Topic: Csc Mics distorted but levels good question

[alzeppelin]

I recorded Soul Asylum last night and stood about a foot from the pa stack so needless to say the volume was insanely loud.  During the show the levels on my dr-2d were leaking at -12 db so I figured I was ok. 

After the show I was listening back to the recording and when the vocals were loud they distorted and cracked.  It sounded like the levels were set wrong and the music was clipping but the levels were perfect. 

Has anyone ever experienced something like this?   I just purchased these Csc mics from a member on the board here so I want to make sure the mics aren't defective. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[ilduclo]

mics overloaded because of a bad battery would be my first guess. Were you using a battery box and was the 9v battery changed in the last few months? By the way, the battery will drain even if you're not recording, if the mics are plugged into the box.

[alzeppelin]

I made a point to check the battery before the show and it had plenty of juice.  The mics had been unplugged from the battery box too while in storage.  Would the extreme volume be too much for the battery box to handle?   I mean it was insanely loud being right next to the stack. 

[darktrain]

what recorder were u using

[alzeppelin]

Csc mics-battery box-Tascam dr-2d with mic in

[danny3]

Assuming you keep up with the DR-2d threads, but the questions that come to mind are: did you have input menu level set to LOW, and what level did you have the recorder (left side input buttons) set to?

[alzeppelin]

Level was at 60 and gain was set to mid.  I'm thinking that the gain might have been the problem.  I just never tape at volumes of this level. 

[danny3]

You definately wanted to have the menu INPUT level on LOW! And as has been determined, the side level buttons shouldn't be set lower than @67 (mic in). 

[alzeppelin]

Thanks very much for the input on this.  The gain has been changed to low and will stay that way.

[darktrain]

also you should be using the line in, NOT mic in with a battery box

[datman229]

Level was at 60 and gain was set to mid.  I'm thinking that the gain might have been the problem.  I just never tape at volumes of this level.

I once tried running CSB mic in with gain set to mid on my Tascam Dr07 and it was clipping too even with correct levels.

[acidjack]

Always run line-in unless you can't get sufficient gain.  With MIC-IN that will definitely overload ya.

[rhinowing]

Level was at 60 and gain was set to mid.  I'm thinking that the gain might have been the problem.  I just never tape at volumes of this level.

I once tried running CSB mic in with gain set to mid on my Tascam Dr07 and it was clipping too even with correct levels.

I always run line-in, the mic inputs on the dr-2d are real hot

[co9ol]

Before you tape next time, test it out with a loud home stereo when nobodies home

[Gutbucket]

A home stereo will not produce SPLs high enough to check this.

The advice about using the line-input instead of the mic-input with a battery box is both sound and good general practice, however using the mic-input instead of the line-input on the DR-2d offers the advantage of being able to adjust the input gain while recording and will not be a problem as long as you are getting appropriate levels with the mic-input gain set to LOW and no lower than 67.  It's OK to set it higher than 67.

If you need to go lower than 67 to avoid clipping, that's when you need to switch to using the line-input and give up the ability to change gain while recording.