Newbie With Shure 58 Beta Questions

[BlueBaker]

Hi,

I have the Shure Beta 58a with a A95FP Line Matching Transformer - I'd like to get a cable to connect to my sound card. Questions - 1 - do I need the transformer at all? and 2 - what would be the type of adapter to be looking for in terms of quality, name etc?

Thanks so much for your time and hope to share my music with you,

Blue

[lead ears]

You need an adapter with a female XLR on one side and a mono 3.5mm male jack on the other. The connection shall be unbalanced at the XLR by connecting pins 1 & 3 together. Your soundcard does not like high-Z sources, so you don't need the xfmr.

[BlueBaker]

Hi - would this be the kind I'd be looking for? Adapter

Thanks!
Blue

[Dan LB]

Hang on a minute! What make and model of soundcard do you have?

[lead ears]

You must check the input on your SC. Is it balanced? (Most of the time it is not). The adapter on the picture IS balanced. Caution: many SC's have a 3pin connector, which does not make them balanced inputs. The mic itself is connected between sleeve (Ground) and tip (hot), and the ring carries a DC supply (generally ca. 5Volts) for electret mics.