Will these cables work?

cartesia · Post by **cartesia** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 1:25 pm

double click the little speaker icon in the task tray down by the clock in windows..make sure in the options menu 'advanced' is on

if you see a mic section and a line in section, make sure the line in box is checked instead of the mic one

if you dont see mic/line in .. go to options -> properties and select recording and hit OK.... or options-> recording (cant remember exactly, im on mac OS atm) ..

then you should see line in / mic with check boxes underneath..

That might help you. . or it might not. i know i had trouble for ages cos i didnt know you had to do that!

also check that the line in level is up whlie youre in there

kyodai · Post by **kyodai** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:42 pm

The only issue that I see is: you can use balanced or unbalanced cables in the outputs of the Micron;

Balanced Cables look like Stereo cable but they serve a different purpose. You are getting a balanced signal out of the Micron and you are feeding it into a stereo jack. A balanced signal is not stereo but is two copies of the same signal but in opposite phase. I have no idea what that would sound like when played as a stereo signal but I think that if you pointed your speakers at each other they would cancel the sound out. I think that one speaker would be pushing while the other is pulling (exactally the same except opposite)

what you need is two (2) 1/4" jack plugs that look like this:

One for the left output and one for the right. on the other end of the cable you'll need the typical 1/8" jack plug. (you may need to do this via adapters)

In the above picture: notice that the tip is insulated from the sleeve with a single insulating plastic divider. This is a TS 1/4" Unballanced (the signal goes thru the tip and the sleeve is the ground.

The cable you are using is TRS Tip/Ring/Sleve. If it were plugged into a stereo 1/4" jack it would work like you want but it is not. (in a stereo cable the Right Channel is sent thru the ring and the Left thru the tip) but the way you are using it it is the same signal, oposite phase going thru both the tip and ring.

The cable you show in your first pic is different than the one you show via the sweetwater link. (look at the jack plugs)

you will need begining at the micron (2) unbalanced 1/4" TS cables (you choose the length)

Example: http://www.zzounds.com/item--HOSCPP20

Then a Y cable that combines 2 mono signals into a stereo signal

Example: http://www.zzounds.com/item--HOSYPP117

Finally you'll need an adapter to go from 1/4" to 1/8"

Example: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=search http://www.zzounds.com/item--HOSYPP117

There may be a simpler way to do this but that is the best I can do for now. I hope this helped and didn't totally confuse you more. but this is the sort of thing you have to deal with when connecting a peice of professional gear to a consumer soundcard.

goober · Post by **goober** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:58 pm

This should work too right? http://www.zzounds.com/item--MIMSCMA6
If it does then I'll just buy that and save myself all the trouble.

micahjonhughes · Post by **micahjonhughes** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:41 pm

That is definitely not what you want. I'm surprised they even sell something like that. That is a midi cable with a very old connector for interfacing with a computer through the joystick or printer port.

The cable you have will work, maybe not ideally, but would work in a pinch. The issue here is more of you not knowing what you are doing than not having the correct cable.

You really need to read up on computer recording. Goto www.harmonycentral.com and read their tutorials. While you are reading, you should read up on midi because you are already confusing midi and audio.

kyodai · Post by **kyodai** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:03 pm

goober wrote:This should work too right? http://www.zzounds.com/item--MIMSCMA6
If it does then I'll just buy that and save myself all the trouble.

Dealing with a MIDI connection is later; right now we just want to get an audio connection between your synth and computer.

goober · Post by **goober** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:18 pm

I also have cables that connect to an amp.. and I tried plugging those in to my micron and convert just one of the jacks into a 1/8' but that didn't work. Maybe I need a different soundcard? Because it's really made for gaming.

micahjonhughes · Post by **micahjonhughes** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:26 pm

The issue is not the cables. If you could convert to 1/8 inch, you should be okay. Maybe it is the sound card. Be sure that you are plugging into the sound card's input and that the volume of that input is turned up on the control panel's mixer.

kyodai · Post by **kyodai** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:10 pm

what program are you using to "listen" to the audio that you are routing into your soundcard?

goober · Post by **goober** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:11 am

i just try and turn up the volume, i don't open any programs, I just tried using audacity but that didn't make a difference. I'll fiddle with it later its getting frustrating heh.