Adding Microphone (XLR) Input

Posted by David Sutton on August 5, 2010 at 12:29pm

I have a cute little 25 watt amp that looks like it was designed in the early 70s ("all transistor!!"), nice aqua/silver speaker cloth over a 10" speaker. I want to set it up so that someone could plug an iPod in and sing along, or sing and play guitar.

The amp has 3- 1/4" phono input jacks, one off/on/volume and one tone control.

I would like to reconfigure it just slightly by changing one of the input jacks to a 1/8" mini phono, which I don't believe presents any problems, and by changing one of the other two to an XLR (microphone) input.

Will this work? Can I just swap it out? I don't know much about electronics. I have heard the term "phantom power" in re: microphones, but I don't really know what it means or how it works. Does a microphone like a Shure SM58 have enough output?

If changing a 1/4" phono input jack to an XLR input jack is NOT a simple one for one, then is there something else that could be done to make it work?

THanks!

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –

Replies

David Sutton August 7, 2010 at 10:24am

Thanks, all. I have one of those adapters--for some reason it works in my other amps but not this particular little odd-ball. A big part of my question had to do with... I just want to try it, you know, fun with solder!
Sander August 7, 2010 at 9:20am

By the way, phantom power is only needed for condenser microphones, which contain active circuitry. Electricity is fed through the mic to power the circuit. Since a Shure SM58 is a dynamic, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Sander said:
A Shure SM58 doesn't need to be phantom powered. Also, this site might be helpful: http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/xlr-jack-mono.html
Sander August 7, 2010 at 9:08am

A Shure SM58 doesn't need to be phantom powered. Also, this site might be helpful: http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/xlr-jack-mono.html
Grizz August 5, 2010 at 7:09pm

I'm sure you can buy an adapter to go from ¼" to XLR. As a matter of fact now that I'm thinking about it here's a link to Musicians Friend where you can get one.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Planet-Waves-XLR14-A...

This reply was deleted.

#xg { position:relative;top:120px; } #xn_bar { top:120px; }

Hello, you need to enable JavaScript to use Cigar Box Nation.

Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator.

Guitar Amps: Making & Modding

Replies