Topic: What happened to my recording?

[Massive Dynamic]

Had a very rare recording failure recently. I ran my minimal rig, Naiant X-X miniplug > SP-SPSB-1 > line in on Sony M10, a couple weeks earlier with no problems. Rec level was probably 3.5. I checked the battery under load before the show, and it measured 9.7V. The show was not terribly loud, and the recording sounded typical.

Two weeks later, I checked the same battery before the show and got a reading of 9.4V so I thought it would be fine. The show was quite loud in a smaller venue. The mics were secured into a small j-disc instead of my usual body-worn approach. Here is a link to one song, https://soundcloud.com/rkyver/mwy-badsample . Raw file excerpt, no changes.

After hearing the distortion in the recording, I measured the battery again a few days later and it was only down to 9.39V. I know acidjack has said that he's never had the X-X overload under loud conditions, so a low battery seems the likely culprit, but I'd like to nail it down and make sure it never happens again. Is the audio clip indicative of mic overload, low battery, line input clipping, unusual sound reverberations in the venue?  Could the j-disk be the source of the vibrations? This was not the first time I'd used it with the X-X, but maybe the loudest. Thanks for any help.

[acidjack]

Had a very rare recording failure recently. I ran my minimal rig, Naiant X-X miniplug > SP-SPSB-1 > line in on Sony M10, a couple weeks earlier with no problems. Rec level was probably 3.5. I checked the battery under load before the show, and it measured 9.7V. The show was not terribly loud, and the recording sounded typical.

Two weeks later, I checked the same battery before the show and got a reading of 9.4V so I thought it would be fine. The show was quite loud in a smaller venue. The mics were secured into a small j-disc instead of my usual body-worn approach. Here is a link to one song, https://soundcloud.com/rkyver/mwy-badsample . Raw file excerpt, no changes.

After hearing the distortion in the recording, I measured the battery again a few days later and it was only down to 9.39V. I know acidjack has said that he's never had the X-X overload under loud conditions, so a low battery seems the likely culprit, but I'd like to nail it down and make sure it never happens again. Is the audio clip indicative of mic overload, low battery, line input clipping, unusual sound reverberations in the venue?  Could the j-disk be the source of the vibrations? This was not the first time I'd used it with the X-X, but maybe the loudest. Thanks for any help.

I've never had those mics overload, but I do believe, if they're like most Naiant mics, they're rather high-sensitivity mics. Jon can speak to that better than I can, but for example, my installed X-R were always run through -15dB attenuators.  I also have the XLR version of the X-X, which likely can tolerate higher SPL; I ran them through a deck with adjustable input sensitivity.

You checked the battery. I don't think it's the battery.

[Massive Dynamic]

Is there a link on Soundcloud to download the clip?  I couldn't see one.

Apologies, I think SoundCloud made some changes to the upload process since the last time, and I forgot to allow access. I think the above link still works and there should now be a download icon. Thanks for checking.

[hi and lo]

I'm not sure there is an equipment problem beyond what just seems to be a very bad FOH mix, and maybe a less-than-optimal recording position.  There is possibly some microphone overload on the kick drum hits (zoom in at 1:44.6 for example), but it's not too severe if that's what it is.  The recording is somewhat correctable with EQ (-5dB shelf at 160Hz) and ideally a multiband compressor to tame the kick hits.

Probably not the best venue or band for omnis.

I listened and agreed with this assessment. It sounds more like you were in a bass trap than the result of an equipment problem. Not to say the mics couldn't be overloading a tiny bit, as Jon mentioned.

[Massive Dynamic]

I'm not sure there is an equipment problem beyond what just seems to be a very bad FOH mix, and maybe a less-than-optimal recording position.  There is possibly some microphone overload on the kick drum hits (zoom in at 1:44.6 for example), but it's not too severe if that's what it is.  The recording is somewhat correctable with EQ (-5dB shelf at 160Hz) and ideally a multiband compressor to tame the kick hits.

Probably not the best venue or band for omnis.

Thanks, Jon. I may try to do some EQ later, but I am more concerned about getting a nice recording from the next show on the tour in mid-July: same band, same mics. The venue should be much better in terms of producing a better recording.

I've never had those mics overload, but I do believe, if they're like most Naiant mics, they're rather high-sensitivity mics. Jon can speak to that better than I can, but for example, my installed X-R were always run through -15dB attenuators.  I also have the XLR version of the X-X, which likely can tolerate higher SPL; I ran them through a deck with adjustable input sensitivity.

I also had the X-X terminated in XLR previously, and they were too hot for the FR-2le to handle without attenuators. The main reason I paired the X-X with the M10 is because I thought its line input was nearly unclippable. I was perusing another mic mfgr's page about some small cards, but the max SPL numbers aren't so great UNLESS you get 48v step-down adapters instead of powering with a 9V battery box (130 vs 117 db). Got a littlebox squirreled away somewhere? 

EDIT:

I listened and agreed with this assessment. It sounds more like you were in a bass trap than the result of an equipment problem. Not to say the mics couldn't be overloading a tiny bit, as Jon mentioned.

Yeah, in hindsight the mic placement is probably the culprit here. Should be able to avoid that specific obstacle at the next venue.