Rh-1 vs Symphony orchestra with 8 percussionists

[ozpeter]

At fairly short notice I was asked to record a concert tonight of new works, performed by a symphony orchestra include eight percussionists (!) in a national broadcaster's orchestral recording studio.

I decided that the excuse of being asked late was a good enough justification to take a lightweight outfit for the purpose - so in I marched with an RH-1, an NH1, and an NH900, together with the Rode Stereo VideoMic, and a 12 foot mic stand collapsed into three short sections.

I used the NH1 as a backup for the RH-1/Rode combo, fed from the RH-1 line out socket. There were speeches during the concert and these I recorded from the studio's public address mixer on the NH900 - I'll integrate them later using editing software.

The dynamic range of the performance in the very quiet studio was huge - from the sound of a cymbal being gently stroked with a violin bow, through to the whole orchestra going flat out. Listening to it now, it's been faithfully captured to the extent that I'm having to turn down the louder passages for fear of domestic upset (it being late at night here now).

The Rode SVM proved well up to the task, and a good match for the RH-1. I used the low sensitivity setting of the RH-1 mic input, and a recording level of 18/30 seemed just right. During the rehearsal I tried it with significantly higher levels and noticed audible distortion in the headphones (via a top-flight headphone amp) well before the "over" segment on the RH-1 meter came on. It's clear that you should indeed neversee that light illuminate. Indeed, if the meters "sit" on the top segment (rather than flick it on with a transient) you're probably at risk of distortion. But with the dynamic range available, there's no need to take that risk.

I was surprised that the NH1 had to be on about 22/30 to meter the same as the RH-1 - actually I deliberately slightly "undercooked" it on 20 - normally I would have expected to use 16/30 from a typical line level source. Seems like the RH-1 line out is a bit lower level than most.

Listening to the overall sound, perhaps it is slightly lacking in extreme low frequencies - but in the morning I'll be able to explore the sound at a more realistic level. And I'm playing back from the RH-1 line out rather than via USB - there could be a difference in the transferred sound.

For copyright reasons it may not be possible to post an example of the result, but we'll see.... examples of "native" RH-1 symphonic studio recordings must be rare. I guess these days it's possible to post .oma files with the protection taken off?

[reefbeef]

I was surprised that the NH1 had to be on about 22/30 to meter the same as the RH-1 - actually I deliberately slightly "undercooked" it on 20 - normally I would have expected to use 16/30 from a typical line level source. Seems like the RH-1 line out is a bit lower level than most.

Is it possible that the RH1 was delivering a headphone out signal and not Line Out? Did you try adjusting the volume on the RH1 while recording (which would have told you 'Line Out')

Man, it's amazing that this little machine can record and send out a signal at the same time.

[greenmachine]

If the rh1 had failed/stopped during the record, the nh1 wouldn't have gotten a signal either. Not really the most reliable backup method, better than none though i guess.

I guess these days it's possible to post .oma files with the protection taken off?

Not sure, but if you have recorded in pcm, just use high bitrate mp3. Much better compatibility, particularly for 'outsiders'. Looking forward to hear that sample.

[A440]

Please do post that sample. Once you upload, use SonicStage to convert to .wav, then use an .mp3 encoder to make a high-bitrate .mp3 (at least 192, and higher would be great for the subtleties).

You can remove DRM from .oma in SonicStage--buried in the Tools menu--but as greenmachine said, more people can play back .mp3.

[ozpeter]

Cheers, I'll see what I can do.

The RH-1 output was definitely line level.

Indeed, it's by no means a disaster proof backup method, chaining on MD from another - chiefly it's a media backup, so if SonicStage ate the first copy (ok, I know it doesn't these days but old habits die hard) then there would be at least something to fall back on.

[Malcolm Stewart]

Very interesting report - did the musicians believe that your kit would do them justice?!!

Listening to the overall sound, perhaps it is slightly lacking in extreme low frequencies - but in the morning I'll be able to explore the sound at a more realistic level.

Could this lack of bass be due to the mic being a directional type. Omnis normally are a bit better for deep bass, I think.

It's good to hear that you like the mic as I'm thinking I might get one for use with my camcorder.

[WaywardTraveller]

I used the NH1 as a backup for the RH-1/Rode combo, fed from the RH-1 line out socket.

I honestly didn't know you could do this! More than backup, though (since all depends on the RH1), I guess this is a convenient way of recording to two MDs at once? I didn't know the RH1 would give a line-out signal while recording this way. Does anyone know if the same is true for the NH1?

I used the low sensitivity setting of the RH-1 mic input, and a recording level of 18/30 seemed just right.

Forgive another newbie question...but I've tinkered with low- vs. high-sensitivity recordings myself, and always wondered: does low sensitivity necessarily sacrifice detail and sound quality? I don't know too much about live recording, but I'm definitely eager to learn.

peace

WaywardTraveller

[ozpeter]

Just about any MD should provide an output when recording. Some models - perhaps all Hi-MD ones?? - have a menu option to enable line out vs headphone out.

Sensitivity setting should not affect the overall quality - put it like this, what would affect the overall quality would be overloading the recording due to using high sensitivity with a high level recording, or under-recording using low sensitivity with a low level signal. You simply need to use the one that is most appropriate to the incoming level. I'd avoid having settings of (say) 10/30 9on loud stuff) or below or 25/30 or above (on quiet stuff), so pick a sensitivity which avoids those extremes, or something near them.

[The Low Volta]

PS: the Hi-MD's with a line-out mode are the NH900, NH1 and RH1