then then out to a mixer . Mics can be unbalanced but you might get hum caused by ground loops and EMI.
You just need to check the stereo media input works along with the output and/or 2 track output of the mixer to your satisfaction. That amp is never going to be great IMO.
Perhaps the music shop will let you try something out in the shop and then you can order similar online. (did you buy the amp there?).
You could also connect the mic to the mixer and output the entire lot through to a phono aux input of a hifi system or a bigger PA system when the time comes. This might be a better alternative and sound much better to start with.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MIX02-1A-4-Channel-Mini-M...
Just double checking here.... Does that little amp have the stereo media input on the back OK? If so consult the manual and in theory you could go with above or similar.
Keep the mic an xlr or TRS (three pin jack plug) for balanced inputs. A normal jack is usually for unbalanced instruments that cannot be directly connected to a mic level or line level input but to an amps or di box and only then then out to a mixer . Mics can be unbalanced but you might get hum caused by ground loops and EMI.
You just need to check the stereo media input works along with the output and/or 2 track output of the mixer to your satisfaction. That amp is never going to be great IMO.
Perhaps the music shop will let you try something out in the shop and then you can order similar online. (did you buy the amp there?).
You could also connect the mic to the mixer and output the entire lot through to a phono aux input of a hifi system or a bigger PA system when the time comes. This might be a better alternative and sound much better to start with.
Not sure what you are trying to amplify with the mic, but if it's vocals, and you care about how good it sounds, then ditch that bass amp and get something to suit.
The bass amp's speaker will very likely have a very steep roll-off over 6kHz. That means that any full-range source (voice, keyboard, etc) will sound as though there's a blanket over the amp. A preamp will help with levels and impedance matching, but won't sort out the speaker's unsuitability. A cheap karaoke amp will sound better, and have the preamp built in.
The bass amp's speaker will very likely have a very steep roll-off over 6kHz. That means that any full-range source (voice, keyboard, etc) will sound as though there's a blanket over the amp. A preamp will help with levels and impedance matching, but won't sort out the speaker's unsuitability. A cheap karaoke amp will sound better, and have the preamp built in.
V8A*ndy said:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-502-Xenyx-mixer...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MIX02-1A-4-Channel-Mini-M...
Just double checking here.... Does that little amp have the stereo media input on the back OK? If so consult the manual and in theory you could go with above or similar.
Keep the mic an xlr or TRS (three pin jack plug) for balanced inputs. A normal jack is usually for unbalanced instruments that cannot be directly connected to a mic level or line level input but to an amps or di box and only then then out to a mixer . Mics can be unbalanced but you might get hum caused by ground loops and EMI.
You just need to check the stereo media input works along with the output and/or 2 track output of the mixer to your satisfaction. That amp is never going to be great IMO.
Perhaps the music shop will let you try something out in the shop and then you can order similar online. (did you buy the amp there?).
You could also connect the mic to the mixer and output the entire lot through to a phono aux input of a hifi system or a bigger PA system when the time comes. This might be a better alternative and sound much better to start with.
I've used both of those mixers in the past, the Behringer is the better of the two and worked OK for duo gigs. https://www.amazon.co.uk/MIX02-1A-4-Channel-Mini-M...
Just double checking here.... Does that little amp have the stereo media input on the back OK? If so consult the manual and in theory you could go with above or similar.
Keep the mic an xlr or TRS (three pin jack plug) for balanced inputs. A normal jack is usually for unbalanced instruments that cannot be directly connected to a mic level or line level input but to an amps or di box and only then then out to a mixer . Mics can be unbalanced but you might get hum caused by ground loops and EMI.
You just need to check the stereo media input works along with the output and/or 2 track output of the mixer to your satisfaction. That amp is never going to be great IMO.
Perhaps the music shop will let you try something out in the shop and then you can order similar online. (did you buy the amp there?).
You could also connect the mic to the mixer and output the entire lot through to a phono aux input of a hifi system or a bigger PA system when the time comes. This might be a better alternative and sound much better to start with.
Gassing Station | Music | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff