VOICE & MUSIC

How to record your voice on one track and the music on the other track using an older Hilton AC-300, AC-200, or SS-200. The instructions also work for the AC-300A, AC-300B, and AC-300C.

These instructions will work with any MiniDisc recorder. They will also work most Computers and CD recorders as long as they have a “Line” level input.

You will need Hilton “Stereo Recording Isolation” cord. You will need to tell us if you are using a “Walkman” or a larger “Shelf” type MiniDisc Player/Recorder. The small Walkman type systems use a Stereo 3.5mm connection while the Shelf type units have Dual RCA input connections. The Hilton “Stereo Recording Isolation” cord allows you to safely connect your MiniDisc to the ¼” speaker jacks on the back of your Hilton sound system.

You will want to decide right at the start if you want the Music on the Left or the Right channel of your recordings. Whichever way you decide *** Be Consistent *** so your recordings are always the same.

Connect the Hilton “Stereo Recording Isolation” cord with one of the ¼” plugs into a Main Channel speaker jack and the other ¼” plug into a Monitor Channel speaker jack. Connect the other end to the record input of your MiniDisc system. Connect a speaker into the other Main speaker jack so you can hear the music while making the recording. At this point you are properly connected to make a voice on one track, music on the other track recording. It will take a little experimenting the first time to get the level adjusted using the Main Music volume control and the Monitor Voice volume control. You want MUSIC ONLY turned up on the Main Channel of your Hilton and VOICE ONLY turned up on the Monitor Channel. When making your first recordings remember to use the tone controls for your voice and the music for the best recording – this will take a little practice and experimenting! In most cases you will want to decrease the Bass of the music and increase the Treble. Make sure your voice has enough treble to be clear and crisp when played back.

For the best playback on older Hilton systems you will need 2 items. One, a Stereo Signal Booster – this allows you to increase the level coming out of the MiniDisc to match the input of older Hilton systems “Tape Playback” jack. Second, a “playback attenuator” -- this device allows you to connect the voice side of your recording directly into the ¼” Microphone input on any Hilton system. The last of the Hilton AC-300 systems, the AC-300C, does not need the Stereo Signal Booster for playing back your recordings.

It takes a little work and few gadgets to make and playback your Voice and Music recordings but it can be done and work very successfully with older Hilton sound systems. Once you have the recordings and the Signal Booster and Playback Attenuator” you can also play your recordings into smaller single channel Hiltons like the Micro-75A.