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Why I record with Fraps (or simply unmute mic) does my cheap desktop mic from Best Buy record and two channels and my AKG D5 dynamic mic only record left channel? I can switch mics while recording and it will switch between the one channel and two. The problem could be my cable connection into the sound card. My mic cable on the D5 is a xlr. My sound card accepts 1/4 jack, so I bought a XLR to 1/4 adapter. I now notice the adapter is a 1/4 phone jack for unbalanced signals.

Comments

Boswell Wed, 06/29/2011 - 05:10

Well, I think you have answered your own question, but there still remains the problem of what to do about it. If you want the D5 mic signal to go into both DAW channels as dual mono, you will need a mono-stereo jack splitter. It's possible [="http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103725"]this[/]="http://www.radiosha…"]this[/] one would work, but you would have to check that the adaptor is wired with the tip and ring tied together and not with the ring grounded. If it's the latter then the [[url=http://="http://www.amazon.c…"]Hosa DOC106[/]="http://www.amazon.c…"]Hosa DOC106[/] insert adaptor cable will do the job instead, but it costs more.

All this carefully ignores the fact that the output of the D5 (or any other professional mic) is balanced and you need unbalanced inputs, but your original adapter will unbalance the mic in a way that should work but not be as interference-free as using a proper balanced input would achieve.

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