SOUND ON SOUND

[bpoppen]

Greetings SOS people!

I'm fresh blood and need help with the signal out on a MS-20 mini. I'm new to the synth, but am quickly realizing it's capabilities. Holy shit. However, I am attempting to record the synth with no success. I am currently running the synth through a Scarlett 2i2 sound card via 1/8 inch to XLR mono cable. However, the Scarlett is only registering a pulsing signal with no sound quality, just a steady beat unaffected by any adjustments made on the synth itself.

Any ideas on why this might be and how I could resolve the issue?
Any assistance is much appreciated.

Thank you and stay groovy

[Rich Hanson]

First thing I would say is to check the wiring.

However, the second thing I would say is don't go in the XLR, they're wired to the mic input and if you were to turn on phantom power you might well damage the MS20's output stage. Get hold of a 1/8" to 1/4" lead and use that to connect it.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I am currently running the synth through a Scarlett 2i2 sound card via 1/8 inch to XLR mono cable. However, the Scarlett is only registering a pulsing signal with no sound quality, just a steady beat unaffected by any adjustments made on the synth itself.

Any ideas on why this might be and how I could resolve the issue?

Yes and yes... ;-)

The XLR input on the Scarlett expects a balanced mic-level signal, and you're feeding it an unbalanced line level signal. Moreover, the output of the MS20 will not like having phantom power foisted upon it...

So as has been posted above, you need a cable with a mono (TS) 3.5mm minijack plug at one end, and a quarter-inch mono (TS) plug at the other. Connect between the MS20's main output (not the headphone output) and the Scarlett's instrument/line input.
it should look like this:



Eg: this one from Amazon