Topic: omni's are distorting - is there a better microphone?

[kylieshotpants]

Hi

For 95 % of shows the following setup works fine
 I stealth 100% of times

SP-BMC-2 - Sound Professionals Miniature Binaural Microphones standard sensitivity Omnidirectional
Church audio 9v battery box
Zoom H1 (I know- but works for me!)

there has been a few shows recently when the sound has been extra loud, even using bass roll off and standing as far back as I can the bass overloads.

Would it be a case that the shows are just too loud to record - or should I use a different type of microphone?

Thanks

[jefflester]

Could well be the input stage of the H1. Are you going mic-in or line-in, you should be going line-in. Do you have to set the levels really low in the H1 for those shows that distort? You would likely benefit from adding an attenuator between the battery box and the H1.

[dyneq]

According to this page: http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2 those mics have a max SPL of either 105dB or 120dB (it's not clear to me why there are 2 numbers). You said that yours are standard sensitivity, but I can only find a high sensitivity version on their site. If yours are at the lower number, then they're going to distort for loud shows, even with the battery box. Concerts can easily get above 110dB and are probably much louder.

[Church-Audio]

Hi

For 95 % of shows the following setup works fine
 I stealth 100% of times

SP-BMC-2 - Sound Professionals Miniature Binaural Microphones standard sensitivity Omnidirectional
Church audio 9v battery box
Zoom H1 (I know- but works for me!)

there has been a few shows recently when the sound has been extra loud, even using bass roll off and standing as far back as I can the bass overloads.

Would it be a case that the shows are just too loud to record - or should I use a different type of microphone?

Thanks

i have a sale on my mics and they won't overload. $99 per pair with a battery box.

[F.O.Bean]

Hi

For 95 % of shows the following setup works fine
 I stealth 100% of times

SP-BMC-2 - Sound Professionals Miniature Binaural Microphones standard sensitivity Omnidirectional
Church audio 9v battery box
Zoom H1 (I know- but works for me!)

there has been a few shows recently when the sound has been extra loud, even using bass roll off and standing as far back as I can the bass overloads.

Would it be a case that the shows are just too loud to record - or should I use a different type of microphone?

Thanks

i have a sale on my mics and they won't overload. $99 per pair with a battery box.

I would go with Church Audio mics too Probably not what you wanted to hear, but there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of recordings of the CA mics that HAVEN'T distorted, when used with a battery box or preamp

[bombdiggity]

Around these parts there is a conviction that there is always a better microphone 

I suspect if you've got the battery box going line-in that those shows are just too loud for those mics.  I believe the second rating for max SPL is the battery box one.  120dB should handle most events but things can certainly go louder. 

Also keep in mind that omnis are going to give relatively more bass emphasis than cards. 

[pontiacb]

My experience of the SP-BMC-2s line into a recorder via BB have been that they will distort at loud shows close to stacks, so I gave up after a couple of run outs.  Sure they are fine under less loud conditions, but they didn't really perform in the sort of shows I go to.

So in that sort of price bracket you really can't go wrong with the Church mics, never had any problems at loud shows with a BB and now's a good time to take the plunge with the current offer he has on.

[kylieshotpants]

Thanks for the replies

 Church Audio are you referring to the CA-10 as it says this mic is not designed for high level sound pressure amplified performances?

[bombdiggity]

Thanks for the replies

 Church Audio are you referring to the CA-10 as it says this mic is not designed for high level sound pressure amplified performances?

The special is on CA-11 or CA-14, either of which seem battle tested in many settings by users here and should stand up to almost anything.  Check that thread for link to their site discussing the sonic differences between omni and card patterns of each model. 

[Gutbucket]

Once you've arranged things so that neither the microphone nor recorder input stage are distorting, you can record in ways which usually make more of a difference than the particular choice of omni.  By that I mean from not too far back and with out the bass roll off filter engaged.

The SP-BMC-2 is the first thing you should change IMO and that may be all you need to do.

[aaronji]

Fresh battery in the battery box?  Just another thought...

Also keep in mind that omnis are going to give relatively more bass emphasis than cards. 

It's not that omnis emphasize bass, but that cards roll it off.  Omnis usually stay flat down to quite low frequencies.

[kylieshotpants]

Fresh 9v every 5-10 shows, maybe too often but better to be safe

The latest overload was on level one with bass roll off active

Fresh battery in the battery box?  Just another thought...

Also keep in mind that omnis are going to give relatively more bass emphasis than cards. 

It's not that omnis emphasize bass, but that cards roll it off.  Omnis usually stay flat down to quite low frequencies.

[darktrain]

Fresh 9v every 5-10 shows, maybe too often but better to be safe

The latest overload was on level one with bass roll off active

Fresh battery in the battery box?  Just another thought...

Also keep in mind that omnis are going to give relatively more bass emphasis than cards. 

It's not that omnis emphasize bass, but that cards roll it off.  Omnis usually stay flat down to quite low frequencies.

FYI...Roll off has zero impact on overloading

[Gutbucket]

Unless the distortion is happening elsewhere than the microphones, such as the recorder's input stage.

[jefflester]

The latest overload was on level one with bass roll off active

Definitely sounds like brickwalling if the record level is on "one." The signal coming from the batt box/mics is too hot for the input stage of the recorder.
Add an attenuator cable between the battery box and the recorder. Like this:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-ATEN-1