Topic: dummy question about levels(MD)

[snapple ryes]

alright. so i taped a show the other day with my Sharp MS722 and Dynamic Audio Cardioid Mics w/ DA-120F Fixed Battery Box.

i've learned that no matter how high or low i set the volume while i record, with the mics plugged into either the mic-in or optical/line out slots, that it doesnt make a difference as to the volume of my recordings. now when i tape with the mics plugged into the mic-in slot, the recordings come out very loud, lots of crowd noise, and distortion. i probably wont ever be able to come out with a decent recording with the mics plugged in there.

however, when i plug into the optical/line out slot, the recording comes out clean, but *very* quiet. i tried this just yesterday at a pretty loud venue, and i had my mics taped up to a wall that was just 10 or 15 ft in front of the stacks.

so do i just deal with it and hope that whoever i have transfer these onto CDR can do a volume boost without messing up the sound, or is there something obvious here that im missing. at first i thought the problem was the 9 volt battery in the mic box being low, but i replaced that with a fresh one and tested it out, and it still turned out too quiet. any ideas?

[Sean Gallemore]

a preamp, congratulations, you have discovered the solution on your own.  You still want to use the line-in, however, you need an extra boost of juice, right?  We use boxes called preamps to solve this problem.  Your rig will go something like...

DAC > DA120F > PREAMP > MS722

Preamps are like women.  They come in all shapes, sizes, and price tags, but only one (or two or three :-D) is/are right for you.

[George]

you can always raise the volume after the fact in a sound editing program.  

[tooldvn]

you can always raise the volume after the fact in a sound editing program.  

Yeah, but then your noise floor raises too. Best to get your levels as high as you can when recording initially.

It really sounds like this guy is trying to use his volume buttons to control his levels.  Which is why they aren't changing. "no matter how high or low i set the volume".  He needs to read his manual and figure out how to change the rec levels. I bet they've been set on whatever the factory setting is.

-dvn

[snapple ryes]

schwill - thanks for the info. i dont really think a preamp is for me though. i have all of my pockets full just while recording with the gear i have, and i cant really imagine where i would stuff a preamp, especially while stealth taping.  i'll just have whoever transfers them do thier best job in editing. the recording is great, and i doubt a slight volume raise would decrease the quality to a point where it wouldnt be enjoyable anymore. hell, aside from the low volume, im surprised that i could get a recording this good out of gear that cost me a total of 160 dollars. especially considering all of the worse sounding recordings i've heard that were done with gear that cost 10x this amount.

tooldvn - i bought this gear used. if it came with a manual, i would have already checked it. it's just too bad that the "factory settings" are so low. but i guess they figure that it's better to have a quiet recording than an overdriven one.

[Tenn Man]

You can get MD manuals here:

http://minidisc.org/part_Manuals.html

[tooldvn]

tooldvn - i bought this gear used. if it came with a manual, i would have already checked it. it's just too bad that the "factory settings" are so low. but i guess they figure that it's better to have a quiet recording than an overdriven one.

Check the post right after yours for location as to where to find the manual of your MD model.  Then you can play with the levels.  Keep in mind, if you have a Sony MD, you cannot set the levels "on the fly" while recording. If you have a Sharp, you can.

While it is better to have quiet than overdriven, with just a little level adjustment, you'll be a whole lot happier.  Have fun!

-dvn

[snapple ryes]

yeah. i had my levels set at the highest on these recordings. it goes from 0-30 and it was on 30 for all of them. they still turned out quiet.

it's odd though, since when i test the recording at home and change the levels while im recording, it makes no difference in the volume when i play it back and listen.

[Crimson]

it sounds like your MD is fucked

[taperkat]

okay, here's a secret about the MS722.

Set your volume at 13-17, and your recording volume as much as you can. Only use line in.

When you want to convert, crank the fuck out of the volume. It *should* be suddenly a shitload louder. If not, then your MD's indeed fucked.

[snapple ryes]

sorry, but heres another dumb question for you kat.  whats the difference between setting the volume, and setting the recording volume?

for all of my recordings with line-in so far, i've used the max, which is 30.  will it actually turn out louder if i have it set from 13-17? or is there some sort of hidden volume adjustment that im missing here. i checked the manuals that were listed above and didnt find anything about it there.

[taperkat]

There is the recording volume and there is the actual volume

Actual volume is the + and - buttons on the circle part on the top. That goes from 1-30.

There is also the line volume adjustment. Put in a blank MD, push record, and use the track forward and backward button - the vertical slider on the far right hand side - to change your recording level while you are recording. That also goes from 1-30. I've found you can put the listening (+/- buttons) volume on lower than the recording, so when you go to listen you can turn it up

It's what the Sharp has the Sony doesn't.

if you need me to take pics LMK and I can

[herrmann2burn]

When i used to run a MD recorder, i turned the actual volume all the way off when recording...i believed it would make the batteries last longer.

[leegeddy]

When i used to run a MD recorder, i turned the actual volume all the way off when recording...i believed it would make the batteries last longer.

true, if and only if, you had headphones plugged in.  if you weren't using a headphone, then there's no current draw.

marc

[taperkat]

Yeah, I also left my remotes at home, b/c they were lit and drained the battery some.

[George]

yep, what kat said about sharp recorders...i just checked my DR7, hit record and hit menu to access the recording volume via line in and also a trace back option.

[snapple ryes]

hah! sweet. i couldnt find anything about that on the manuals. thanks a lot kat. so, apparently the recording level was set at 25 or 26 the whole time. so, while 30 wont be too much of a boost, it's still better than what i was coming out with before. thanks a lot, this should work out just fine.

[Sean Gallemore]

good times.  I never had a problem with my Sharp.  30 seemed to always be just enough