Pen Mic's/ Bass Roll Off

[kylieshotpants]

Hi I wonder if any fo you guys can help, I want to buy a pen mic as they look cool & appeal to me in a James Bond gadget way. My question is does anyone know of one that would be good for recording concerts the ones on e-bay seem to be designed for talking?

Secondly I need to get a bass roll off unit as I tape dance type acts and like to stand near the front, is there such a thing as one that automatically adjusts to the conditions?, I like the idea of the ones that have a peak light to change up/down, but ideally it would be another bit to check and I would be worried if I took too much bass off (would this be possible).?

thanks in advance for any suggestions/help

[A440]

Pen mics tend to be mono, and if you're in a club you definitely want stereo, with the mics separated like your ears, so you can get all the techno quadrophonic ping-pong of a boomin' system. Personally I feel just as James Bond with my eraser-sized SoundPro BMC-2 binaurals clipped ever so stealthily to my shirt collar. Of course I carry a Walther PPK in my tuxedo pocket as well, and a bikini-clad counterspy girl on my arm.

The way to get a good recording is to use Manual volume and keep the basic level low enough so that the loudest moments don't overload. I don't know of any pocket-sized outboard boxes that automatically adjust, and the automatic gain control of the MD itself makes whooshy noises when bass kicks in.

Before you add boxes to your setup, try my all-purpose solution: A pair of stereo mics with 20-20,000 Hz frequency response (Sound Professionals, Microphone Madness, maybe Church Audio on Ebay), the Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control (which will lower the incoming signal) and, for superloud music, a Manual Volume setting of 10/30 to 12/30. It might be all you need.

Alternately, again for loud music, get a battery box to prevent the mics themselves from overloading and go mic-battery box--Line-In, probably with Manual Volume up a little higher. If you're sure the bass will overwhelm your recording, then get a battery box with bass roll-off.

Bass roll-off does one thing: lowers or eliminates the lowest-frequency notes before they enter the recorder, which can have trouble handling them. You would want to set the roll-off at one spot--perhaps 30 to 50 hz--and leave it there. Otherwise, I suspect you'd get a kind of seasick feeling that the bottom of the music is moving around.

Battery box/preamp combos do two different things from bass roll-off. The battery box sends power to the mics so they can handle louder sounds, and the preamp amplifies the signal--something you won't need with loud music. With many of those combo boxes, you can control the level of everything going into the MD. You're right that you don't want to be constantly adjusting it during the show, since every change will show up in the recording. Again, find a good setting and leave it, unless there's some volcanic change in volume during the show.

[kylieshotpants]

Thanks for the very detailed information A440

I aim to try the line in/battery box method next week at a show