Marantz PMD221 cassette recorder to tape oneself

[skeith]

I bought one of these some years back - (BTW it has a nifty half speed control so that you can tape solos from recordings and slow them down to figure it out)

I also use this recorder to tape some of my own musical endeavors....typically using the built-in microphone which yields so-so fidelity.

The unit has a jack for a microphone and I am wondering if anyone knows whether I might get better quality recordings of myself if I get a mike?

 

 

[Jim Alfredson]

Yes an external mic might be an improvement; it really depends on the quality of the microphone and the preamp in the Marantz unit. What kind of connector does the mic input use?

[skeith]

Yes an external mic might be an improvement; it really depends on the quality of the microphone and the preamp in the Marantz unit. What kind of connector does the mic input use?

The owner's manual says it is a 3.5 mm phone plug and "will accept any low impedance microphone" 

 

thanks

[JSngry]

What kind of blank tapes can you get these days?

[skeith]

What kind of blank tapes can you get these days?

got plenty of tapes.....but I would be interested in any advice on mikes (of course I don't expect recording studio quality recordings)....anyone else have this unit?

[JSngry]

Ok, this is it, correct?

I had a somewhat similar-functioned Superscope machine back in the day, and with that mike input...I used used a single Radio Shack mike like they made for taking dictation and stuff. It was an improvement, but...even then, that type of mike input was...challenging. What those units were - and still can be - great for is for solo transcriptions. Slow 'em down to half-speed, the key doesn't change, just the octave, and all sorts of things come into focus. You can do that digitally, of course, but this works in an old-school analog way that I still feel good about.

If you're doing this for a hobby, you can have a lot of fun going back and looking for retro mixers and stuff, as well as all the adapter cords and pins to make it work, but other wise, I got a Tascam DM 44WL over the summer for under $250.00 and although it's got features I don't even know about not knowing about, I'm recording gigs and rehearsals on it using just the two built-in (built-on, actually) X-Y condenser mikes and consider it one of the best investments I could have made, really.

Keep in mind, though, that if this really is the mike setup, you've only got one input, so no matter how many mikes you have, you're still gonna end up with a mono recording. That "Remote" input is for the old-school mikes that had a stop and start switch on them. So, mono signal placed on two tracks. You got stereo outputs though, so you can still get psychedelic, but that's even more work.

[skeith]

Ok, this is it, correct?

I had a somewhat similar-functioned Superscope machine back in the day, and with that mike input...I used used a single Radio Shack mike like they made for taking dictation and stuff. It was an improvement, but...even then, that type of mike input was...challenging. What those units were - and still can be - great for is for solo transcriptions. Slow 'em down to half-speed, the key doesn't change, just the octave, and all sorts of things come into focus. You can do that digitally, of course, but this works in an old-school analog way that I still feel good about.

If you're doing this for a hobby, you can have a lot of fun going back and looking for retro mixers and stuff, as well as all the adapter cords and pins to make it work, but other wise, I got a Tascam DM 44WL over the summer for under $250.00 and although it's got features I don't even know about not knowing about, I'm recording gigs and rehearsals on it using just the two built-in (built-on, actually) X-Y condenser mikes and consider it one of the best investments I could have made, really.

Keep in mind, though, that if this really is the mike setup, you've only got one input, so no matter how many mikes you have, you're still gonna end up with a mono recording. That "Remote" input is for the old-school mikes that had a stop and start switch on them. So, mono signal placed on two tracks. You got stereo outputs though, so you can still get psychedelic, but that's even more work.

yes thanks ....that is the unit.   Yeah I use it for solo transcriptions too...but just wondered if a mike might make my recording a little more hi-fi than the built in mike in the unit..  thanks for your advice.

[JSngry]

Short answer is "yes". Longer answer is "yes, but not without potentially a lot of time invested in getting the things you'll need to make it worth your while".

[DIS]

I have both the Superscope and the Marantz.  I've used them for years for transcribing.  I have an acoustic piano that's stayed in good relative pitch for not having been tuned for 25 years, but it's gone a little flat.  The Marantz enables me to tune the recording to the piano.  The half speed is great for transcribing rapid and complicated passages.

One thing I worry about, however.  Does anybody repair machines of this vintage?