OK, got my NH900 and in ear mics, now what setting do I use?

[groffhibbitz]

Hey everyone, I read the threads about mics, and picked some in ear binaural microphones. Now, I tested them out and they seem to pick up everthing (and I mean everything!) I bought the high sensitivity ones, and then set the recording level to high sensetivity, then the AGC to normal, and my recordings seem way to loud. Like, I was recording a water fountain, and it just seems like the recording I made was turned up way to much, or is this normal, and I'm just not setting up the mic position or something?

thanks eveyone in advance,

Aaron

[A440]

It always depends on what you want to record.

But the general idea is that you want to get as much signal as you can without overloading. The more signal you get, the more it overwhelms the tiny bit of noise from the mic, the built-in mic preamp, etc. So if that water fountain sounds clear but not distorted--larger than life--just turn down your playback volume.

If it is overloading, or if it's picking up too much detail for you, switch (under Rec Set/Mic Sens) to Low Sensitivity, and see if you prefer that. The sensitivity doesn't have to match your mic--it can compensate for it instead. I prefer hi-sensitivity mics because they're more flexible. You can lower them to Low Sensitivity via the settings, but you can't turn a low-sens mic into a high-sensitivity one--low sensitivity would just make it even lower.

I just recorded a fairly loud club show with the following setup, and it sounds superb at Hi-SP.

Sound Pro BMC-2 (which probably have the same mic elements as yours, also high sensitivity)---->mic jack at Low Sensitivity, Manual Volume at 11/30. That would be too low for everyday sounds, but it's good for amplified ones.

AGC is designed to keep the signal relatively unchanging: boosting quiet sounds, muting low ones. But you can often hear it trying to keep up.

Experiment a little with Manual Volume. You can change the settings with the stick while you're recording, and you should find one you like. If the level meters are moving up and down, and they're not peaked constantly or way down at the halfway mark, you're probably getting a good recording.

[groffhibbitz]

you say that the Manual Volume can be changed while recording? I only managed to change it by pausing the minidisc player then going to menu->recording options->volume, but I can't edit this while it's playing, (like I said). You mention 'the stick" does that mean the 'remote'?

Thanks for the help,

[A440]

What I called the stick is the pointing stick in the middle of the dial, the thing with >ENT on it.

Here's the sequence. Push REC and PAUSE (ll), and the recording-level meter should appear. Then: Menu, REC SET , REC Volume, Manual.

Then pushing the stick left or right will change recording volume while recording. It reads REC and 13(or whatever)/30. Un-PAUSE to start recording. Your volume setting can still be adjusted while recording by pushing left or right, but I suggest leaving it fairly low and not fiddling with it.

(Incidentally, pushing the stick up and down is playback volume, useless.)

But remember: every time you press STOP it reverts to AGC, and there's no recording-level control. Maybe that's why you had no control when you tried. You have to go through the whole ridiculous process again to return to Manual.

Incidentally, I went to a louder show and did Manual, Low Sens, Volume at 11 and still got distortion. I may go back to High Sens, Volume at 12, and my Radio Shack attenuator. Not as theoretically pure, but it works.

[aamd]

I use a setting of 10/30 with my hi sensitivity SP mics. At this setting the mics will clip at about 1 db down from full scale. So a setting of 11 or greater will tend to clip the signal, a setting of 9 or less will just make the signal quieter.