Please, a little help with a Mic

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PedroCM
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2017/10/21 04:09:41 (permalink)

Please, a little help with a Mic

Hey you music creators!
 
I have a BM-800 Mic like in the pic below:

It has a XLR-1/8 cable and I'm trying to plug it in my UMC204 interface with a 1/4 adapter to use the 48V (phantom power), but when I try to record in Sonar, there's no signal, so, I'm doing something wrong and I dont know what.
 
In the link below it have the information to use soundcard phantom power, so, even this mic being constructed to use in a PC (mic input jack), I know that I can use it with my interface (I think).
 
www.gearbest.com/speakers/pp_193557.html
 
There's any opnion? A XLR-XLR cable would work?
 
Sorry for my not even close of a PRO question .
Bye!
#1

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    chuckebaby
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    Re: Please, a little help with a Mic 2017/10/21 11:02:26 (permalink)
    Phantom power is electrical power that is sent to a condenser mic through its mic cable. The cable must have XLR connectors to pass phantom power.
     
    Did your mic come with an XLR cable ?
     
     

    Windows 8.1 X64 Sonar Platinum x64
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    #2
    msorrels
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    Re: Please, a little help with a Mic 2017/10/21 12:20:31 (permalink)
    It looks like that mic comes with a crazy XLR to mini-jack cable.  Those kinds of cables are pretty common with cheap XLR mics that use batteries for power.  But that mic doesn't use batteries, so as a result that cable isn't likely to work, unless you can provide phantom power some other way.  You need to get a full XLR male to XLR female mic cable and use that.  Be sure and enable the 48v phantom power on the UMC204 (switch on the back).

    -Matt
     
    #3
    Cactus Music
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    Re: Please, a little help with a Mic 2017/10/21 15:30:44 (permalink)

     
    NEGATIVES
    May require phantom power depending on one's power source
    May require additional cables if phantom power is needed
    Poorly written owner's manual
     
    Only $15.00   ?? I'm surprised the reviews say it even works at that price. Another Chinese knock off I guess, would be worth $15 just to get the shock mount and toss the mike out. Seems it comes with a useless cable, You'll need a proper mike cable as said above. 

    Johnny V  
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     http://www.cactusmusic.ca/
     
     
    #4
    PedroCM
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    Re: Please, a little help with a Mic 2017/10/21 18:16:12 (permalink)
    Hey chuckebaby, msorrels and Cactus Music!
     
    I was able to make this mic work with the mini jack inserted on the back of my PC in Audacity and Sonar, but what I have seen on the internet, I'll have to use the XLR-XLR cable to it work properly.
    And I know that this mic is a crap, but it does what I need :).
     
    Thanks very much for your replies guys.
    SeeYa!
    #5
    msorrels
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    Re: Please, a little help with a Mic 2017/10/21 19:42:51 (permalink)
    The power you can get from a PC audio mic jack is normally called plug-in power.  I think it's usually just 5v and rarely is enough to drive a real condenser mic.  Your UMC204's 1/4" jacks don't do plug-in power but it's not uncommon on PC 3.5mm mic jacks.  I'd suspect (hope) you'd get better audio with real 48v phantom power.  I don't think most mobile devices do plug-in power though, which is why the descriptions talk about using a PC/laptop and not a phone.  And even lots of PC and laptops don't do it so it's kind of hit or miss.
     
    Chinese knockoff mics, aren't as bad as you might think.  Some of the brands are pretty decent, but it can be very hit or miss.  This mic may very well work perfectly fine for you, I know I'm pretty happy with my MXL 990 which is a very cheap mic.  Pick up a XLR cable and see if it's better.  Even if it's not, XLR cables are useful so it isn't waste to have one.

    -Matt
     
    #6
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