battery box $11...

[bonzo71]

New here, but I've taped a few shows with my old/not so trusty wm-d3. It finally gave out and I've picked up a chepo mz-r70 on ebay($40 with shipping 100% working). I've been doing some test recording at home using greenmachines mic and a volume attenuator. Even with fairly modest recording levels I still think I'm getting a good amount of bass distortion. Would it be better to skip the mic input and go with the line-in and a batterybox? I've seen this mic amplifier cable

http://www.musicworksgroup.com/catalog/ape...ord-p-1779.html

and it seems like it might work similar to greenmachines batterybox. Plus it's only $11!

[A440]

What do you mean by bass distortion? If it's just too much bass, it may be the way the sound is mixed or the club acoustics. The kind of distortion the attenuator or battery box help avoid is the kind of overloading that just overwhelms the whole recording.

Assuming you are having overload problems, however:

That cord only supplies 1.5 volts of power, which is probably the same as what the mic jack supplies before it gets attenuated. So if the bass distortion you're getting is the mic itself overloading, it might help a tiny bit--you could try by putting it in the circuit between the attenuator and the mic. If it's the preamp overloading, the power won't help.

A real battery box gives you 9V. Spend a little more money and get greenmachine's box or this little thing:

http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm

This is assuming you are recording loud music. A battery box won't supply enough power to capture things like conversation through line-in.

[greenmachine]

If i remember correctly, the R70 lacks a low sensitivity switch at the mic-in.

The standard model microphone is rater sensitive. It is likely that you are overloading the preamp even with attenuator. If you are recording loud, bass heavy music, there's propably no way around using a battery box connected to line-in to keep distortion at a minimum. 9V will let you use the mic's full dynamic range, 1.5V propably won't. Also, for versatility, you might want to consider a MD with selectable hi/low sens. switch.

[bonzo71]

greenmachine,

You're correct the mz-r70 does not have a high/low sensitivity selection. I'm going to consider a battery box. Might even take the $11 risk and try the one I've given a link to. If it works well, I'll report back. If it doesn't, I'll go with your plans.

A440,

I getting ready to record a concert in a couple weeks. I was testing my mics by playing my stereo as high as it would go-just to see how it would turn out. I can't create concert volume levels, but it's close. I'm getting bass distortion at high volume levels. I've an old sony PC-62 stereo mic that came with the -WMD3. It does not pic up low frequecies-so it's very difficult to bass overload-might just stick with that and EQ some bass in after the fact.

Thanks again for your help!

[A440]

You can't EQ bass back in if the mic hasn't picked it up in the first place. There's nothing to boost.

I wonder why the attenuator isn't working for you. I started using it in the first place because my MZ-N707 didn't have high/low sensitivity either, and it almost always worked just fine.

If you have the volume on the attenuator all the way up--which is the way I used it 99 percent of the time--then lessen it a little and see if you still get the distortion. Are you looking at the recording levels? Are they maxing out? Distortion when the recording level isn't maxed out--often in places like a bass-drum hit--is a sign of preamp distortion.

Call me a pessimist, but I still don't think that the 1.5 volt cord will do the job. Without an attenuator, the mic would get 1.5 volts from the unit, and would still need preamplification through the mic jack. I don't think 1.5V will be enough for line-in, which has no preamp. Better to just bite the bullet and get a battery module with 9V of power. You might also look into a more up-to-date recorder. The R70 is close to antique.

Edited May 16, 2006 by A440

[bonzo71]

The R70 is close to antique.

I know.. but trust me it's a lightyear ahead of my wm-d3. Concerts coming up on 5/28-going to try some a couple things-maybe one way with opening act and another for the main act. It's Pearl Jam so I won't have to worry about getting caught. Maybe someday I can upgrade to hi-md, but for now this is what I have to work with.

[A440]

Bring your earbuds and try various methods during the opening act, then slip off to the bathroom and see what worked better. Try different mics, attenuator at various levels, going directly into line-in with greenmachine's mics, etc.

Have you thought of building a battery box yourself in the next week? Greenmachine posted DIY instructions.