LOOKING FOR A SIMPLE ANSWER IN THIS CHAOS OF INFORMATION

[alexisvas]

Hi to all

I bought yesterday the MZ-RH10 and I want to start recording my first gigs.

I go to open air rock gigs but also in concert clubs. I want to buy stereo mic with clips for no more than 60$

and also tell me if I need a battery box or attenuator(???).

I did my homework but unfortunately all this information doesnt help beginners like me.

Just name the products please!!!!

Thanks to all

[The Low Volta]

for a starters setup:

if you live in America, SoundProfessionals really is the place to be:

- SP-BMC2 stereo omni mics but be sure to get them WITH clips (this is an option)

- the simplest battery box without any options (no bass roll-off etc) just the cheapest 9V battery-box they offer (dunno the product code, but this should be easy to look up)

if you live in Europe... there is much less choice (soundpro stuff can get expensive easily through import taxes etc) still there are some options:

- scout ebay, be careful and try to buy from a seller that's been tried and tested before

- get a N-Am citizen to buy and send you the SoundPro stuff as a 'gift' (thereby ignoring the taxes)

- check out greenmachine's stuff... a bit more expensive but also a bit better (quite a bit)

- or learn to DIY with greenmachine's great tips

[smkranz]

The answer to attenuator vs. battery box is one of budget and your own preferences & your satisfaction with your results, which you won't know until you try making a couple of recordings. Some people swear by the attenuator, others say a battery box, or a mic pre-amp with variable gain, is the best. As the post copied below suggests, to record rock (loud & amplified) concerts *try* the inexpensive Radio Shack attenuator first before spending extra money on a battery box or a pre-amp.

For your mics, Sound Professionals has a variety starting at about $50. Check this page:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...tegory/110/mics

If you are likely to need stealth in order to avoid detection, you should also consider their in-ear mics for $69. I love the recordings I get from mine. But any of the clip-ons will likely do you right as well. Since I haven't tried any but the in-ear mics, I really don't know if the differences between the $50 or $100 models is significant. My inclination is to suggest you get the most expensive mics you can afford...maybe by going with the inexpensive attenuator vs. the battery box will let you afford more costly mics?

***

2) Music

Music is the trickiest thing to record. The preamp in the MD recorder is pretty good except for one main problem: It can't handle bass. So for most music the signal coming into it has to be lowered so that it won't simply overload.

There are a few ways to do this. The cheapest and most portable one is to use an attenuator, which attenuates (lowers) the signal across the board. Say hello to the Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control, $6.59 anywhere.

Plug the mic into the RSHVC plug. Turn its volume knob all the way UP (it's still attenuating because you're running it backwards from its usual function) and plug it into the mic jack. Unfortunately, these little gizmos are flimsy and wear out, turning staticky or losing a channel; get a spare. The SP-ATEN sold by Sound Professionals is exactly the same thing without the Radio Shack logo. Someday one of the companies catering to MD recording will make a more reliable attenuator.

Another method is to use a bass roll-off filter, available from recording-gear places like Sound Professionals, Microphone Madness, Church Audio, Giant Squid Audio Labs, Core-Sound, etc. This fights the bass problem by limiting the amount of bass that gets through. The downside is that the bass is then absent from the recording, which can sound tinny.

A third method is to get a battery box, which provides power to the microphones that improves their response to loud sounds. For loud music, Mic-->Battery box-->LINE-in provides a good sounding but relatively quiet recording. For quieter music, you can try Mic-->Battery box-->Mic-in but you still risk overloading with bass. Many battery boxes and preamps also include bass roll-off for this reason.

Bottom line: Start with mic and RS attenuator and see if it works for you.

Settings: Go via Menu to REC Set. Under Mic Sens, select LOW. On Hi-MD, make sure Rec Mode is better than Hi-LP (Hi-SP or PCM); on regular MD, make sure it's LP2 or SP.

Plug in the mic. Press REC/Pause(||) (time display will blink) and go via Menu to Rec Set and choose Rec Volume. Switch from Automatic (the default) to Manual, Enter, and look at the level meter. (AGC can't handle sudden impacts, like bass-drum thumps, and makes a bad whooshing noise, so Manual Volume is a must.)

Adjust the volume (with pointing stick >ENT or wheel on Hi-MD, |<< and >>| on NetMD) so that the level meter is visibly changing with its maximum between the two dashes on Hi-MD or about half to three-quarters to the peak on MD. Un-Pause to start recording.

The recording volume setting depends on your mic, the music's volume, and what's in the circuit between the mic and the mic jack.

If you are using basic binaural mics (Sound Pro BMC-2 or similar) and the RS attenuator, then try a Rec Volume of 20/30 on Hi-MD (or 2/3 of the way up on the bar-graph display of a standard MD) for a typical rock concert.