not enough gain on my Tascam DR-60Dmkii

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deleuze3

Well-known member
Hi

I use an hypercardioid Oktava mk-012 in a Tascam DR-60Dmkii with the microphone input gain at "HighPlus" and the signal is a bit low.

I put the mic about 18 inches from the mouth.

Should i put the mic nearer my mouth?
Is there a device that has higher mic input gain ?

thanks in advance,
deleuze3
 
Triton audio fathead in-line mic preamp

Triton audio fathead in-line mic preamp

I use a mixpre-d but if you want to cut down on bulk, these might work for you.
I haven’t tried them, but people seem to think they work well.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._audio_fethead_in_line_microphone_preamp.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...thead_phantom_fethead_in_line_preamp_for.html

Steve

deleuze3 said:
Hi

I use an hypercardioid Oktava mk-012 in a Tascam DR-60Dmkii with the microphone input gain at "HighPlus" and the signal is a bit low.

I put the mic about 18 inches from the mouth.

Should i put the mic nearer my mouth?
Is there a device that has higher mic input gain ?

thanks in advance,
deleuze3
Click to expand...
 
Many budget recorders do not have much clean gain and the Oktava 012 has a rather low output level (10mV)to begin with. Besides the above mentioned boosters and preamps, the CloudLifter can boost the level as well, but that's another item to carry. A medium priced mic, like the AT 4053 or the Audix SCX1-HC have higher sensitivity specs which may be a better match for the Tascam DR60.

"I put the mic about 18 inches from the mouth. Should i put the mic nearer my mouth?"
Yes, but SDC mics in general are not a good choice for VOs if that's what your using it for and BTW, the Oktava 012 is notorious for air turbulence issues.
 
deleuze3 said:
Hi

I use an hypercardioid Oktava mk-012 in a Tascam DR-60Dmkii with the microphone input gain at "HighPlus" and the signal is a bit low.

I put the mic about 18 inches from the mouth.

Should i put the mic nearer my mouth?
Is there a device that has higher mic input gain ?

thanks in advance,
deleuze3
Click to expand...

Closer? yes if you can.
Yes there are higher gain preamps, and better preamps can go higher with less noise.
And while I love my Oktava's they are a lower output mic than many. I haven't really had an issue but I'm using a MixPre as the front end and it has very quiet preamps.
 
The Triton FetHead works well with low output mics, just make sure you buy the right model. ( they are all phantom powered, but only one model passes on the phantom power to power your mic )

At $100 it's a lot cheaper than buying a new mic.
 
deleuze3 said:
Is there a device that has higher mic input gain?
Click to expand...

Certainly. Look for a used MixPre-D. Alternatively, you could use a mic that's more sensitive; look for a used AT 4053b or Audix SCX1-HC. Either one will do the job, with less handling noise and air movement problems.

Basically, the equation is this:

(low cost mic -> low sensitivity) + (low cost mic preamp -> lack of clean gain) = noisy audio.

So either a more sensitive mic, or a preamp with more gain, or both, will give you cleaner audio.

Of course, getting it closer to your mouth will help. But not right in front. Better to put it off to one side but pointed at your mouth to get it out of the direct path of plosives. Your Octava is not a mic to blow on. And going closer probably means you'll have to compensate for proximity effect in post, unless you're going for that VOG effect.
 
Just wondering, can you combine a FetHead with a MixPre-D or MM-1. Or other preamps with preamps in general if you needed to?

Is that okay in an audio chain if the settings (line/mic) are correct?
 
I suppose you could, but if you a have high quality preamps to begin with, there's no point. OTOH, the CloudLifter Z box can alter the tonal characteristics of the mic.

"Is that okay in an audio chain if the settings (line/mic) are correct?"
- Not sure what you mean but.. Line level output to line level input. Mic level out to mic level in. Simple.
In most cases, line level does not contain Phantom Power.
 
I would like to try the FetHead (no pp) with a microphone that uses a AA battery to boost it a bit. Then I would like to run it into a DXA-Micro-Pro to control the gain with the knobs.

Would that be okay? (I would just test it, but don't have a FH...and the Beachtek doesn't provide enough gain to this microphone by itself.)
 
NorBro said:
I would like to try the FetHead (no pp) with a microphone that uses a AA battery to boost it a bit. Then I would like to run it into a DXA-Micro-Pro to control the gain with the knobs.

Would that be okay? (I would just test it, but don't have a FH...and the Beachtek doesn't provide enough gain to this microphone by itself.)
Click to expand...

So what do you think? Y or N?
 
NorBro said:
I would like to try the FetHead (no pp) with a microphone that uses a AA battery to boost it a bit.
Click to expand...

The FetHead requires phantom-power to function, so your camera/recorder has to supply this. Generally XLR mics that have the AA battery option produce a weaker signal when running from the AA battery than they do when running from phantom power, but the FetHead should take care of this. I suspect that the only difference of using an AA powered XLR mic with the FetHead might be longer battery life with your recorder/camera because their batteries will only have to power the FetHead instead of the FetHead and the XLR mic. ( I have no experience using a FetHead with a battery powered XLR mic, so I'm purely guessing here )
 
NorBro said:
So if we're talking about these two, both of them need phantom power to be powered themselves to work, but only one of them passes it along to the microphone, correct?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...fethead_in_line_microphone_preamp.html?sts=pi

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...thead_phantom_fethead_in_line_preamp_for.html
Click to expand...

Yes, the TRITON AUDIO FetHead Phantom ( the one for condenser mics ) is the one that passes on the phantom power to the mic. ( this is your second link )
 
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