Zoom AMS 44 audio interface with condenser mics not working with 424

[Montanawildlives]

Just playing with my new (to me!) 424 today for the first time.

I have some dynamic mics on order but it will be a couple of weeks, and I had thought that I could use my existing condenser mics (which require phantom power) through my Zoom AMS 44 audio interface (which provides phantom power). I hooked everything up the way I thought it should be and no signal was coming through. The mic is a Rode M5. I know there are 100 things it could be, but I tried the following big ones:

1. Using only TS cable (not TRS) between the zoom and the 424.
2. Tried another input (my Yamaha Clavinova 835 directly into the input jack on the 424 via 1/4” cable—worked fine—saw the levels as soon as I hit a key and successfully recorded it.
3. Tried the mics into the zoom out via USB to my computer and ipad—worked fine (as it has for many weeks now).
4. Tried a variety of cables between the zoom and the 424. These included (1) brand new TS cable (2 of them); (2) adapted cheap 1/8” cable (with two 1/8” to 1/4” adapters); (3) the same cable I used for the Yamaha, which is a 1/4” TRS Y-split to two TS 1/4” cables (this worked fine when joining the Yamaha and the 424, didn’t work at all between the zoom and the 424 on either one or two channels).
5. Messed with the trim dial on the 424, all the way from line to mic. Nothing.
6. Replaced the batteries in the zoom (this was the first time I used it on batteries). .
7. Changed the zoom from mic/line to guitar. Nothing.
8. Made sure phantom power was switched on for the zoom, messed with gain. Nothing.
9. Tried different inputs (2, 5-6, 7-8 on the zoom); nothing.
10. Disconnected all the stereo equipment (see prior thread) and just monitored via headphones. Nothing.

So, can’t quite wrap my head around it. The mics-zoom-laptop works fine. The Yamama-424 works fine. The problem seems to be between the zoom outputs and the 424 inputs (replace either end with another device and everything works). But then I would think those 1/4” cables would be the problem, but…I tried 3. Maybe the use of batteries on the zoom changes the amount or type of phantom power?

Maybe the zoom just can’t talk to the 424 for some reason. Not enough or not the right level of phantom power. Not the expected line signal.

Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts or culprits to check, I’ve love to get a push in the right direction. Thanks!

 

[Jack Saturn]

This is a lot of info to take in, so correct me if I'm overlooking something, but I don't see anything confirming that you were able to hear the microphone via the Zoom recorder itself. Before you venture off into all that troubleshooting, you should confirm that the mic is actually receiving phantom power.

And on that note, the Tascam 424 would have nothing to do with phantom power in this scenario. The Zoom recorder provides the 48V phantom power to the microphone, and the Tascam 424 is simply receiving a line level signal coming from the Zoom.

What type of cable is going between the Rode M5 and the Zoom AMS 44? XLR-to-XLR, or XLR-to-TRS? In case it's the latter, the AMS 44 user manual specifies that "Phantom power (48 V) is not supplied to the standard phone (TRS) connectors."

 

[20 Years of Tascam]

I'll 2nd that ...I suspect your issue is cable related.
In my 424 days I ran an XLR cable into my phantom power unit ...XLR out & into my 424.
Worked like a charm.

 

[Montanawildlives]

OK, do we want the good news or the bad news? Well, it’s all good news I guess. First, so the cables from the M5 mics (actually a pair of them) were XLR to XLR. So, XLR-XLR from the mics to the zoom, and 1/4” TS outs from the zoom to the 424.

Second, yes the mics and zoom were working fine (with phantom power) when I sent the output through USB-C to my laptop or ipad. I’ve been recording like that for the past few weeks and tested again now it’s working fine. Just didn’t work when I swapped the USB-to-laptop final step for the TS-to-424 final step.

I also confirmed that the zoom itself was working by unnecessarily running the Clavinova 835 outputs through the zoom—split TS into zoom, TS 1/4” out to 424—worked just fine.

Now…the good news—it was the “direct monitoring” switch on the zoom. If in the “off" position (which I think has been fine for the USB-laptop output), nothing happened (on the 424), no signal was being sent. Click it to “on" and yippee, everything is working as it should! Levels are there when I play the acoustic piano with the M5 mics, and recording was successful onto the 424!!

Thanks so much you two, it really helps having some folks to interact with and get ideas from. Youtube videos are great but…rarely seem to get right to the point!

I’m not sure why the direct monitoring thing was the key…I thought that was just related to whether you wanted the headphones (or other monitoring) to be direct from the source or through the output device and back again.

Thanks again and Merry Christmas!