Topic: Newbie looking for some help with R-09hr problem

[haterhigh]

Hi guys. New to this board. I hear you guys are really friendly with n00bs. I'm hoping it's the case...

I'm not a n00b to taping. I've been doing it for the past five years or so, and run a website where I host my recordings in FLAC and MP3. You can check it out if you want at htp://www.haterhigh.com . Some of my recordings have also ended up on Archive.org and DimeADozen and probably a few other places I'm not aware of. Enough with the intro.

My set up is SP-CMC-2 > SP-SPSB-11-80036 > Edirol R-09hr.

I'm having a problems with this set-up that's driving me crazy. My recordings are coming out crazy distorted (and they seem to be getting worse). If you look at the soundwave, you can see the "bottom" part of the wave on each channel is much smaller. See attached image for a screen grab.

Definitely a problem. I contacted Sound Professionals, the chaps who I bought the Mics from, and they said, "Nope, that's definitely your recorder's A/D converter. Our mics are all analog, so that couldn't possibly be the mics." So, okay. I contact Edirol and they say, "Nope, that's definitely your mics. There's no way our recorder could do that. Check the internal mics and see how they fare." Obviously, the internal mics are fine, but not optimal for my stealth taping jobs.

Anyway, both companies claim the other party is to blame, and are willing to double check their diagnosis...for a fee.

I work a shit part time job and have an 11-month old baby at home. I have no ads on my site, and virtually no budget to play with the back-and-forth on the equipment. Unfortunately, I don't know any other near by tapers well enough to ask to meet up and try their mics in my gear, and vice verse, so I'm hoping one of you people more familiar with how these things work can save me a lot of headache and say "Replace the Edirol" or "Replace the mics." I really, really would appreciate any input your guys have, and you have no idea the stress you would help lift off my shoulder by helping me find a solution to my problem.

If you're so inclined, I'd also be interested in the "why" this happens.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and hopefully help me out. This n00b appreciates it.  

[ScoobieKW]

I'd suspect the battery box.
It's doubtful that both mics are bad, and it's similarly doubtful that both channels of the recorder are bad.
Have you verified the voltage your 9V battery is outputting?
9V batteries don't sell as well as they used to and are often old when sold.

You can check the input to your R09hr by feeding a signal from an ipod or phone with an 1/8" cable.

[yates7592]

Before I read the post above I also suspected the battery box. If a fresh battery doesn't change anything, I'd buy a different BB, they don't last forever (especially SP one's), that's the cheapest and easiest part of your recording chain to replace.

[haterhigh]

Wow! Thanks guys. I really appreciate your quick (and unanimous!) responses. I woke up to your messages with the weight of Atlas lifted from my shoulders.

Some information I should have included in the above post is that I have been using the same Line-In on the R-09hr for recordings made from my cable box (taping the audio off of live televised performances). It was going from and RCA > 1/8" cable directly to the line-in. I'm guessing this is the equivalent of the iPod test you suggested. The reason why I didn't take it as "Oh, it's definitely not the Edirol, then" was I wasn't sure if that particular set-up was "all analog" or not, and how/if that would be using the A/D converter in the Edirol as per SP's suggestion that was the issue.

I haven't verified the voltage coming out of the battery as I have no means of doing so -- but I did take a warranty on the battery when I picked it up from my local electronics store and will try just changing the battery itself this weekend, and if that doesn't work, take Yates7592's suggestion and order a new battery box. I think SP is pretty good about their return policies....

[earmonger]

Dying battery-box batteries do make distortion, so it's probably as simple as that.

But I am annoyed at the Analog-Digital mumbo-jumbo that Sound Professionals tried to give you.  It's not just their mics but their battery box, and they should have spotted that possibility instead of giving you such total jive. A/D converter is basically what the recorder is--takes the analog signal from mics or line-in and turns it into digits. If the recorder worked for other signals its A/D is fine, and SP knows that perfectly well.

Dunno what's happening to them over there--they used to be reliable.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

What gain setting do you use on the recorder?

The r09 had an issue with bad distortion when run at gain settings below 8 on line-in. It would distort even when not actually indicating clipping.  I think the same flaw may have existed in the r09hr, though I'm not sure at what setting (the HR used a different scale).

[haterhigh]

I usually am around 18 for the gain level. This particular recording, I had accidently left limiting on after attempting to record with the internal mics, which were running too hot, so I adjusted them on the fly to around 50 to compensate. I've hundreds of recordings around the 18 gain mark, including the one where the problem first started.

[yates7592]

Hmm,  18 is a bit low on the R09HR, although I ran a few times at 15 or 20 in loud shows AND with a church preamp and never distorted like that.

[haterhigh]

With my setup, most shows record around -10db at that level, giving me lots of headroom for post production eq.

[haterhigh]

Well, shit. Turns out, it was the 9-volt battery. Last thing I was expecting.

Damn thing didn't even cost a dime to replace, and I've not taped dozens of shows and butchered a handful more... because of a 9-volt battery. I feel like a fool.

Anyway, I can't begin to thank you guys enough. It really means a lot to me that you took the time out to even click on the thread title, let alone compose these great, accurate responses. You guys are the absolute best. I'll be sticking around these parts. Thanks guys.