Shermy Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 First off - Great Job at getting this forum back up and running kurisu!!! :grin: :grin: There are a few other forums I peruse that are still down. My first live recording experience was a Big Band Christmas concert in a corporate atrium. The set up: This is a VERY large and lively room with tile floors and four stories of open space. For you musicians out there, I would describe it as very forgiving. Because it is so lively, I placed the mics about ten feet in front of the middle of the sax section (in a traditional Jazz Big Band set up) about 6 feet off the floor. I set up this close because there was one PA speaker right next to the right side of the band and another about 50 feet from the left side of the band. I didn't want the mics at all picking up the PA speakers because the band wasn't properly miked IMHO to get a true sound through them, plus the room is so lively, we probably don't need to be miked at all IMHO. I set up my mics in a X-Y pattern (much like how the capsules on a Rode NT4 are set up), plugged into my battery box (Bass roll-off set at 16Hz) and then into the line in jack. I set the microphone sensitivity to High (could have been a mistake) - can anyone explain in more detail than the manual what this actually does?? I set the Record mode to PCM (This is AWESOME!!!!). I set the record level to 24/30 on advice of another person in the band that records via minidisc. Also, it was set to automatically create separate tracks (it created 74 tracks for 13 tunes (each tune was luckily on its own individual track)). The results: First impressions - WOW :ohmy:!!! There's great stereo separation, no distortion, you can hear all the parts, crowd noise is minimal (I'm sure this is due to the mics being cardioids), liveliness of room is minimal (I'm sure this is due to the mics being cardioids as well). After some close listening - too much sax, not enough bones, bass was a bit thin and the trumpets sound like they're about 30 feet farther away than they actually were. Would setting up the mics farther away from the front of the band help? Any suggestions as to how to correct this would be much appreciated. All things considered, I'm very pleased with the results of my first attempt at a live recording. On to putting it into a "distributable" format. I downloaded marcnet's HiMDRenderer - THANKS MARCNET :cool: I used the USB connection to import the tracks into My Library on SS (version 2.2 for those that are interested). They loaded without a hitch in PCM codec. I then opened up HiMDRenderer, browsed for the folder containing the tracks, rendered each track individually into WAV format (is this the way to do it, or can you do all tracks in a folder at the same time? I know...search the forums :laugh: ). I then burned to CD. Hey SONY, I burned 3 copies so far, and I'm sure I'm going to make more!!! Try and stop me!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I listened to the CDs and the MD recordings to see if there were any detectible differences. With my "musicians" ears (half-deaf I'm sure from being right in front of drums in concert and marching band and right next to other trumpet players all the time), I can't tell any difference. Also, there are no clicks, pops, dead air, duplication, or anything else that people have mentioned from importing into SS or rendering via HiMDRenderer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shermy Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 OK, I feel a bit embarrased !! I did a bit of research on the WAV conversion software from Sony, and I guess you can convert any OMA file that was created via Line In or Mic In on my recorder and do anything you want with it after the conversion (i.e. no copyright protection on the file). Is this indeed correct? Sorry for any confusion! Anybody have experience with the Sony WAV conversion tool they'd like to share? I'll of course be searching the forums for this info as well!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsoul Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Congratulations on the job well done. I think cardioids usually take away some of the bass but I like what they produce, especially in terms of cutting out crowd noise/chatter. I don't think the mic sens will be active if you are using manual recording levels. It's only active when you are using AGC just like the normal/loud music setting. I have used the WAV converter without problems on the last 3 shows without any problems. I am still keeping the HMDR program up to date as a backup and on the rare chance I ever get a digital signal feed down the line. Marcnet has made a great program that still serves a good purpose. Post a sample of this recording sometime, I know there are a few of us who would like to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shermy Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Thanks mrsoul!! How do I go about posting a sample? Do I need to use a host website and paste a link? I also agree that marcnet's tool is a good one that is certainly worthy of making a donation to the HiMD Render Project!! I listened to the recording again and am still amazed!! I think I spoke too soon when I said "After some close listening - too much sax, not enough bones, bass was a bit thin and the trumpets sound like their about 30 feet farther away than they actually were." I was listening to a Sax soli section (for those not familiar with the term, a soli is kind of a "group solo") where they were standing up. Is it the directionality of the cardioids that cause the lack of bass? Going under the assumption that bass tones are usually more omnidirectional (hence the reason a sub-woofer can go anywhere in a room). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Mrsoul-- I just did a test, and Mic Sensitivity is still active in Manual Volume. The Standard/Loud setting doesn't matter because it's supposed to fine-tune AGC, so it is irrelevant in Manual Volume. But Mic Sensitivity still makes a huge difference to manual or automatic, and it's definitely there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsoul Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Thanks, mine has been set on low since I got my NH900 so I guess I never noticed the difference. Thankfully, it does save the setting. Thanks for the double check and making me check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shermy Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Hi Folks, I did some research on mic sensitivity, and according to Dex Otaku, when using Line In, mic sensitivity does not come into play. I guess that's good. It means there's one less variable to worry about when recording line in. It also means there's one less excuse if your recording is messed up :laugh: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reactive Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 That,s not exactly true. Line in level sensitivity can be changed on the fly with all my Sharp recorders. Sony are a bit different and require you to pause first. It makes sense to have the line in adjustable, there have been times when the mic's are putting out so much signal, that I had to reduce the line in level to approx 80%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raintheory Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I'm thinking Shermy may have meant sensitivity as in "high/low", not recording level... :happy: Just a thought. Also, I could swear that I am able to manually increse decrease the recording level on my Sony N707 while it is recording... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Gerry-- Sony finally caught up with Sharp on being able to change levels while recording--I think with the MZ-N9xx and beyond. You can change Recording Volume on both Line and Mic as it's recording, if you have Rec Volume set to Manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reactive Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 thanks!! That nasty "feature"always bothered the heck out of me. Great to see that they changed that. Have a great Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shermy Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I'm thinking Shermy may have meant sensitivity as in "high/low", not recording level... :happy: Yes, that is what I meant. I was quoting dex Otaku from a month or two ago. http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?p=32997#32997 I can also adjust the recording volume on the fly :cool: . Anyone know how dex's doing?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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