The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I'm just wondering, has anyone ever encountered a y-adapter that goes from female stereo mini to two male mono 1/4" phono plugs? 'Cause I have a stereo microphone with a mini plug that I use to record on minidisc, and to use it to record on my computer (it's the only non-crap mic I have) I have to run it into the minidisc player, patch cord out the headphone jack, to a cable that splits it into two mono RCA's, with RCA-to-1/4" adapters on 'em, into the motu 828. It's kind of a mess. I've been to a couple of electronics stores (even Radio Shack) and haven't seen anything better yet.

The upside of which is that at least I don't have to use the built-in laptop mic anymore.

I've got a male stereo mini to two male mono 1/4" phono plugs.
You might be able to find one of those and get a stereo mini female on both ends, and just never take them apart.
-bill

That sounds pretty specialized. You're probably better off wiring up something yourself using Radio Shack parts. (Remember, tip = left, ring = right, sleeve = ground.)

Though once upon a time I had something which was female 1/8" on one end and stereo RCA on the other. I think it came with a soundcard. Try to find one of those and then plug in two RCA->1/4" into it and you'll have what you want. Convertors aren't inherently evil as long as you have a clean, solid connection. Of course, active electronics like the minidisc can be problematic.

Another thought is you could just record mic->minidisc to get a good take, and then transfer from minidisc->computer separately. Not so good if you're multitracking, though. But for <a href="http://quietamerican.org/">found recordings</a> it works a lot better than lugging a computer and 828 around the English countryside.