Topic: Advices needed for SP-CMC-4U "saturation" problem

[achtungpop]

Hello all !
First I have to tell english is not my language so I apologize for bad words sometimes, also it explains why it's hard for me to read all the pages here about this microphone finding easily answers to my questions .

Here's my equipment : SP-CMC-4U + battery box SP-SPSB-8 ( no roll-off ) > Tascam DR-2D (line in 95 dB) wave 48 Khz / 24 bit

I've a kind of saturation with this lineage, hard to explain with words so you can listen to this to understand my problem http://soundcloud.com/achtungpop/2012-10-22-muse-nantes-follow  (around 1min40sec)

Is it a problem of recorder level ? I've read almost everywhere that NO . It could be a problem of power , my bbox is 9V and some told me a  12V should solve the problem . But on other threads I've read that nothing else than a transistor 4,7K would solve the problem ... i've really not the money and the motivation to take this risk with brand new microphones !!  The drums sounds perfect to me, it's more a " bass" problemI guess . Should I use the roll off ? I'm afraid to have a worst sound without enough basses ....  I guess the real problem is the high SPL of the show ? it was very loud yes, but this also happend to me at a coldplay show in a stadium ....
So I'm wondering if some "manual" settings could help me to solve this : I mean for example to use the outdoor windscreen indoor to receive maybe " less" levels, or maybe adding several couchs of "stockings"  on the microphone to let it receive less volumes ! Please tell me what you think about this stupid solutions ?? .... I'm very sad that those"expansive " ( for me ) microphones have such a problem that could cost me even the same amount to solve it !! thanx in advance !!

[willndmb]

IMO that's a 4.7 fix but others will know better

[beatkilla]

You need the 4.7k....but you dont have to send the mics off you can have someone here make you a cable??i beleive.....Shouldnt be too much money.

[achtungpop]

could you explain this more clearly ? we can plug the microphone to something else with this 4.7k and the to the bbox to have the same effect ? it becomes very interesting ! one more plug so one more risk to have problems but it could be very interesting ! But who kind of guys builds this exactly ??

[LikeASong]

I've recorded that same song in my show (a few days before) and got the exact same problem. I think Chris Wostenholme's bass in that song likes to f**k up our recordings

Yours sounds significatly better than mine though (CAFS > Roland R-05 using plug in power - far from an optimal setup, I know), I was in a bad position due to having worked until 8PM and arriving only 30 minutes before Muse went on stage

http://www.goear.com/listen/0e6b5c5/follow-me-muse

[achtungpop]

hehe interesting to see that's it's more due to the show than the material, anyway even if this song is the worst of my recording, all the recording is touched by the problem , and also an other one with Coldplay which is a far less loud sound theorically .... !!!

[adrianf74]

I'll throw my $0.02 into the mix.  I had a similar issue happen to my Muse recording back in 2004 -- the bass distorted the AT-933 mics I was using (those mics were SP-CMC-8's without the 4.7k mod).   That said, I think the 4.7k mod _will more than likely_ fix your problem.

[fmaderjr]

I'm very sad that those"expansive " ( for me ) microphones have such a problem that could cost me even the same amount to solve it !! thanx in advance !!

You need the 4.7k....but you dont have to send the mics off you can have someone here make you a cable??i beleive.....Shouldnt be too much money.

Sound Pro's adapts the AT853 mics, which are designed to be run 3 wire (mini-xlr cables) so that they have a single stereo cable with a 1/8 mini-plug and can be run directly into a recorder's mic input or a battery box or preamp with a 1/8 jack. Unfortunately it was soon noticed that when run this way they will distort at a fairly loud show. Chris Church devised the 4.7 mod to remedy this issue (although it does reduce the mic sensitivity by around 10-12 dBs). Sound Pro's copied his mod and now offers it as a $45 option.

In my opinion they should make much more mention on their site of who should order their mics with the mod (basically anyone who sometimes records stuff louder than acoustic & nature recordings). Anyone who is not a regular taperssection member would have a hard time realizing they should get the mod from reading the sound Pro's options, which would confuse the hell out of me if I were a newbie.

[achtungpop]

Thanx for those explanations, of course I should have read all this forum before buying the microphone, at least to choose directly the good option on SP website because importing to Europe costs me a lot, and send back and received again would really be a lost of money :-S .....
Someone here  told that maybe a cable is possible to build, without having to send back my microphones, does someone know more about this please ? Is that what Chris Church builds or does he " only" fix the mics themselves ?? thanx in advance !!

[fmaderjr]

If it is possible to build such a cable, and I think it is, Darktrain
http://taperssection.com/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=17532
or Ted Gakidis  would be your best choice:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=19317

An advantage of having the mod on a cable is that you could use the mics without the mod (less gain necessary) when doing acoustic.

[darktrain]

The 4.7k mod isn't/can't be done in an extension, and Chris can correct me if I am wrong but it has to be done in the mini plug or each of the bodies of the mics, when i do it its in the plug end and involves 2 resistors, one for each channel and u cant do that through a extension, although u could get a attenuator cable for that or maudio makes a -10db pad. That being said, I can do the mod if you want to send em my way, and could have em back out next day after receiving them, shoot me a pm if u want to go that route.

[Javier Cinakowski]

A 4.7 adapter cable cannot be made for a 1/8" terminated mic set. The mod needs done before the wires become common in the 1/8" plug..

[darktrain]

A 4.7 adapter cable cannot be made for a 1/8" terminated mic set. The mod needs done before the wires become common in the 1/8" plug..

Thats what I was trying to say, just took me longer:)

[Ziggz]

How well does an attenuator cable perform vs. the mod?

[acidjack]

BTW, I sent a friendly email to Sound Pros about this and the many, many other threads that contain essentially the same thing. I was lucky that I asked a lot of questions and bought my 853 set with the low-sens mod, but they don't make it nearly clear enough that it's not really an "option" for recording loud music.