floz23 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Greetings everyone,Here is my setup:MZ-RH1 (mic sens=Low, AGC=off, Hi-MD PCM, MIC-IN level 11)RODE NT4 Stereo Condenser MIC (with a fresh 9V battery inside)Spec sheet: http://www.rodemic.com/downloads/NT4_White_Paper.pdfInstructions: http://www.rodemic.com/downloads/NT4_InstMan.pdfThe recording level *barely* peaks at the -12 indicator.The chorus size is about 30 people with decently trained voices, a Capella, no instruments. Rode Nt4 mic is placed about 15 feet away from the middle of the chorus, behind the conductor.Problem: The sopranos, sometimes the tenors too, cause a weird type of distortion in the recording, always when they sing high notes at relatively high volumes. None of the voices are amplified.Recording well trained voices is not the same as instruments, because a well trained voice can have an incredibly non-linear frequency response curve and SPL levels. I can't really describe the distortion... when we sing full blast, the recording sounds muddy and grainy, or sometimes it just sounds "mechanical." Again, the meter on the RH1 is barely peaking at -12db...Whats the culprit here? The pre-amp or MIC. Do I need to find a way to get a higher voltage to the mic???I can supply some short sound samples if people want.Thanks everyone, your help would be much appreciated.-Adam S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boojum Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 I would opine that the mic is the culprit. If you are not peaking on the RH1 it is not clipping. Try another mic and see what happens. Keep everyone here in the loop as you go along. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 I would opine that the mic is the culprit. If you are not peaking on the RH1 it is not clipping. Try another mic and see what happens. Keep everyone here in the loop as you go along. Thanks. Would a battery box help in my situation? My mic already has a 9V in it, would adding a 9V battery box help at all?-Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 9V is the minimum for this non-prepolarized condenser mic. It will most likely perform better with higher voltages (up to 52 Volts) via phantom power.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 9V is the minimum for this non-prepolarized condenser mic. It will most likely perform better with higher voltages (up to 52 Volts) via phantom power..Yeah, I started to look into the possibility of an external phantom power adapter. I think Denecke makes a decent one...But could just adding a 9v battery box supply the mic with any more power?Thanks much!-Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Not 100% sure about the circuits used in this particular mic, but I don't think the voltages of internal and external battery would add up, you'd most likely still have 9V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Could you attach a little sample? That is one of the best-reviewed mics out there, and I would be curious to hear exactly what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Could you attach a little sample? That is one of the best-reviewed mics out there, and I would be curious to hear exactly what's going on.I only added a 7db boost to the original recordings.Listen carefully to the loud sopranos.Previously I have recorded with a pair of AKG C1000S using phantom power from a Beheringer mixer, outputted to my Archos AV420 by line-in. In this setup I had much less distortion during the loud, intense parts. I think I just need to get phantom power to this NT4 Its really tough, during the normal volume parts the mic sounds sweet, but as soon as we sing forte I get a lot of distortion.-Adamclip1.wavclip2.wav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Am I the only one not to hear any significant distortion in the samples? (maybe subtly in the very beginning of the 2nd sample, not sure though) Could the problem be in your playback equipment or is it just my untrained hearing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Am I the only one not to hear any significant distortion in the samples? (maybe subtly in the very beginning of the 2nd sample, not sure though) Could the problem be in your playback equipment or is it just my untrained hearing?Its the Mic... SPL levels exeed the mics capacity , and the Mics output isnt hight enough for the MD ,Vocals Have uncompressed dynamics, so the range in the peaks and valleys is a much greater range than a guitar or Piano. Also when many Voices converge you get Harmonic displacement , or an accurate representation of Pythagoras's probs when he first figured out the ratios of harmony , added another set of tones and it just didnt work . Frequencies unless accurately represented , will show up in the recording much more noticeably than just to a live listener , All the sound is being squeezed down to Two tracks hard left hard right, and not the three dimensional natural hearing. So the frequencies start to pile up on top of each other and conflict. rather than harmonize. Take a guitar and the top two strings (B and E the smallest ones) play the 5th fret of the B string and the open e string at the same time. ( that is how you tune them ) but just slight detune the e string. you will hear the wave quite clearly even at 1hz difference .But now play both strings open , you wont notice it as much , especially for the amatuer player. That is a laymans illustration sorry, but the mic without a preamp just isnt going to give you what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Its the Mic... SPL levels exeed the mics capacity , and the Mics output isnt hight enough for the MD ,Vocals Have uncompressed dynamics, so the range in the peaks and valleys is a much greater range than a guitar or Piano. Also when many Voices converge you get Harmonic displacement , or an accurate representation of Pythagoras's probs when he first figured out the ratios of harmony , added another set of tones and it just didnt work . Frequencies unless accurately represented , will show up in the recording much more noticeably than just to a live listener , All the sound is being squeezed down to Two tracks hard left hard right, and not the three dimensional natural hearing. So the frequencies start to pile up on top of each other and conflict. rather than harmonize. Take a guitar and the top two strings (B and E the smallest ones) play the 5th fret of the B string and the open e string at the same time. ( that is how you tune them ) but just slight detune the e string. you will hear the wave quite clearly even at 1hz difference .But now play both strings open , you wont notice it as much , especially for the amatuer player. That is a laymans illustration sorry, but the mic without a preamp just isnt going to give you what you want.Thanks, I understand exactly what your trying to get at. Do you think that if I were to power the mic with phantom power, it might help it cope with the non-linear SPL's?Thanks,-AdamAm I the only one not to hear any significant distortion in the samples? (maybe subtly in the very beginning of the 2nd sample, not sure though) Could the problem be in your playback equipment or is it just my untrained hearing?I may be my IEM's too, Shure E4.Guitarfxr confirmed my suspicion, I thought the human voice had a special ability to produce waveforms which overload most mics quickly. It does sound like I am exceeding the SPL capability of the mic.-Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Thanks, I understand exactly what your trying to get at. Do you think that if I were to power the mic with phantom power, it might help it cope with the non-linear SPL's?Thanks,-AdamI may be my IEM's too, Shure E4.Guitarfxr confirmed my suspicion, I thought the human voice had a special ability to produce waveforms which overload most mics quickly. It does sound like I am exceeding the SPL capability of the mic.-Adam Its not the power to the mic, If you are running XLR to 1/8 stereo plug directly , is it wired correctly ? pin 1 and 3 of the XLR linked and wired to ground, pin 2 gets the red and white wires (Tip And Ring of the 1/8 plug) that is for dual mono, the same signal will go to both channels Or on a stereo setup (Two mics ) again pin 1 and 3 are ground, and pin 2 is + out for each mic, so pin 2 from left mic goes to ring of 1/8 , and pin 2 of right mic goes to Tip of 1/8 plug. Try a proper set of cables first, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Its not the power to the mic, If you are running XLR to 1/8 stereo plug directly , is it wired correctly ? pin 1 and 3 of the XLR linked and wired to ground, pin 2 gets the red and white wires (Tip And Ring of the 1/8 plug) that is for dual mono, the same signal will go to both channels Or on a stereo setup (Two mics ) again pin 1 and 3 are ground, and pin 2 is + out for each mic, so pin 2 from left mic goes to ring of 1/8 , and pin 2 of right mic goes to Tip of 1/8 plug. Try a proper set of cables first,Guitarfxr, I'm not sure what you mean. The mic comes with 2 cables, one cable take the special propitiatory connector and coverts that to 2 xlr connectors. The second cable takes the propitiatory connector and converts that to a single 1/8" stereo connector. Thats the one I currently use to connect the mic to my MD recorder.The mic is currently powered with a 9V battery. I wanted to know if I could use the other connector, the xlr one, connect the mic, via xlr to a phantom power supply, then run the connection in my MD recorder. I think this may yield me better results, but I'm not sure what the price/performance ratio is going to be -Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 (edited) Guitarfxr, I'm not sure what you mean. The mic comes with 2 cables, one cable take the special propitiatory connector and coverts that to 2 xlr connectors. The second cable takes the propitiatory connector and converts that to a single 1/8" stereo connector. Thats the one I currently use to connect the mic to my MD recorder.The mic is currently powered with a 9V battery. I wanted to know if I could use the other connector, the xlr one, connect the mic, via xlr to a phantom power supply, then run the connection in my MD recorder. I think this may yield me better results, but I'm not sure what the price/performance ratio is going to be -AdamOk I went to the Rode page and looked at the cable , my freind was using a Preamp with his , so he wasnt using the 1/8 cable .read the specs again on the mic , On the RH1 there are two stettings for AGC one for voice and one for music, each has a different Compression curve and slight frequency layout , try using the AGC , set for music , Over at Candyrat Records.com tere is a video of Antione DuFour playing they used the NT4 to record him with ( You will see it on the stand), that is what that mic should sound like.They moved all the vids to Youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/candyrat Also I listened to track two again and I can hear the woman on left channel is not really in tune the nois come from the right side , the room sounds like it isnt all that big and tiled ceiling ? the white looks like swiss cheese soft tiles that you find in schools?carpeted floor, ....? their isnt any ambeince at all, When recording a Vocal Choir , it is best to use a more spread out set of mics, rather than a center mic , unless it is mono. Withe the NT4 sitting right in the middle , it is getting slammed with everything in the room, there isnt any seperation, Yes there is Audio or sound field seperation ( what you hear ) but no frequency seperation, spacing out the singers voices so they dont conflict, The effect can be minmised by raising the mic up almost to the ceilingand backing away a little further, then adjust the gain controls on the recorder. You said you had the Mic gain set to LOW, and AGC off. Try three takes ,, #1 Mic sens High, Record level manual and set the loudest peaks at -3 db #2 Mic sens Low AGC on ,type "music" #3 Mic sens high AGC on , type Music also get the mic towrd the back of the room and up about a foot away from the ceiling. Edited March 14, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62v8 Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Its not the power to the mic, If you are running XLR to 1/8 stereo plug directly , is it wired correctly ? pin 1 and 3 of the XLR linked and wired to ground, pin 2 gets the red and white wires (Tip And Ring of the 1/8 plug) that is for dual mono, the same signal will go to both channels Or on a stereo setup (Two mics ) again pin 1 and 3 are ground, and pin 2 is + out for each mic, so pin 2 from left mic goes to ring of 1/8 , and pin 2 of right mic goes to Tip of 1/8 plug. Try a proper set of cables first,OK we are now onto something ...I do have an NT4 and while back there was thread (I can't remember #) that advised to cut off the supplied 1/8" 5 pin socket.The reason being that Rode actually inserted a 12db pad in there.If the thread cannot be found .. read here and modify accordinglyhttp://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/Rod...leMod-index.htmGet rid of the supplied cable and you won't be sorry.All your missing detail will be revealled and the Rode is indeed a nice mic.SPL will be least of your worries.Cheers62v8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 (edited) OK we are now onto something ...I do have an NT4 and while back there was thread (I can't remember #) that advised to cut off the supplied 1/8" 5 pin socket.The reason being that Rode actually inserted a 12db pad in there.If the thread cannot be found .. read here and modify accordinglyhttp://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/Rod...leMod-index.htmGet rid of the supplied cable and you won't be sorry.All your missing detail will be revealled and the Rode is indeed a nice mic.SPL will be least of your worries.Cheers62v8Thx for helping me clarify that , I didnt know about the pad in the cable. 12 db pad would put the guy right at -11 db and the mic would be clipping , which is exactly wat I hear.TC Do you think we could forward the key elements of this discussion to RODES , maybe they would redesign the cable Edited March 14, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Ok I went to the Rode page and looked at the cable , my freind was using a Preamp with his , so he wasnt using the 1/8 cable .read the specs again on the mic , On the RH1 there are two stettings for AGC one for voice and one for music, each has a different Compression curve and slight frequency layout , try using the AGC , set for music , Over at Candyrat Records.com tere is a video of Antione DuFour playing they used the NT4 to record him with ( You will see it on the stand), that is what that mic should sound like.They moved all the vids to Youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/candyrat Also I listened to track two again and I can hear the woman on left channel is not really in tune the nois come from the right side , the room sounds like it isnt all that big and tiled ceiling ? the white looks like swiss cheese soft tiles that you find in schools?carpeted floor, ....? their isnt any ambeince at all, When recording a Vocal Choir , it is best to use a more spread out set of mics, rather than a center mic , unless it is mono. Withe the NT4 sitting right in the middle , it is getting slammed with everything in the room, there isnt any seperation, Yes there is Audio or sound field seperation ( what you hear ) but no frequency seperation, spacing out the singers voices so they dont conflict, The effect can be minmised by raising the mic up almost to the ceilingand backing away a little further, then adjust the gain controls on the recorder. You said you had the Mic gain set to LOW, and AGC off. Try three takes ,, #1 Mic sens High, Record level manual and set the loudest peaks at -3 db #2 Mic sens Low AGC on ,type "music" #3 Mic sens high AGC on , type Music also get the mic towrd the back of the room and up about a foot away from the ceiling.Good hearing, the room is less than optimal, having both ceiling tiles, and carpets. Also, the room is very small, not the best place to be practicing... but we have no choice right now.Thanks for all your help! I will be investigating this more over the coming weeks.-AdamThx for helping me clarify that , I didnt know about the pad in the cable. 12 db pad would put the guy right at -11 db and the mic would be clipping , which is exactly wat I hear.TC Do you think we could forward the key elements of this discussion to RODES , maybe they would redesign the cableIronically, the cable has NO PAD, not even a trace of a PCB. I'll include pictures if you'd like... This mic was an older unit.I am still itching to try a ART Phantom II power supply....-Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 (edited) Good hearing, the room is less than optimal, having both ceiling tiles, and carpets. Also, the room is very small, not the best place to be practicing... but we have no choice right now.Thanks for all your help! I will be investigating this more over the coming weeks.-AdamIronically, the cable has NO PAD, not even a trace of a PCB. I'll include pictures if you'd like... This mic was an older unit.I am still itching to try a ART Phantom II power supply....-AdamHey Adam , check these sites , http://www.rdlnet.com/http://www.fullcompass.com/At fullcompass talk to Ron Vogel , he was my rep when I was in the states, If they dont have it , they will get it , and for a lot less.Absolutley the best company I have dealt with.TC specifically this page two of these would also be very cool http://www.rdlnet.com/product.php?page=58 Edited March 15, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 ... Frequencies unless accurately represented , will show up in the recording much more noticeably than just to a live listener , All the sound is being squeezed down to Two tracks hard left hard right, and not the three dimensional natural hearing. So the frequencies start to pile up on top of each other and conflict. rather than harmonize.Two channels are perfectly sufficient for a natural 3-dimensional hearing. You have only two ears, don't you? Mic placement will make the difference if a recording appears 3-dimensional or not. The XY arrangement of the NT4 will give some channel separation, but not necessarily a naturally perceived one. Unlike your ears, the receptors of the mic are close together. The angling of the directional elements will give separation in the higher frequency region, but there is almost none at lower frequencies, which is good for mono compatibility, loudspeaker playback and whatnot, but not necessarily perceived as naturally 3-dimensional like a binaural recording, where the mics are arranged like the human hearing. Although I don't think any mic placement will cause distortion, it's usually just the 3-dimensionality that suffers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 (edited) Two channels are perfectly sufficient for a natural 3-dimensional hearing. You have only two ears, don't you? Mic placement will make the difference if a recording appears 3-dimensional or not. The XY arrangement of the NT4 will give some channel separation, but not necessarily a naturally perceived one. Unlike your ears, the receptors of the mic are close together. The angling of the directional elements will give separation in the higher frequency region, but there is almost none at lower frequencies, which is good for mono compatibility, loudspeaker playback and whatnot, but not necessarily perceived as naturally 3-dimensional like a binaural recording, where the mics are arranged like the human hearing. Although I don't think any mic placement will cause distortion, it's usually just the 3-dimensionality that suffers. Hey Green , how are you . If you dont mind let me explain an example , I was working with a group called FRENS, the albumn is called "The First Time" , it Took a Sony Silver Microphone Award . We were in the studio just added the Bass parts , and were touching up the Keyboard part when we noticed a harshness in one area that wasnt there before, after twenty minutes or so Isolating each track and doing some math frequency analysis i came to the conclusion that the conflict was in how the Hi Hat ,on the drum set and the Ride cymbal interacted with each other ( frequency wise ) was clashing with the keyboards , but it wasnt noticeable until after the Bass was added and polished into place , the compression of the the Low frequencies of the Bass guitar was "pushing " the the minimal distorion of just slight disimilar freq. of the two cymbals out in front, just enough to interact with the Pristine solid Sine Wave that the Keyboard were presenting.I brought this out to Baron and Rudy , then Sunny (the Owner of the studio), Inserting a parametric EQ into that track( aside from the one that was ON the board, a Sony MP 3056) and changing the compression values every so slightly , Isolating the offending values and clamping them down . We came out with a pretty good take. I know how to hear . Frens " The First Time" , Recorded in Richmond VA, at Sunny Zhao's Dreams Factory . http://www.smooth-jazz.de/Artists3/Frens.htmlhttp://www.dreamsfactory.com/ Sunny and I got into an Argument over this one, It was sooo funny Edited March 17, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2007 (edited) Just to let everyone know, I'm waiting for my ART PHANTOM II phantom power supply to arrive. I assuming I'll be able to squeeze just a little more performance out of my NT4. Anyway, I just got back from a decent string quartet performance of Schubert and Brahms. I was surprised to see them using a single NT4 to record the entire concert. I wish I could hear what the recording sounded like!-Adam Edited March 18, 2007 by floz23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 18, 2007 Report Share Posted March 18, 2007 (edited) Just to let everyone know, I'm waiting for my ART PHANTOM II phantom power supply to arrive. I assuming I'll be able to squeeze just a little more performance out of my NT4. Anyway, I just got back from a decent string quartet performance of Schubert and Brahms. I was surprised to see them using a single NT4 to record the entire concert. I wish I could hear what the recording sounded like!-Adam No doubt that they were running to a Mixing board and using a limiter and the EQ on the board, Adam I have a recording somewhere of a Barouqe Quintet , in a long narrow room , (15 ft wide by thirty long roughly , hard floor but soft vinyl floor tile, Sheetrock painted walls and ceiling tiles like you have . The mic was an AT-822 with the Low cut on ( audio Technica) and it was placed at the very back of the room about 8 inches from the ceiling , I was using a MZ-R70 SP2 mode, There was no amplification whatsoever from the group , which means that the Flute (Wooden ,Period instrument ) had to compete with Violins and Cello and a Barouqe period piano, (Clavier) handmade beautiful . I chose that mic place for the reason that the lower frequencies tend to get trapped in the upper corners of the room, the mids, will be more in the center of the room because it is a compression zone, and the highs tend to difuse along the walls. So by centering the mic High in the back I tamed the violins so they wouldnt overpower the flute( remember I was well away from the flute so to the untrained person you would assume that the flute would not be heard at all) I will make an MP3 of part of that recording unaltered in any way , when you hear the flute balanced with the rest of the group I think you will understand better about experimenting with mic placement. maybe day after tommorrow or so, I have to find the recording and get it into Audacity.TCOk here is the MP3 You will hear that the Bass freq are quite strong , and the mids drop to a balanced level, and the flute comes thru quite nicely , Manual rec level ,somewhere around 17/30 with mic sens high. Edited March 18, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blockflute Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 I'm new to this forum. I just tried to post a "Fast Reply" but it seems to have gone awol so I'll try again. The site is a bit daunting.The age old problem of huge dynamic range with soprano voices topping a full chorus & orchestra used to confound all engineers. I've recently started to use an NH-700 with my old Hammond condenser mics. to record barock ensemble both here and in City churches. I found that a single soprano voice overloaded on peaks even when the bar indicators suggested all was well. (very different from my old A77 and the Nakamichi). Next time I'll set the level quite a bit lower than -12db and report back. About mic. placement: Its all about the room acoustic, the sound source, the mic. pattern and the effect you want. I'm interested in the suggestion of high at the back of the room because it's not what I would have thought of! I might try it though, here in my music room. When I recorded bach cantatas in a large city church recently I couldn't get close enough to the ensemble. The reverberation was around 6 seconds. - Result - too much ambience and not enough detail.Re AGC on the MD. For me this is a no-no. You can clearly hear the limiter working & releasing on the recorded sound. Not good. Even the instruction book warns about it!'Hope this uploads OK,JF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 I'm new to this forum. I just tried to post a "Fast Reply" but it seems to have gone awol so I'll try again. The site is a bit daunting.The age old problem of huge dynamic range with soprano voices topping a full chorus & orchestra used to confound all engineers. I've recently started to use an NH-700 with my old Hammond condenser mics. to record barock ensemble both here and in City churches. I found that a single soprano voice overloaded on peaks even when the bar indicators suggested all was well. (very different from my old A77 and the Nakamichi). Next time I'll set the level quite a bit lower than -12db and report back. About mic. placement: Its all about the room acoustic, the sound source, the mic. pattern and the effect you want. I'm interested in the suggestion of high at the back of the room because it's not what I would have thought of! I might try it though, here in my music room. When I recorded bach cantatas in a large city church recently I couldn't get close enough to the ensemble. The reverberation was around 6 seconds. - Result - too much ambience and not enough detail.Re AGC on the MD. For me this is a no-no. You can clearly hear the limiter working & releasing on the recorded sound. Not good. Even the instruction book warns about it!'Hope this uploads OK,JFThanks for your input. My phantom power supply is coming tomorrow... I shall report my findings.I personally think the problem is that the harmonics produced by a set of singing voices, are a very challenging sound for a microphone to capture correctly. Also, it doesnt help that I am trying to record voices in a room the size of a shoebox. As for the recording level, I have recorded at well below -12db... same problems.-Adam-Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 The amount of audience , effected the reverb quite a lot so there wasnt very much at all, (45 people in the room) in an empty room the sound will be a little different. Recording in a Church, you need to use a small mixer , and actually get the mics fairly close to your subjects so as to minimized the room , A large room unless it is FULLY carpeted or has good acoustic baffling throughout, you will get Big Verb try A couple of good boundary mics on the floor of the stage, put some folded cloth under them (stage noise) , run the cables down the front of the stage and along the bottom of the wall to a discete place away from the stage, You will be happy with that setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blockflute Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 Thanks for your input. My phantom power supply is coming tomorrow... I shall report my findings.I personally think the problem is that the harmonics produced by a set of singing voices, are a very challenging sound for a microphone to capture correctly. Also, it doesnt help that I am trying to record voices in a room the size of a shoebox. As for the recording level, I have recorded at well below -12db... same problems.-Adam-AdamHas the Phantom PSU solved the problem? Yesterday I recorded a recital at London's Handel House. A small room with 28 people (well smallish).Same group I had trouble with last time. Strong Soprano voice which overloaded in earlier attempts when using Manual Level @ 17/20. This time I went down to 13 for the vocal items and risked 16 for the instrumental ones with the mics very close to the ensemble. - Very pleased with the results. The harpsichord solo sounds a million dollars - at least as good as any commercial recording I've heard, but those level meters are so misleading. I could have done with more rehearsal time for trial & error. I spent most of the day before ironing out a few little problems with the mics. - like a wiring error in the cable which left the HT screened but not the signal lead! (previous owner, let me say in defence) and I removed a thick cotton woven disc which previously protected the diaphragm. Now it has to be protected with special covers except in use but I think the HF will have benefitted. I may not have mentioned that these are old Hammond M100 Nuvistor amplifies condenser mics. with fully regulated mains supplies.Best,JF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 (edited) Has the Phantom PSU solved the problem? Yesterday I recorded a recital at London's Handel House. A small room with 28 people (well smallish).Same group I had trouble with last time. Strong Soprano voice which overloaded in earlier attempts when using Manual Level @ 17/20. This time I went down to 13 for the vocal items and risked 16 for the instrumental ones with the mics very close to the ensemble. - Very pleased with the results. The harpsichord solo sounds a million dollars - at least as good as any commercial recording I've heard, but those level meters are so misleading. I could have done with more rehearsal time for trial & error. I spent most of the day before ironing out a few little problems with the mics. - like a wiring error in the cable which left the HT screened but not the signal lead! (previous owner, let me say in defence) and I removed a thick cotton woven disc which previously protected the diaphragm. Now it has to be protected with special covers except in use but I think the HF will have benefitted. I may not have mentioned that these are old Hammond M100 Nuvistor amplifies condenser mics. with fully regulated mains supplies.Best,JF Cool Vintage gear dude , hold on to those, I bought the 40elk remote for the RH1 yesterday , and it solved one of my MAJOR complaints with the RH1 , It gave me Recording Level control from the remote w/ meters , Happy camper For evryone else here is what that mic looks likehttp://www.saturn-sound.com/images/hammond...0microphone.jpgRead the specs on the original ad , 20-20khz Flat this is what im talikng about in the other forum about your mics and pres making all the differencehttp://www.saturn-sound.com/images/advert%...#39;%201965.gif Edited March 23, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floz23 Posted March 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 So far, yes, I believe the phantom psu has increased the performance of the mic greatly. Although you will have to wait until tomorrow evening (Sunday) before I can post any comparative sound samples.-Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 I bought the 40elk remote for the RH1 yesterday , and it solved one of my MAJOR complaints with the RH1 , It gave me Recording Level control from the remote w/ meters , Happy camperBe careful with the RM-MC40ELK. It adds a little bit of static every time you light it up or adjust something. The louder the source, the less you hear it, but it's there. With acoustic music, like classical music, I find it adds an audible nonstop buzz that's probably drowned out by the loud stuff I usually record. I don't know if that buzz just comes from my particular remote or is a general problem. But all the remotes add noise when you adjust during recording. The RM-MC40ELK is good for reassurance and on-the-spot track marking--who cares about some static during applause between songs?--but you will hear it in quieter contexts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) Be careful with the RM-MC40ELK. It adds a little bit of static every time you light it up or adjust something. The louder the source, the less you hear it, but it's there. With acoustic music, like classical music, I find it adds an audible nonstop buzz that's probably drowned out by the loud stuff I usually record. I don't know if that buzz just comes from my particular remote or is a general problem. But all the remotes add noise when you adjust during recording. The RM-MC40ELK is good for reassurance and on-the-spot track marking--who cares about some static during applause between songs?--but you will hear it in quieter contexts. Appriciate that , I used it the other night , http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...amp;st=30&# I posted an mp3 there Didnt really notice any thing , Editing on the RH1 itself is glitchy, but with both the remote and the RH1 ( Edit functions like , move, erase , and other stuff , I cant access on the remote ,that sux)Actually the only track marking is the Pause button on the remote so I dont use that . I want live track marks ( uninterupted sound flow) That is why I have to do that on the RH1 after the fact Edited March 25, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Actually the only track marking is the Pause button on the remote so I dont use that . I want live track marks ( uninterupted sound flow)The P-Mode/Repeat button on the RM-MC40ELK does the same thing as the Track button on the unit while recording. It adds a gapless track mark when you press it, along with a minuscule amount of static that will be buried by applause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blockflute Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Cool Vintage gear dude , hold on to those, I bought the 40elk remote for the RH1 yesterday , and it solved one of my MAJOR complaints with the RH1 , It gave me Recording Level control from the remote w/ meters , Happy camper For evryone else here is what that mic looks likehttp://www.saturn-sound.com/images/hammond...0microphone.jpgRead the specs on the original ad , 20-20khz Flat this is what im talikng about in the other forum about your mics and pres making all the differencehttp://www.saturn-sound.com/images/advert%...#39;%201965.gifWhich "other forum" was that?JF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 The P-Mode/Repeat button on the RM-MC40ELK does the same thing as the Track button on the unit while recording. It adds a gapless track mark when you press it, along with a minuscule amount of static that will be buried by applause.THX the manual is in Japanese and I dont read Japanese so that is appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Which "other forum" was that?JFhttp://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...8777&st=15#sorry , my bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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