1: You don't mention what the problem is.

2: It's a $20.00 mic/stand/cable combination. You can't expect much. You're probably spending more money on shipping than the actual product is worth.

If the stand is anywhere near reasonable then be thankful you got something of value out of it.

oh sorry about that!..the problem is that there's absolutely no response from the mic ...i realize its 20 bucks, but from the reviews it seemed as if a bunch of other ppl at least had it working

Are you in Europe? It may be a question of the wiring. In North America pin 3 is hot, pin one ground whereas I believe pin 1(?) is hot. I may have my own signals crossed here.

Pin 1 shield/ground/0volts
Pin 2 hot
Pin 3 cold

the XLR cable can only go into the adapter one way, and i just made sure that they were lined up correctly.. im in North America btw..maybe i should just take it to a local guitar center or music shop and see if they'll test out the mic for me..

Kev wrote: Pin 1 shield/ground/0volts
Pin 2 hot
Pin 3 cold

Thanks for the clarification.

RHF: it wasn't a matter of the plug I was talking about but the internal wiring. Say if the Mic were destined for the UK it would be wired differently than if it were destined for US AFAIK. At any rate, I think it's definitely the mic. If you know the cable works, it's the mic for sure but I have to say, you're probably not much better off with that mic than one from Radio Slack.

hueseph is right here

you need to know what you have
open the connectors to confirm
this goes for adapters too
1/4 inch plugs can be 2 connections (mono) or 3 connections (stereo)

if the cable has 2 conductors and a shield
leave the shield free
or tie the cold to the shield
or leave the cold free

a transformer coupled unit will not work with the cold flapping free
so some adapters will not work here

each , method can work and depends on the gear and the methods internal to each piece of gear

the point is
KNOW your gear

radi0headfan wrote: -- to test it out, i plugged it in to the Planet Waves XLR to 1/4 adapter and put that into the line in of my Crate amp...

:?

Two things. Is that adapter an XLR to TRS, or an XLR to TS? If it is a TRS, could one of the pins not be connecting on a 1/4" jack?

You plugged into a "LINE IN" on a Crate amp? Or, did you plug into an instrument input? It makes a world of difference. Get your terminology and connections straight, and let us know.

Kapt.Krunch

Uh...
Is the problem not as simple as plugging the mic into a "Line input?"

It seems pretty simple to me -
A dynamic mic with very low output fed into a line input...

DOH! roflmao. That's funny. How did I miss that. Wait.....yeah that's about par for the course for me. lol.

Cucco wrote: Uh...
Is the problem not as simple as plugging the mic into a "Line input?"

It seems pretty simple to me -
A dynamic mic with very low output fed into a line input...

that makes sense, however, i have had a Shure 58 mic with a diff. cable/adapter work in my Crate amp, so i didnt think the Nady mic was all too different...also, the karaoke mic worked...its the second one that musician's friend sent me, so i just wanted to check before sending it back

hueseph wrote: DOH! roflmao. That's funny. How did I miss that. Wait.....yeah that's about par for the course for me. lol.

i have had a mic work w/ the exact same setup work with this amp...i was just wanting to test it out and mess around with it

hueseph wrote: [quote=Kev]Pin 1 shield/ground/0volts
Pin 2 hot
Pin 3 cold

Thanks for the clarification.

RHF: it wasn't a matter of the plug I was talking about but the internal wiring. Say if the Mic were destined for the UK it would be wired differently than if it were destined for US AFAIK. At any rate, I think it's definitely the mic. If you know the cable works, it's the mic for sure but I have to say, you're probably not much better off with that mic than one from Radio Slack.

yea the cable might very well be faulty for the second time.. the musician's gear cables they send with the package have been known to be faulty... i figured after sendign it back once, everything would work second try

Kapt.Krunch wrote: [quote=radi0headfan]-- to test it out, i plugged it in to the Planet Waves XLR to 1/4 adapter and put that into the line in of my Crate amp...

:?

Two things. Is that adapter an XLR to TRS, or an XLR to TS? If it is a TRS, could one of the pins not be connecting on a 1/4" jack?

You plugged into a "LINE IN" on a Crate amp? Or, did you plug into an instrument input? It makes a world of difference. Get your terminology and connections straight, and let us know.

Kapt.Krunch

ahh, i think what you said may be why its not working... here's the adapter i got:

(Dead Link Removed)

and its going into the "line in" of the amp...only reason i tested it out on this is b/c it worked w/ the Shure mic about a year ago.. sorry, i still need to get up to speed on a lot of the terminology-- kind of a newbie to all this

from what ive been reading, i see that i should probably instead use an impedance matching transformer for what im trying to do?

Probably a mic preamp would work better. Impedence is only part of the picture. For what I assume you're doing, any old preamp would do. Those ART "tube" pres are dirt cheap. Around $30 street. Of course you get what you pay for but if you're just using it for practice, it will do.

hueseph wrote: Probably a mic preamp would work better. Impedence is only part of the picture. For what I assume you're doing, any old preamp would do. Those ART "tube" pres are dirt cheap. Around $30 street. Of course you get what you pay for but if you're just using it for practice, it will do.

cool.. thanks..ill take a look into it

Well, that adapter LOOKS like an XLR-TRS adapter, but it claims:

"Trustworthy balanced-to-unbalanced signal conversion."

So, apparently they must have it wired internally to do the job properly.

Is that Crate a guitar amp? Are you plugging into the jack you usually plug a guitar into? Or, are you plugging into something labelled "Line In"? You really haven't answered those questions yet, and they are important.

Tell us what model Crate it is, and where you plug in to?

Kapt.Krunch
(D.D.S. pulling teeth). :shock:

BTW, after all this...you said you are "testing it" in the Crate. You have nothing else to plug it into, or do you plan to actually try to use a mic in a guitar amp? If that's the case, you might as well just use the old mic that worked, because you gain nothing with this one. You could plug a $5000 mic through a $10,000 preamp and into a guitar amp, and it'll STILL sound terrible on vocals.

I have a suspicion this is what you are going for, otherwise you'd have something else to plug into. And, even if it was something like a Crate Taxi, that has an XLR input, I believe, so I don't think you have one of those.

Am I guessing correctly? If so, don't try too hard to get any useable vocals out of a guitar amp....ain't gonna happen because of the way a guitar amp's frequency range is designed, and because of the lack of a high-frequency driver.

Also, you COULD use an XLR-1/4" transformer unit, which they make (even Radio Shack used to carry them), but only if you plugged into the Instrument In.

Almost seems like a lot of trouble IF that's what you plan, and if you have something else to plug into, then logic would state to try that first before determining any part is bad.

Answer all these questions for the most useful advice and/or answers. :wink:

Kapt.Krunch

hueseph wrote: [quote=Kev]Pin 1 shield/ground/0volts
Pin 2 hot
Pin 3 cold

Thanks for the clarification.

RHF: it wasn't a matter of the plug I was talking about but the internal wiring. Say if the Mic were destined for the UK it would be wired differently than if it were destined for US AFAIK. At any rate, I think it's definitely the mic. If you know the cable works, it's the mic for sure but I have to say, you're probably not much better off with that mic than one from Radio Slack.

Hueseph, I have no idea where you heard about some difference in wiring from US to UK. The wiring standard for XLR (as listed by Kev) is the same globally. I dread to think of the mess we would be in otherwise! We have enough problems with reversed phase on faulty cables as it is....

MrEase wrote: Hueseph, I have no idea where you heard about some difference in wiring from US to UK. The wiring standard for XLR (as listed by Kev) is the same globally. I dread to think of the mess we would be in otherwise! We have enough problems with reversed phase on faulty cables as it is....

Historically, the US was slow to adopt the "Pin 2 Hot" standard. So there indeed was a time when gear destined to UK might be wired differently than for the US. Presently most have conformed to pin 2 hot, but there are still manufacturers who continue to wire pin 3 hot to this day.

Zilla wrote: [quote=MrEase]Hueseph, I have no idea where you heard about some difference in wiring from US to UK. The wiring standard for XLR (as listed by Kev) is the same globally. I dread to think of the mess we would be in otherwise! We have enough problems with reversed phase on faulty cables as it is....

Historically, the US was slow to adopt the "Pin 2 Hot" standard. So there indeed was a time when gear destined to UK might be wired differently than for the US. Presently most have conformed to pin 2 hot, but there are still manufacturers who continue to wire pin 3 hot to this day.

Whoah! Am I dating myself. Even if I could why would I? Never mind. Yeah. I guess I'm a little behind the times....or maybe I'm a big behind...the times.

Zilla wrote: [quote=MrEase]Hueseph, I have no idea where you heard about some difference in wiring from US to UK. The wiring standard for XLR (as listed by Kev) is the same globally. I dread to think of the mess we would be in otherwise! We have enough problems with reversed phase on faulty cables as it is....

Historically, the US was slow to adopt the "Pin 2 Hot" standard. So there indeed was a time when gear destined to UK might be wired differently than for the US. Presently most have conformed to pin 2 hot, but there are still manufacturers who continue to wire pin 3 hot to this day.

Well that is interesting info. I've been using US gear (mainly mic's) since the early 70's and have never heard of this before. Maybe it's because I'm in the UK that I'd never heard of such a problem.

I'd be intrigued to know exactly which manufacturers are still managing to ignore what has become a global standard!

EDIT: P.S. Hueseph, where in Vancouver are you? I have friends that live by False Creek overlooking Granville Island. (Handy for Tom Lee's!).

Way back when it was mainly an issue for my situation with consoles, not so much mics. I guess even at that time it was a rarity but just for the sake of knowing, I was taught how to make "crossover" cables. Soldering is something I've never been really good at and the whole idea is lost somewhere back in my memory. IE: I never practiced it. It's just a thought that came up when the OP brought up the problem.

Incidentally, I'm on the other side of False Creek near Vancouver General Hospital. I have a few friend in False Creek as well. Small world.

Kapt.Krunch wrote: Well, that adapter LOOKS like an XLR-TRS adapter, but it claims:

"Trustworthy balanced-to-unbalanced signal conversion."

So, apparently they must have it wired internally to do the job properly.

Is that Crate a guitar amp? Are you plugging into the jack you usually plug a guitar into? Or, are you plugging into something labelled "Line In"? You really haven't answered those questions yet, and they are important.

Tell us what model Crate it is, and where you plug in to?

Kapt.Krunch
(D.D.S. pulling teeth). :shock:

not plugging it into the guitar input...there are two guitar inputs-- one -6 dB and one 0 dB..im plugging it in to the "Line In"..its a Crate GX-80 btw..

Kapt.Krunch wrote: BTW, after all this...you said you are "testing it" in the Crate. You have nothing else to plug it into, or do you plan to actually try to use a mic in a guitar amp? If that's the case, you might as well just use the old mic that worked, because you gain nothing with this one. You could plug a $5000 mic through a $10,000 preamp and into a guitar amp, and it'll STILL sound terrible on vocals.

I have a suspicion this is what you are going for, otherwise you'd have something else to plug into. And, even if it was something like a Crate Taxi, that has an XLR input, I believe, so I don't think you have one of those.

Am I guessing correctly? If so, don't try too hard to get any useable vocals out of a guitar amp....ain't gonna happen because of the way a guitar amp's frequency range is designed, and because of the lack of a high-frequency driver.

Also, you COULD use an XLR-1/4" transformer unit, which they make (even Radio Shack used to carry them), but only if you plugged into the Instrument In.

Almost seems like a lot of trouble IF that's what you plan, and if you have something else to plug into, then logic would state to try that first before determining any part is bad.

Answer all these questions for the most useful advice and/or answers. :wink:

Kapt.Krunch

we have a karaoke machine, and i tried plugging the Nady mic into that, but no response.. however, the karaoke machine's mic works when plugged in to the karaoke machine, and i got an output when plugging it into the amp..not a good one though... no clue of the specs on the karaoke mic ..besides that, i dont have anything else to plug the mic into right now, and the Shure mic i was previously talking about is one that I borrowed from a friend.. i just wanted something to mess around with.. the mic i used last time actually sounded decent when i sang into it and i was just trying to reproduce that quickly/cheaply

ive been planning on getting recording equipment since im trying to record a cd over the next year, but there's just a lot of options and im trying to figure it all out... not sure if i should invest in a decent digital recorder or just use recording software for what im doing..dont have many instruments except my guitar, and possibly a keyboard soon, so i really want something with good effects...the Boss digital recorders seem to have that, but kinda expensive..was actually looking at the Boss-BR600 since that might be in my price range but the Fostex recorders around the same price range seem to offer a lot more features.. it seems Boss wins out on the multitude/quality of effects they have though? ..also was planning on getting a cheap condenser mic (mxl 990 or mxl 2003).. wasn't sure if there's a better setup for a cheap home recording studio.. love to hear any suggestions regarding equipment you used when you started out and/or still use, etc

thanks for the help everyone

Laptop, Edirol UA-25, cheap mic.
And luckily for me, should I wish to progress into the stereo age, I can because of the two input nature of my beast.
Seriously though, what are you recording? If it's your vocals, spend your money on tuition and then when you have some skills go into a studio where your voice can be properly recorded and pitch shifted if needs be.

Radiohead...

You STILL haven't answered the questions, so I don't know what to tell you.

The probable reason that the "karaoke mic" worked is because it's probably a high-impedence mic with a 1/4" TS jack. Did the Shure you used earlier use the same "adapter" you tried with the Nady? Could that be the problem? I dunno.

I'm trying to help narrow down the possibilities, but you're not giving relevant answers to questions, and you don't seem to have a logical diagnostic plan that you have to use to eliminate possibilities in order to arrive at a solution. It's a process of elimination with a lot of this stuff, and you need to learn how to do it.

I'm happy to try to help people help themselves, and I try to gently guide inexperienced people through the process of helping them learn, but I'm no use to someone who cannot understand simple concepts and suggestions, and who won't answer simple questions. :?

Lastly, search engines are great resource that can teach one a lot of things, and lead to other, related answers.

With that, good luck to you.

Kapt.Krunch

yep Krunch is right

the "karaoke mic"
...
is prossibly unbalanced
so
it is probably how (you)/(the adapter)
handles signal and earth

for many mics just using pin 2 (hot) and pin 1 (shield) won't work because they are often transformer coupled and so you will need
pin 2 and pin 3 to get a signal
some adapters join 1 and 3 that's fine becaude the signal gets referenced to ground instead of thin air

THAT Planet Waves XLR-1/4" Adapter has a Tip Ring Sleeve
probably
pin 1 to Sleeve
pin 2 to Tip
pin 3 to Ring

IF the Crate doesn't join ring to Sleeve then it won't work
many of those plastic 1/4 inputs are build as stereo
BUT with the ring contact missing

so for the nady sp1
try pin 2 and pin 3 to the Crate amp
add pin 1 to pin 3 on the shield of the Crate and listen for changes to hum and supply buzz

Kapt.Krunch wrote: Radiohead...

You STILL haven't answered the questions, so I don't know what to tell you.

The probable reason that the "karaoke mic" worked is because it's probably a high-impedence mic with a 1/4" TS jack. Did the Shure you used earlier use the same "adapter" you tried with the Nady? Could that be the problem? I dunno.

I'm trying to help narrow down the possibilities, but you're not giving relevant answers to questions, and you don't seem to have a logical diagnostic plan that you have to use to eliminate possibilities in order to arrive at a solution. It's a process of elimination with a lot of this stuff, and you need to learn how to do it.

I'm happy to try to help people help themselves, and I try to gently guide inexperienced people through the process of helping them learn, but I'm no use to someone who cannot understand simple concepts and suggestions, and who won't answer simple questions. :?

Lastly, search engines are great resource that can teach one a lot of things, and lead to other, related answers.

With that, good luck to you.

Kapt.Krunch

i tried sending you a private message ...dont know if it went through or not.. ill just say what i said again:

i went down your last post and previous post and answered every question on there...at least i thought i did.. please tell me which of your questions i did not answer? ..abt the adapter on the Shure mic, it was a friend's and his adapter was not the one that i have now.. i have a feeling it was a TS... i felt i answered your questions in my last post, but again, please let me know which ones i didnt

the adapter was the issue.. got a TS impedance matching transformer from radio shack today and i got the sound i wanted.. its nothing great like you all already pointed out, but i just wanted something to mess around with.. soon enough ill make an upgrade, and chances are i'll be taking one of the suggestions i got from here..once again, thanks for all your help

we did say the adapter was possibly
and likely to be the issue

this is why knowing how the connections and adapters have been constructed is the only way to know what is actually going on