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Behringer DSP110 Shark-- Anybody use one?

RickC.

Hopeless antenna junkie
Mar 30, 2009
400
8
28
Alabama
I just bought a DSP110 Compressor/Limiter/Noise gate off Ebay. I have plans for it and a handful of mics to experiment with on my IC-718.

Anyone use one of these? How do you like it?

Thanks,

Rick
 

Don't have or use one of those models. It does have some nice features though. Adjustable compression is one of them. Like to know how well it works out for you.

I use the Behringer outboard gear. Ulttragain Mic2200 preamp, UltracurvePro, and the UltraFX Pro. Going thru the 13 pin DIN plug on the back will bypass the radio's stock preamp. The way to go!
 
I have used one for about a year. It works very well. Just make sure you don't use the phantom power on a mic that doesn't require it. About the only function I use is the noise gate. I also had to use a product similar to the Ibox , an Art Zdirect, with the "ground lift" button on . That took away the ground loop problems. You will have to figure a PTT for the mic. I bought a Heil XLR cable with a PTT pigtail and made a PTT out of a toggle switch soldered to a stereo cable. You can also buy a cheap guitar foot peddle for a PTT. It plugs right into the pigtail.
 
Thanks guys.

Yep, I have a cable/plug for the 13 pin jack on the Icom I can swipe from a PSK interface a built a while back (I never got on with that mode). I've been toying with the idea of building a breakout box for audio and whatever else I want to access from that jack anyway, so I may go ahead and do that.

There are 3 small mixers lying around from various band/recording projects, so I can press one of them into amateur service if I want EQ. I really would like to try an EV-635A since the Shark has a noise gate. Once, many years ago, an engineer for a radio station where I was working grabbed a beat-up old 635A from the bag used for high school ball games when the control room mic bit the dust. It sounded really good, I thought-- much like a ribbon mic when you got up in it, and nothing like a '58 or '57. Anyway, I have several mics I can play with, we'll see how it goes.

I had a footswitch for a while, but never liked it as much as I thought I would. Most of the time I have been using the Heil ICM, not because I think it's a great mic, but because it's adequate and convenient. The Heil pistol grip PTT switch seems like a dumb idea, but I like it.

What I may do is wire up one of those painted gray utility boxes from Lowes and use a light switch for PTT on AM. I rigged up one of those that sits on my desk to reverse direction of the 2 element 20m yagi I have up right now.

Thanks-- and if you can think of anything else about the DSP110, please pass it on.

73,

Rick
 
I would add that the better you get to know your equipment; the better it will work for you. Sounds to me that you have some sound experience in your background. Seen some viddys on YouTube for the unit you have. Let us know how this is working out, as others may want to do the same on the forum.

The newer ribbon mics sound fine. Mics will make 90% of the sound that gets delivered; so pick and choose carefully! The EV RE20 or 27 are still the top of the heap; but experimenting in this area of mic choice can yield some nice gains.

I use a MXL V69 condenser mic. Got a real tube in it that actually gets warm - it is not 'tube emulation'. The real deal. Took out the cheap stock tube and put in a GE 5 Star 5751 that was NOS from 1957 (got it on eBay for $30). Big difference in sound between transistors and tubes. Using a high quality tube after removing the cheap Chinese junker tube made a whole lotta difference too.

Just saying . . .
 
Thanks Robb.

I did see one YouTube clip that was just a guy explaining the features, didn't get to hear it in action.

Hey, I'd love to have an RE-20, but don't want to shell out the bucks for one of those for an amateur mic!

Most of the condensers I have are small diameter for recording guitars and such, C-1000, BG-4s (which is a surprisingly good little mic), and I sold off all my large condensers except for an Oktava MK-319 which I plan to try on the Icom, but I really don't like something that big in my face (and with the windscreen on, it is).

A while back I recall seeing a website that had a shootout between an SM-7 and an SM-58. With the globe removed and used with a studio pop filter, the results were very, very close-- believe it or not.

In early August I recorded the spoken word portion of a podcast I produced for an author friend (second one I've done for her)-- the plan was to use the Oktava, but the noise outside her home was so loud (tree frogs, even at 1 am in the mountains of Virginia!) the Oktava was still picking them up no matter what I did. As a last resort I dug a '58 out of my bag and recorded with that instead. Granted, it's all squished down to an mp3 that will be on the publisher's website that people will be listening to on iPads and laptops, but the quality was very good, I think.


Rick
 
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I have one and it works fine. Just read the maunaul thotoughly. I was using an MXL 990 mic and it was fun to play around with. Not something I would use in a regular basis with a communications radio.
 
Thanks Ratso. What I have in mind is 6-8 dB of compression. We'll see what it looks like on the scope and how it sounds on the air. If it just doesn't work out I'm sure some other use for it will pop up!

Rick
 
The SM-7 is actually preferred over the RE-27 in studio work. They are both made for broadcast use. A SM-58 or even a SM-57 (same mic w/o the round windscreen) would also be a fine choice. But I wouldn't make the connection from the SM-7 to a SM-58. They are built differently. Not saying it won't work for the application; the SM-58 will work.

Dynamic mics and condensers just don't have the same response curves. The condensers are far flatter and less EQing is necessary. If you still have a nice large capsule condenser mic, I would give that one first shot.
 
Agreed. I was really surprised to hear how close the 58 was to the SM-7 though!

I'll just try different ones and see how they sound. I've heard too many guys on the air, both AM and ESSB who are in love with their audio chain and love to talk about it, but you can barely understand them. Bassy mush, a lot of it.

It's all in the ear of the beholder, I guess!


Rick
 
Thanks Ratso. What I have in mind is 6-8 dB of compression. We'll see what it looks like on the scope and how it sounds on the air. If it just doesn't work out I'm sure some other use for it will pop up!

Rick

If you have a good studio mic like the MXl 990 the best thing about the Shark in the noise gate. You can do a little eq'ing with it too I believe. Compression sounds odd over the air, at least to me, so your better off not using it or the speech processor on your radio. If you have a small mixer you won't need compression.
 
That is why it is easier to start with a mic that doesn't have too much of any particular frequency above another. Flatter is better and easier to manipulate when you do EQ it the way you need. Rather than having to take away 'peaks'. It is much easier to add EQ to a flat response rather than to struggle dropping a large block of frequencies. That won't work out well unless you know how to use a parametric EQ, and even then there are no guarantees when taking that route. Like bass for one. One of the things you learn when you work in a studio long enough I guess.

Condensers have far more articulation as well. More versatile. So long as you EQ them correctly, I think they sound better than the SM-7 and the RE-27 mics. Of course, getting a Neumann condenser mic is a bit out of the price range of most. That is why I chose the mic I did (go back to my post that mentions the MXL mic).
 
The old 635A is pretty flat for a dynamic, which is one of the reasons I've been looking that way. I used a '57 with a small mixer with
my old TS-520 for a while and had it dialed in pretty well-- just got tired of having 3-4 pieces of gear and cables when it really wasn't all that much better than the MC-50 Kenwood mic.

Ah, we'll see-- and I appreciate the comments.

Interesting that some guys have preferred the sound of the Icom compressor on AM with the Heil ICM (with the mic gain way down, and an eye on the ALC) and some really just don't. From what I can see, the on-board compressor in the 718 gives about 12 dB of compression, which I'd think would be a bit hard to listen to for very long.
 
Use "limiter compression' settings on your Shark compressor. To do that, turn off the compressor in the radio and look up the settings on Google for 'Limiter Compression'. Commercial broadcasting uses these kind of settings and will be far better than the hard wired compression in any Ham radio. Not hard to accomplish, but it will take a little time to do right.
 

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