tomluvsgiants Posted December 10, 2004 Report Share Posted December 10, 2004 First off, thanks so much for your invaluable help & positive attitudes! I am now at 'version2.0' as I am hoping that I have addressed the issues that plagued by 1.0 recording experiences with the Sony MZ-N707.....they are certainly familiar to all of you. ;-) First move was purchasing some actual mics & I bought the Sound Professionals budget mini-binaurals (SP-BMC-2) that have been on SALE of late! I've got long, curly hair that falls well blow my shoulders so with the At-Lav Clips I think I should be able to get them good stereo seperation between my shirt collar and my shoulder moving away from my left & right ears. I do still have my long hair, which means I didn't pull it ALL out dealing with the frequent 'clipping' of the MZ-N707 and other headaches related to recording levels I've battled. To that end I also bought the SP Super Mini Battery Module (SP-SPSB-2) and had them add an ATEN CABLE OUTPUT in hopes of having another method to control levels of recording. I'll be recording a very loud band with full amplification in a 1100 seat room, and I'm HOPING to come away with something listenable that I can share with friends that doesn't suffer from level-overload & clipping. I'll be using fresh battries in everything, plenty of Sony MD in tow, and I just wanted some input as to my best bet for handling the levels tonite. I'm ASSUMING that I'll be using the battery module to bypass the louder MIC input and will be plugging my input into the LIN option on the MD. My hesitant question is whether or not I should use the AVLS (auto level) OPTION or whether I should set the levels myself. Last week I attempted to set the levels myself (without all the ver2.0 additional hardware) and failed miserably with a blown-out/distorted recording. My prayer is that the battery module will provide enough power to keep the mics from getting blown out (better mics this week too....fingers crossed) ....but I'm still clueless as to where to have the VOL/REC LEV bar set at when this show begins??? In reading other posts I notice that my MZ-NZ707 does NOT have a numerical vol/rec level measurer, rather just a length of line similar to an auto's gas level gauge. Do I leave it at the 50% mark & then bring the stereo atten cable just to 85-90% of being turned UP all the way and hope for the best? The MD has a less-than-triumphant display screen for following the levels in a dark hall while being stealth. And with the stereo atten cable's adjustment wheel.....how often does or doesn't that get adjusted during a rock concert in a medium size hall like mine tonight? Oh yes....last week had the unfortunate occurence of the MD player shutting OFF (hold WAS activated previously!) for no apparent reason towards the end of the set. I noticed only for glancing at the time remaining before the encore and seeing that it was actually.....dead. I've cleaned up all my input/output cables & such with alcohol, and will keep my motion to a MINIMUM.....but has anyone every had this rather nasty event to deal with? Thanks SO MUCH for your expertise and friendliness.....and ANY suggestions would be SO APPRECIATED.....middle of the floor in the sweet spot sound wise for best sound? or attempt to get up close as possible? thanks so much!! ;-) t X b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted December 10, 2004 Report Share Posted December 10, 2004 As most know, I'm not too terribly keen on Live Recording*, but I can tell you that AVLS only applies to playback and not recording volume. AVLS was created as a "standard" that people should adhere to so they don't go deaf from listening to music at high volumes. * - I will be after I get my NH900 World Tourist edition, however. :happy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsideo Posted December 10, 2004 Report Share Posted December 10, 2004 Yop - AVLS is applicable only to playback, but I mix the two up all the time (probably on this board). Recording AGC is what you're worried about and for good reason. DON'T USE IT. That's my opinion at least. Yes, it will prevent clipping and you can just hit record and not worry about a thing but you will also loose nearly all the dynamics of the performance as it trys deparately to set the level to what it THINKS is correct. If it were me, I'd try to get there early for a sound check or an opener if there is one... pick out some level (obviously LOWER than your previous atttempts) try it out, head to the bathroom and see what it sounds like and adjust. etc.etc... Yes, I've had those problems with my N707 (both clipping and random shut offs) which were all reasons I decided to pick up the NH1 (the biggest reason for getting it was the ability to upload tracks to my pc for editing, however. I LOVE the NH1 by the way - LOVE it.)... It definately has it's quirck but when you get them licked the 707 still does a remarkable recording job. The radio shack volume attenuator solved all my clipping problems. As far as the shutoffs are concerned... I don't know. It's happened to me quite a few times with that model - I think I just got in the habit of checking it frequently to make sure it was still recording (my bandmates would remind me to do so even if I'd forgotten about it - It was that notorious because of some cool stuff we lost) and get ready for cursing when looked. I THINK it has some sort of auto-pause feature or some nonsense when you are using the auto-AGC.... It seems to shut off when there is a period of a much lower level for a length of time - but I'm just guessing. I'm not sure how to get around it - Maybe someone else here can be more helpful no that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 I haven't used my MZ-N707 for a while, but is it possible you had SYNC REC enabled, which might make it stop after a long silence? Work through the menus and see if you had it on. Also, just for luck, I always start a concert with a fresh Duracell. What your ears hear is pretty much what you get with the binaurals, so by all means find the sweet sound spot in the room. Up close, the PA is probably pointed over your head and you're getting an unbalanced mix of stage monitors and PA sound. Probably too late now, but if you run MIC-Battery Box-Line In you should do fine with a loud band. Glance at the levels if you can--50% is a good starting point. You want them to peak at just below the maximum, and if you can see the levels changing (not constantly peaked or barely moving) you're probably fine. With Battery Box--Line-In, you can probably keep the attenuator level pretty high, and the less you fiddle with it during the show the better. If there's some sudden burst of loudness, then put it down a notch, but the battery box and line-in should give you some headroom. See if you can get a glance at levels during the intermission music, which won't be as loud as the band but will help you estimate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.