Can I buy a cable which will connect my vintage old microphone to my computer? Are some mics built specifically for recording to computer, or is that strictly a function of the cable?
Thanks

There are no problems with doing this, microphones only require two wires to connect. The question is can you find such an adaptor? I have only seen C to 1/8th" to 3/8", not the other way around.

It should not take very long to make one. But for the sake of a couple of dollars, why bother?

Not quite so simple. There are different type of microphone with different output levels and frequencies.

The wrong type of microphone and the output will be distored or of t0o low a level to be usefull.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/jun95/microphones.html

Stuart

You're right Stuart. There some old microphones which might need the volume slider adjusted right up and still need to yell in order to achieve an acceptable level.

Frequency response is indeed crucial in a recording studio environment.

How antique is this microphone? I would not recomment an old water microphone to be used anywhere near a PC.

I'd better rephrase the question.

Can a regular voice microphone plug into a computer's sound card, or are microphones for computer use JUST for computer use?

Example, can a Shure SM57 plug into a computer?

A shure SM57 is a regular old "Dynamic" type of microphone. However, it is low impedance (600 ohms) with a balance output. Unless you have a Pro model of soundcard your soundcard will want a high impedance microphone. You will need to get an impedance matching transformer for it to work properly. You can find these at any music store that sell musical instruments. You may be able to find this a Radio Shack as well.

Thanks.

So you run the mic into the transformer, and the transformer has plugs which go into the computer, yes?

So, what does one use these days for high-quality mics if they are going to be going into a computer? What kind of jacks? If you buy a $200 mic for vocals, do you need a transformer to put it through a sound card on a computer?

If you use a mic on stage, and also record into a sound card, do you need a transformer to use the onstage mic into he sound card?

"So you run the mic into the transformer, and the transformer has plugs which go into the computer, yes"

Exactly.

"So, what does one use these days for high-quality mics if they are going to be going into a computer? What kind of jacks? If you buy a $200 mic for vocals, do you need a transformer to put it through a sound card on a computer?"

SM57's are good for vocals but usually used for guitars. There are much better mics for vocals. There are way to many options to list here. I would suggest going to a music store and asking a salesperson about this. They can point you to the right mic for you needs and pockebook. Technicaly, you could spend 20 grand or more for a great studio mic. If you are going straight from the mic to your soundcard, then yes, you are always going to need a transformer. Al pro mics are balanced output 600 ohms.

"If you use a mic on stage, and also record into a sound card, do you need a transformer to use the onstage mic into he sound card?"

You would run th emic into a channel on your mixer. Good mixers have individual outs for each channel. You would take the output of that channel and run it into your soundcard. Now at this point, the output from that channel will be a line output level so no transofmer is needed if you do it this way.

If you're serious about recording, then you are going to want to look at Pro quality soundcards. Don't even bother wit hcheap cards like SounBlasters. Have a look at some of the models on this page. Some of them even have inputs for pro mics with balanced low impedance outputs so you would not need the transformaers - http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=pciinterfaces

Geez my typing sucks.

Doghead - what type of mic have you got, and what type of soundcard have you got?

You need to sort out at most three things:

1. Mic / soundcard impedance mismatch. This is what you want a transformer for, if that's the problem.

2. Balanced / unbalanced cable connections. Get a DI box from Radio Shack or a guitar shop.

3. Phantom power. Again, if you need it, buy a box from a music shop.

Post back with your details - we'll try and sort it out for you.

If he's got an SM57 as he states, it's a dynamic mic not condenser. He won't need phantom power for that.

The current old mic: AKG D320B

The sound card... oh oh... the computer is still in the box, so I don't know. It's a Compaq DeskPro ENS, P3 1000/20/256, and I don't know which card.

I'm doing really simple stuff at the moment, basically recording an inventory of single track guitar passages, a minute each, +or-, simply making a record of stuff for reference. However, it may morph into something more sophisticated, so I wills study the sound-card issue. I like the sound of this:

"Some of them even have inputs for pro mics with balanced low impedance outputs so you would not need the transformers."

I will be using regular sorts of mics that bands use: Shure, etc..

Yes, those are pro mics. They will all be low impedance balanced output

The AKG D320B is a dynamic mic meant for general vocal use.