Whirlwind in-line pads not working properly with sytek?

[The Thousand Caves]

as everybody who has a Sytek MPX-4A knows, it doesn't have pads. i've always used the electrovoice/blue cardinals on toms into other preamps (that have pads) and gotten great results, but those high-output condensers overload the Sytek when placed on drums.
ok easy, i thought, i'll just used those whirlwind -20db pads in front of the sytek. but every time i put the pad before the preamp, the signal sounds horrible and distorted with erratic level-jumps.

here's an a floor tom overloading the sytek with no pad:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/duhbphk5k ... %20pad.mp3

here's the same tom, same positioning, with the -20db pad in between mic and pre:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/6ycrmqofd ... %20pad.mp3

has anyone else had this experience with these pads? any suggestions of another way to make this mic/preamp combo work?

thanks!

[Scodiddly]

Pretty good chance that's a phantom power issue - I bet those mics use most of the current available, and if you throw a resistor into the mix then they're not getting enough.

Do you have a voltmeter? You could measure the voltage on an unplugged input, say between pins 1 and 2.

[Ryan Silva]

I use those pads all the time for my api's coming from shure 141's on snare. Phantom seems to hold up ok, hmm?

I would have thought the same thing if it happened to me.

Strange

[Scodiddly]

I use those pads all the time for my api's coming from shure 141's on snare. Phantom seems to hold up ok, hmm?

I would have thought the same thing if it happened to me.

Strange

So you're using different mics with different pres, and the results are different?

Wow, that's really weird!

[trodden]

I use those pads all the time for my api's coming from shure 141's on snare. Phantom seems to hold up ok, hmm?

I would have thought the same thing if it happened to me.

Strange

So you're using different mics with different pres, and the results are different?

Wow, that's really weird!

[Ryan Silva]

I use those pads all the time for my api's coming from shure 141's on snare. Phantom seems to hold up ok, hmm?

I would have thought the same thing if it happened to me.

Strange

As to say, if it happened to me I would have also suspected the phantom power.

Laugh it up, just trying to agree with your theory.

Jeez

[Scodiddly]

Ah, sorry. It reads kind of ambiguous.

[Ryan Silva]

Ah, sorry. It reads kind of ambiguous.

Indeed it was.

It was that inter-dialog stuff, which helps absolutely nobody.

[trodden]

[Bro Shark]

I blew out a Shure inline pad with the Sytek after like, three uses. Can't remember if it was with 48v or without. I'm not smart enough to open the thing up and see what exactly broke/fried.

[Nick Sevilla]

I blew out a Shure inline pad with the Sytek after like, three uses. Can't remember if it was with 48v or without. I'm not smart enough to open the thing up and see what exactly broke/fried.

Methinks it is a phantom power issue with your Sytek unit.

Go to repair center / technician asap.

Cheers

[Bro Shark]

Thanks, Nick. Will do.

[The Thousand Caves]

in my case it's probably not a problem with the sytek's phantom since i have 2 of them (one much older than the other) and get the same results on both... unless there's something inherently different about the phantom these units put out.
besides trying a different brand of pad (which probably won't make any difference), any other ideas?

[Scodiddly]

Phantom power isn't a really solid standard - the voltage can be anywhere from something like 18 volts up to the pretty reliable 48 volts max. And some mics do really need the maximum.

So if you could measure the voltage at the mic input, see where on the scale your preamp lies.

Or try the pads with another preamp and the same mic.

[dino]

Try measuring with and without mics connected to the other channels. If you see a significant voltage difference, it means that all inputs share one inadequate power supply. ...d