Hi Everyone - I recently came in to possession of an Ear Trumpet Nadine and while I’m mainly using it for live performances I’d also like to use it to record into my MacBook Air at home. Knowing absolutely nothing about anything having to do with recording technology or really anything electrical I have a couple of questions. First is, does anyone have any recommendations for an interface for this microphone? Let’s say under 1k. Secondly, the Nadine requires phantom power, how will that play into the choice I make? Will it require a separate pre-amp or power source? Thanks in advance!
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Double Bass Interface/Phantom Power for Ear Trumpet Nadine
- Thread starter Michael Karn
- Start date
I love the UAD stuff. Any of them will work well for you. Just make sure you get the right cable/adapters for your computer. I don't mind buying this sort of thing used. Any ad/da you buy now is truly incredible. Ten years ago you would have spend 10k+ for what goes for 4 or 5 hundred now.
You don’t need anything super fancy. As @crd says above, for a few hundred $ you can get a perfectly good two channel interface that will convert your signal to digital and get it into your DAW of choice. In addition to UA, other reputable companies of inexpensive interfaces are Focusrite, Audient, and Presonus. Almost all modern ones will have phantom power built in.
But I think you will find that the Nadine’s placement limits the sound for recording in a controlled environment. I wrote the review on the Nadine for BGM many years ago, and the very thing that makes it sound good for live use is likely to be a limiting factor for studio use. Like interfaces, the cost of decent recording mics has gone way down in recent decades, and you may have better luck with one of those placed 12-18” n front of your bridge. Good luck!
But I think you will find that the Nadine’s placement limits the sound for recording in a controlled environment. I wrote the review on the Nadine for BGM many years ago, and the very thing that makes it sound good for live use is likely to be a limiting factor for studio use. Like interfaces, the cost of decent recording mics has gone way down in recent decades, and you may have better luck with one of those placed 12-18” n front of your bridge. Good luck!
Using an Apollo with an Imac I only can confirm this proposal... The audio properties are beyond good and evil and you'll also find the needed phantom power for your Nadine... or any other condenser mic, that you might want to use, keeping in mind Chris's hints... and looking for a UA Volt isn't soo expensive..
For a Mic input I wouldn’t use a Behringer, specially with less sensitive mics like dynamic ones and quiet sound sources. Their mic preamps ( in general) get a bit noisy then.
Good mic preamps are expensive, so buy from a quality manufacturer and think about how many you need (do you want to record the band live?).
I bought older interfaces used, none above 250€, the last one with eight phantom powered XLR in and out and two ADAT in/out for a possible total of 24 concurrent tracks. Also has a no-delay live mixer inside (best controlled by a computer).
The cheapest one I got for 50€ with one XLR, one instrument input. 60€ with two XLR ins. 70-100€ for four XLR ins.
But this was during Corona-time in Germany.
If you are not familiar with Audio workstations and controlling studio equipment, keep it as simple as possible. So best a two in/out interface.
If you buy used, check the drivers available. That is the most important thing.
I‘m happy with my MOTU (FireWire) and Focusrite (USB) interfaces. But as I said, they are older and used with a 15 year old laptop.
Good mic preamps are expensive, so buy from a quality manufacturer and think about how many you need (do you want to record the band live?).
I bought older interfaces used, none above 250€, the last one with eight phantom powered XLR in and out and two ADAT in/out for a possible total of 24 concurrent tracks. Also has a no-delay live mixer inside (best controlled by a computer).
The cheapest one I got for 50€ with one XLR, one instrument input. 60€ with two XLR ins. 70-100€ for four XLR ins.
But this was during Corona-time in Germany.
If you are not familiar with Audio workstations and controlling studio equipment, keep it as simple as possible. So best a two in/out interface.
If you buy used, check the drivers available. That is the most important thing.
I‘m happy with my MOTU (FireWire) and Focusrite (USB) interfaces. But as I said, they are older and used with a 15 year old laptop.
My brief experience with the Nadine was that it was really designed for live performance. That certainly doesn't exclude using it for recording if you're just doing recordings for yourself or rehearsals.
If you decide to start recording for presentations than it wouldn't be my first or second choice. You could invest @$150.00 U.S. in a Line Audio CM4 for that purpose and get a great recorded sound.
Just my take of course.
If you decide to start recording for presentations than it wouldn't be my first or second choice. You could invest @$150.00 U.S. in a Line Audio CM4 for that purpose and get a great recorded sound.
Just my take of course.
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the responses. This is primarily for my own amusement, the microphone came into my possession to use live but I figured I might as well have the ability to use it at home as well. Once I get this setup up and running I’ll probably invest in another “recording” microphone and blend the two, my introduction to the Nadine was in that exact situation.
