Topic: Problems with church audio mics

[one8ung]

During heavy drums and bass, I have distorting with my church audio CA-11 mics.

Is this a loose contact or a bad battery?

Sample: https://clyp.it/f0svpc4h

[goodcooker]

How are you powering them? Battery box, preamp or PIP from the recorder?

[one8ung]

With a church audio ugly battery box

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Sounds like the mics aren't getting enough power. Try a new battery.

[one8ung]

For every show i use new battery's!
Maybe i had a bad one.

[beatkilla]

Possible gain on ugly preamp was to high?

[one8ung]

There aren't any setting options on the ugly battery box.

And i don't think GAIN is to high:

[jagraham]

The UBB does not provide gain. I'm guessing bad battery but that seems unlikely and I've never had it happen personally with a new batt. I use only Duracell and energizer.

[one8ung]

I have checked the used Duracell battery and he had still 9Volt...

Could it be i was to close to the speaker in connection with air movement?

[nulldogmas]

Which recorder, and were you going mic in or line in?

[ilduclo]

those file pix look undistorted to me. Can you provide a small mp3 sample? Did the sound quality at the show sound OK?

[one8ung]

connected in the Line-In on a Roland R-05... the sound quality was very good but loud

[lsd2525]

SPL exceeded?

[Gutbucket]

A dead/bad battery will often nominally recover and measure in the good voltage range after it's removed from the device, yet will very quickly drop voltage once placed under load.

Check voltage on the battery while it's still in the battery box under load. Or place some other similar load across the terminals when checking voltage.  A good battery tester incorporates such a load, a voltmeter does not.

[ilduclo]

wal, he said he replaced the battery at each show, so that would be doubtful unless it was a bad brand or somehow defective?

[one8ung]

SPL exceeded?

MAR 2020

[Lostbrook]

I had similar, intermittent problems with my CA11's and my CA14's.  Never solved it so I just stopped using them.  Got a lot of use out of them before they started to act up so no complaints. 

[lsd2525]

SPL exceeded?

MAR 2020

No, I mean sound pressure level. If the max SPL of the mics is 125dB, and you're in front of a speaker pushing 135dB, you're going to get some distortion

[one8ung]

SPL exceeded?

MAR 2020

No, I mean sound pressure level. If the max SPL of the mics is 125dB, and you're in front of a speaker pushing 135dB, you're going to get some distortion

It could be... i was 3 meters from the speaker and you could feel the air movement.

I will try to record Depeche Mode sunday in Amsterdam.
See what's going to happen with a fresh battery and a seat ticket.

[Gutbucket]

wal, he said he replaced the battery at each show, so that would be doubtful unless it was a bad brand or somehow defective?

I had it happen with a new battery in a CA-UGLY (preamp) way, way back when.  The battery was new and measured fine outside the device using a Voltmeter. It took me a while to figure out what was going on.  I then realized that it actually measured way under-voltage when measured while under load, even though it measured fine by itself.  Just a bad new battery.  Ever since then I've been careful to measure them under-load.  I've mentioned this about 3 other times in TS threads since when this type of problem has occurred where it turned out to be the same issue.

So not saying that's definitely the problem here, only that it's an easy first check and a good procedure to implement for all important battery checks anyway.

[Gutbucket]

To fully rule out the battery, recheck it's voltage after the show, while it's still powering the mics.  If it measures good then prior to being disconnected, then the problem is elsewhere.

[one8ung]

Okay i recorded Depeche Mode last night in Amsterdam without distorting... https://clyp.it/sehubivf

At the description on the church audio site stated "for tough acoustical challenges when you are farther away from the sound source and more susceptible to room reverberation."

So maybe i was too close to the speaker at the Golden Earring show for the CA-11 microphones... or it was a bad battery but certainly not the mics!

[TheMetalist]

So maybe i was too close to the speaker

Most likely this. I have no personal experience of Church Audio but loud and bass heavy shows puts a lot of preassure on the microphones. I had the same problem with a couple of Sound Professionals I used a few years ago.

[Gutbucket]

Good to hear your latest recording worked out for you.

Okay i recorded Depeche Mode last night in Amsterdam without distorting... https://clyp.it/sehubivf

At the description on the church audio site stated "for tough acoustical challenges when you are farther away from the sound source and more susceptible to room reverberation."

So maybe i was too close to the speaker at the Golden Earring show for the CA-11 microphones... or it was a bad battery but certainly not the mics!

You might have been close enough to overload the mics at Golden Earring.  However just to be clear, that description on the Church Audio site- "for tough acoustical challenges when you are farther away from the sound source and more susceptible to room reverberation." is referring to the cardioid versus omnidirectional pickup pattern.  It's is not a comment on the microphones overload susceptibility to high SPLs, but applies to all SPL levels at which the mic is suitable.