TobyTaper Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 I need some serious help here, i own a Sony MZ-N707 with a Sony DS-70P Stereo mic. I have recorded three concerts with this equipment resulting in one good concert and two distorted. I always use a 80 min quality disc with the LP-2 mode turned on. The mic i connect to the mic-in. Automatic level is used. Why do i get distorted results after the concert? The last concert was Saxon, over two hours of great music and i got it all. I was as far back as i could be in the venue (a small venue with very loud sound) behind the soundboard. Still it was distorted, but mostly the R channel. Anyone with ideas? I have tried to test record at home using manual recording levels, to me it seems the same as using auto. :love: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 The MZ-N707 doesn't have a Mic Sensivity switch (even if it's hacked), and loud bass makes it distort. Simple solution: the Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control, pictured with my signature, $6.59. They may also be calling it Headphone Extension Cord now, just make sure it has the volume-control knob. Plug the mic in to the cord, plug the cord into Mic In , turn the volume control nearly all the way UP (unless the music is totally blasting, then turn it down to about halfway), and your mic's sensitivity is now lowered enough to record LOUD music with the MZ-N707. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reactive Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 Hi Toby, Automatic recording level control or autogain, is disappointing for anything that is louder than normal voice conversations. The electronic gain circuitry simply cannot move fast enough to keep up with the loud and quiet volume changes that you often find at a concert. Always record with with manual record mode. You'll need to practice this a few times before you get the correct ballpark settings. Essentially you want to set the level at the 5th bar segment, then occasionally monitor this to ensure that you are not driving the pre-amp too hard. That microphone and 90% of all electret based mic's do not perform well in very loud recording situations. The reason for this is bias voltage. A small amount of voltage from the minidisc recorder powers the microphone. Typically 1.5-3v is about all they can provide. Those microphones perform way better at their max voltage capacity (up to 10 volts in most cases). The only way to provide the correct power would be to add a Microphone power supply to your gear. We sell them for $49.95. One last potential problem is dirt. Make sure you always wipe your microphone plug before you insert it into the jack. Do not touch the metal contacts with your fingers. Over time a noticiable degradation of sound can occur though a build of of dirt and oil on the microphone contacts. You can periodically clean them off with a mild solution of rubbing alchohol I hope that helps, and please let us know if you were able to correct this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyTaper Posted November 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 Thanks for the helps fellows... well i have been thinking about getting myself one of those batterypowerthings and use the mic in the line-in instead. When i read the manual for the mic it said it could handle volumes up to 120db (if i remember it right) so im gonna try to manually set the recording volume to half. There is only one thing with getting new stuff, such as a batterybox etc, when i record i turn on the rec button and then i lock the buttons, most of the times i can not stand there and check the meter with a flashlight or something due to a large amount of people and/or guards. Last time i turned it on, locked the buttons and but the thing inside my shirt (i have a pocket on the stomach, you know those hoodshirts). And left it there. An easy way to record i would say, guess i have to be more professional then in the future Thanks for the tips both of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Even if you keep the volume low, you still might have distortion with low bass notes on the MZ-N707--I always did even at low volume. Gerry Bolda would know the electrical engineering better, but I think the mic preamp just overloads with loud bass. Either use the headphone volume control into mic-in or go for the battery box into line-in. The headphone volume control is a volume control knob on a cord, and you can control volume into the MD with it while the buttons are locked. You'll get a feel for it after a few shows without having to read the meter. If you're recording superloud music you might get away with just putting the mic into the line-in, but it's a gamble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyTaper Posted November 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 I have already tried that, if i put the mic directly to line-in nothing happens... and battery boxes seems impossible to get here in Sweden... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 www.soundprofessionals.com sells battery boxes and does international shipping. If you don't have Radio Shack in Sweden you can also get the Variable Attenuator (same as headphone volume control) from Soundprofessionals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudden Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Hey topy, you can pick up an cord like A440 talking about at Clas Ohlson. I have however tryed that and with bad results, prehaps my cord was to cheapo. A better solution would be to get a Sharp MD with mic sensetivity switch and manual rec level. You can get one for almost nothing nowday as many are turning to mp3 players. Look at www.blocket.se Amogst the first I see is a Sharp MD-MT99 for 35 bucks, I have that model for my stealth recordings and it's solid. There are also a MD-MT 888H for 80 bucks, I have that model also but for some reason or another I prefer MT99 for live recordings. Any ot those two models together with your ECM-DS70P mic (same as I have) you can't go wrong. And oh, I have a N707 as well, that one is a soor loser when it comes to live recording what ever you do. Prehaps with a very expensive battery box it will sound ok. I only use my N707 as NetMD recorder, never to play with or anything els than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Great tips, sudden. :happy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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