Posted by Chuck on February 28, 2003 at 13:16:42:
In Reply to: Re: Just bought a mixer..could use some tips posted by Rick Denney on February 28, 2003 at 11:19:42:
I own and frequently use the Sony MZ-R70 minidisc unit, and it does have a manual gain control.
Jeff: here's how to use it - hold pause and slide the Record button to the right to turn on the record function, but not start recording. Press Enter and the screen will start flashing "EDIT." Press the right scroll button twice, and "REC LEVEL" will be flashing on the screen. Press Enter and it should say something like "AUTO REC." Press the right scroll button and the screen will read "MANUAL REC." Press Enter, then after waiting a couple seconds you can set the level using the right & left scroll buttons. You can play while the record function is paused and see where the DB meter reads, just to see if your signal is going to clip. Once it is set where you want it to be, press pause again and you'll be recording.
Unfortunately, that minidisc player just uses a level bar instead of numbers, so you'll just need to experiment with levels to find what works for you & your mic. One drawback to the MZ-R70, being a consumer level unit, is that you need to set it to manual gain control every time you turn on the record function. I haven't found a way to get the unit to default to manual gain control. Fortunately, you don't have to set the level every time.
Hope this helps,
Chuck Koontz