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Microphone amplification; I am SO lost.


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How does one amplify a microphone. I took a look at mic cables but they have what I think is called a "midi" out or summat like that which won't plug into a regular 1/4" jack. Can you get a cable that goes from the weird mic out to a 1/4" jack? Will I blow up my crappy little combo amp that I'm using for this project? (I have others, this is the cheapest one I own though) Where can I find such a cable if it exists? Can someone put microphone amplification in plain English for me?

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XLR out not MIDI. You can get a cable with XLR on one end and 1/4" on the other, but if you're going into a combo amp you'll most likely need (but it depends on the amp) an adaptor to turn the low Z signal (I'm assuming it's low impedance) into high Z.

 

Once again, don't know where you're located, but unless your local music shop is clueless, they should be able to help you.

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I'm just trying to get a little Micage for personal use and band practices, because practising with mutes on the drum kit and the bass + guitars quiet sucks =/

 

And, turning the low Z signal to a high Z signal, what does that mean?

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A professional microphone outputs a low-impedance, balanced signal: Low-Z.

 

Consumer microphones (and guitars for that matter) output a high-impedance, unbalanced signal: High-Z.

 

You can use something like this in order to math the impedance of a low-z microphone to go into a hi-z input (like the input of a combo amp), but the result will be far-less than stunning:

 

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Whirlwind-Little-IMP-Lo-to-Hi-Impedance-Matcher?sku=427600

 

You appear to be in far over your head when it comes to this. I would recommend checking out this post and getting some reading in:

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=24079

 

As Shaster recommended, it would probably do you some good to go have a chat at your local music store.

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