Topic: Hot Levels - Help

[DeadGreg]

I recorded last night at a VERY loud concert in a pretty small club. The house made the bass the dominating part of the mix. My levels ran hot throughout, and I could not get them down enough to stay below the peak. I lowered the recorders' input volume to the lowest level; I set the preamp's gain to the lowest level (-20b), and set each input from the mixer to the lowest levels.

Here is what I ran:
Busman hypers > MV100 > DR05
Nak CM300 (3) > MX100 > DR05

I searched for answers before posting but could not figure out where I went wrong. What can I change next time to get good levels?

Thanks,
Greg

[willndmb]

 You could have tried the -10db pad on the busmans

Line in or mic in?
How close were you that it was that loud?
Seems like you must have been raping the stack or something is "wrong"
I don't think you should have been clipping with the pre dropping the signal -20

[runonce]

Sounds like your recorder is set to mic in...

[DeadGreg]

I think the DR05 only has one line in - for both mics and line. I did set the -10 pad on the Busmans, which only helped some. It is a small club, so I was pretty close to the stacks, probably 20 yards. I could not really get any further away.

[Phil Zone]

I've always found the input on the dr-05 to be really hot even on the lowest levels, maybe try an attenuator cable or something like that, but the pads in my mics have always done the trick, but then again I never record too loud of shows and I use my m10 predominantly now so I haven't looked much into it.

[willndmb]

I think the DR05 only has one line in - for both mics and line. I did set the -10 pad on the Busmans, which only helped some. It is a small club, so I was pretty close to the stacks, probably 30 - 40 yards. I could not really get any further away.

i believe it does have one input but it should be selectable somehow by a switch or menu setting
And 30-40 yards is pretty far away do you mean feet
I am going with mic in vs line in as the issue too

Edit actually doesn't look like you can select line in http://www.avisoft.com/DR-05.pdf
Only turn off pip, turn on/off limiter and peak reduction

[DeadGreg]

I did mean feet. Sorry for the confusion. I edited my original post.

[yates7592]

I'm not faimilar with the MV100, you say you ran at the lowest level of -20dB, but just looking at the pdf manual it seems there are only 3 selectable gain values of +20/+40/+60dB. Is this correct, or is there an attenuation option as well? If so, a minimum gain of +20dB is a hell of a lot. I also understand Busman mics put out a hot signal anyway. So a hot mic signal combined with +20dB of gain might be something to do with the problem.

[datman229]

Sounds like mic in is set on recorder to me aswell.......

[yates7592]

Looking at the Dr-05 manual it seems there is only one jack for miniplugs and the max input level is -4dBu, quite low. Seems to me its a combination of things, minimum +20dB gain added on the pre, limited input level on the Dr-05, all possibly exaggerated by hot output from the Busman mics. Solution is probably an external 20 or 30dB pad on the pre.

[DeadGreg]

It looks like I need to keep an attenuator cable or pad in my bag for times like these. Can anyone recommend a quality one? I have looked at the Hose ATT448 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/431383-REG/Hosa_Technology_ATT_448_ATT_448_In_Line_Attenuator.html), the MM-AT-1 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/971344-REG/microphone_madness_mm_at_1_attenuator_cable_13.html), and Core Sound's cable (http://www.core-sound.com/attenuator-cables/1.php).

Am I missing a good attenuator? Can you recommend the best?

Thanks again for your help,
Greg

[Phil Zone]

I wouldn't buy hosa products they are usually very low quality and don't work well/break. I'd get one from Ted gakidis or darktrain and get the exact thing that you need, and they will know what you need, they're experts.

[ScoobieKW]

Not cheap but, solid and adjustable.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68600-REG/Shure_A15AS_A15AS_In_Line_Attenuator.html

[yates7592]

Or there's the Audio Technica pad that adjusts from -10 to -20 or -30db. I have a couple of those and they are flawless and very flexible in a tight situation.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68085-REG/Audio_Technica_AT8202_AT8202_In_Line_Attenuator.html

[willndmb]

Before I spend $80 on attenuators, I would look at selling the 05 and putting that money to the $80 and upgrade to something that can handle a hotter signal