TopicPosted on 12/29/2008 at 23:56:01Shure Beta 87a Super Cardioid condenser mic
I just bought my first microphone and it is the Shure Beta 87a Super Cardioid condenser mic. i am having trouble getting it to work. i have it hooked up to a phantom power box and then from there i have it linked to my fender acoustic junior amp (it is an acoustic guitar amp that is split so you can run a vocal microphone through one of the tubes)and no sound is coming out. i checked all cables and connections but i don't know why it won't work. do i need a mixer or something?
phraseland
34
New AFfiliate
Member 15 years ago
2Posted on 12/30/2008 at 07:23:29
Hey there
Usually you shouldn't need a mixer. Do you have it hooked up to an active DI Box? What mark is it? You checked the battery in the DI Box, right? I know, dumb question...but you would be amazed.
Once the Condenser Mic has Phantom Power it should produce sound like any other mic. Are you going into the XLR input with it? Maybe plug a dynamic mic into the Vox inpunt of the amp just to make sure it works. Then plug your Shure mic into a mixing board and check if that works (with 48V). I usually follow the signal path and check where it stops producing sound.
Thank you phraseland i really aprreciate the help but to be honest i'm really new to this stuff but i catch on really quick. i don't know what a DI box is, if you are reffering to the phantom power box then yes, the power light shows ON. i'm kind of thinking that it could be the amp which would suck because it's not an old amp. is there any other reason it could not be working?
also i don't have a mixer but do you suggest i buy one whether it absolutely needs it or not? money is no issue
Hey - I said the thing about the mixing board so you can figure out where the problem really is. So if you try it out with a mixing board you can make sure the mic (and cable) are working. Also if you had a dynamic mic (like an Shure SM58) you could make sure that the channel on the amp is working...or maybe just plug in a guitar if possible. I hope this helps.