Live Concert Recording

[mligon]

I have just purchased a Sony MS907 stereo mic for my minidisc recorder. The first show I tried to record, was way too loud for the mic, and I had much distortion. Does anyone know of a good, not too expensive, portable pre-amp for this type of mic. The mic runs from AA bat, so I would like a pre-amp that runs from batts as well. Any tips greatly appreciated

 

[boingoman]

What MD player do you have? I do the same thing a lot with mine and haven't had a problem with overload..... I use that mic and a MD707 recorder.

 

[Richard Monroe]

I'm with Boingoman. I use a Sony ECMMS957 into a Korg PXR4 on some very loud stuff, and I have no problem. Try this- plug the mic into a 1/8" stereo *line in*, rather than a mic input. Your mid-side stereo mic puts out a -10dBu line level signal, not a mic output.-Richie

 

[mligon]

What MD player do you have? I do the same thing a lot with mine and haven't had a problem with overload..... I use that mic and a MD707 recorder.

I use the Sony MZ-N707. When I tried plugging directly into the "line in" vs the "mic in" the level was not strong enough. What is you opinion on the 90 vs 120 degree option on the mic for live environments?

 

[mligon]

Record Level

I use the Sony MZ-N707. When I tried plugging directly into the "line in" vs the "mic in" the level was not strong enough. What is you opinion on the 90 vs 120 degree option on the mic for live environments?

Also, can you adjust the record level on this deck?

 

[Richard Monroe]

I would use the 90d option if you havs a small stage, a bad room, or a lot of crpwd noise, 120d otherwise. The line in option should work fine with some boost in the input gain, and a fairly loud source. It sounds like you are trying to track hotter than you need to.-Richie

 

[boingoman]

Richard, thanks for the mic angle advice.

mligon, I found the manual online at sony. This is the info for the mz-n707.

You can manually set the recording level. I've never done it as the auto setting on the mic in has always worked for me.

Dang. It won't let me cut and paste from a .pdf file. Anyway, here is the link for the manual search at sony. Look under the table of contenets for recording.

Good luck!

sony manual search

 

[mligon]

Thanks

For all the feedback, this site (and all of you) rock!

 

[PeteHalo]

There problem here is definetly the mic. The 1.5v bias voltage is not high enough for an electret mic to handle the typical volume levels of a music performance. I started recording my band's rehearsals a while ago with my Nokia n-Gage cell phone and an inexpensive stereo electret mic which was also running off a single 1.5V battery. The first attempts were dissapointing because of the same distortion problem but then I studied the subject a little bit and found out that an electrect condenser mic would benefit from increased bias voltage. Increasing the bias voltage from original 1.5V to 9V has definetly been a big improvement in overall fidelity of the captured sound.

Does anybody know if there's a limit for the bias voltage that can applied to a electret mic without damaging the mic? I'd like to go even higher than 9V but I'm afraid I might damage the mic.

 

[boingoman]

Pete I imagine the problem you are having is

1) a cheap mic
2) recording with your phone

The sony mics aren't half-bad. I think you'd be surprised at the quality of recordings I've made with mine. I won't dispute your info, I just think in your case there might be other issues. I've recorded really loud (105-110db) bands with my set-up, no problems.

Perhaps mligon will have to get a different mic, but I'm betting if he sets his recording level correctly he won't have any more problems.

 

[jman]

the minidisc and the mic match fine. One question that hasn't been asked is where are you placing the mic?

 

[mligon]

Up and running!

the minidisc and the mic match fine. One question that hasn't been asked is where are you placing the mic?

Ok, thanks again for all the advice.

I just recorded two shows, one was Jamie Cullum at the Fox Theater, good sound, but not too loud. (Mic in the back of the soundboard) Using the record level adjust which I found with the help from here, it sounds great.

The second show was The Stockholm Syndrom, loud as all get out! But, with fresh batts, and much decreased rec level, my distortion problem was solved.

Does anyone know of a good phantom batt supply for this set-up, or a small pre-amp?

Thanks again for all of the advice!