Specifications

the signal to the balanced, low-Z configuration. You can then plug the mic

into a balanced mic input or use another transformer to convert the signal

back to high-Z to match the equipment’s input. It’s important that the

transformer is used as close to the microphone end of the cable as

possible, so that the majority of its length is balanced. Placing the

transformer at the mixer input will not make the mic cable more resistant

to electrical noise.

2. Distortion —

This “fuzziness”

or general lack of

clarity results when

the input of some

piece of equipment

in your audio chain

is being overloaded

(a condition called

clipping). Once the

signal is distorted,

there is absolutely

no way to remove

the distortion with

another device

further down the

audio chain. If the

signal level coming

from the microphone

is too high for the mixer and sounds distorted, for example, you must turn

down that channel’s input level control on the mixer. Adjusting the input

control on the videotape recorder will not help. If the range of adjustment

is not wide enough, you can use an attenuator

(also called a pad), which

reduces the level of the signal by a specified amount without altering its

sound. The amount of attenuation is measured in decibels, or “dB” for

short. A 10 dB or 20 dB attenuator is frequently all that is required to

make a signal easier for the mixer to deal with; a 50 dB attenuator will

bring a line-level signal all the way down to mic level.

3. “Tin can” sound — This usually results when the microphone is

located too far from the talker. The more reverberant the room is, the

closer the microphone must be in order to obtain good sound

quality. “Tin can” sound can also be caused by phase cancellation

which occurs when the same sound waves reach more than one

microphone at slightly different times. When the signals are

combined at the mixer, the time delay between them causes

unpredictable changes to the signal, resulting in a strange sound.

The easiest way to avoid this problem is to observe the 3-to -1 rule.

Examples of transformers