Topic: serious sound quality issues

[nihilistic0]

Not sure which topic to put this in, as Im not even sure what the problem is


Anyways, heres my setup

Low cost core-sound cards>SP-SPSB-1 battery box> line in JB3


Anyway, it seems that all my recordings with this setup come out very tinny sounding.  There is no bass, and the mics easily distort if sya, theres someone near by who is yelling.  I also get a bit of distortion on high end things, like when the singer pronoucnes an S.  Also, the overall volume quite low. 

Ill upload a sample so you can kind of get an idea of what Im talking about


I used to run these mics and BB into a sony MD, and the sound was acceptable, but it seem slike it worked best when I was running the mics into the mic-in on the MD recorder. 

Oh, and I also used this setup a few times to record a couple of us jamming, an dthe sound quality was fine

I boosted the amplitude of the attached mp3 quite a bit, it was originally *very* quiet

I cant seem to figure out what the problem is here.  SHould I get new mics? Different battery box? Is the JB3 acting up?  ANy help is much appreciated

[Unitmonster]

sounds like you need a mic upgrade.

[nihilistic0]

Ive used the same mic config at each place Ive taped.  I clip them under my shirt at my shoulders, poinating straight ahead

And when I say no bass, I mean its a pretty steep drop off starting at like 500Hz.  I know these mics are capable of picking up bass, but the severe lack of it lately is more than the natural bass attenuation that cards have

As far as the spl goes, Ive recorded FOS at a few shows and have not recieved the kind of distortion that Im receiving now taping FOB

I am considering maybe getting the sp-cmc4 or 8, and running these into my existing BB>line-in JB3

Is this a known good configuration?

[Brian Skalinder]

Are you sure the 3.5mm stereo plug is seating completely and properly in the JB3?

As referenced in the JB3 FAQ here at TS:

http://ca.geocities.com/dkleined@rogers.com/audio/JB3input/JB3_input_jack.htm

[Brian Skalinder]

I boosted the amplitude of the attached mp3

FYI, I don't see an attached MP3.  Try attaching again?

[nihilistic0]

Ive looked into the whole connectivity issue, and I dont think thats the problem.  I even filed down the side just in case, but it made no difference

Also, when I say it isnt picking up any bass, I mean everything below say, 500Hz is pretty much gone. 

I dunno why that mp3 didnt attach, but here a link to it

sample

This is the last show I tried to tape, it sounds slightly better than the NIN show I tried before that, which literally had *zero*  low end response.  This goes way beyond the mics natural bass attenuation.

[nihilistic0]

Heres a clip from the nin show I tried to tape

My position was FOB, and I boosted the volume of this quite a bit so you can actually hear it

sample 2

[Brian Skalinder]

That still sounds to my ears like a classic mis-seated plug.  Couple things:

• make sure all the 'effects' are turned off on the JB3 (I don't recall if they're even active during recording, but can't hurt to check)
• confirm you're able to duplicate the problem using the same gear, plugged in the same way as at the show
• then get a 3.5mm extension cable so you may test the gear without the Core Sound cable and JB3 connecting to one another - female 3.5mm stereo on one side of the extension cable, male on the other;  plug the Core Sound batt box into the female end, then the male end into the JB3 - and try again

Let us know what happens.  If you're able to duplicate the problem with the gear plugged in the same way as at the show, but not able to duplicate the problem with the extension, then it's a plug compatibility issue.  My money's on the plug not seating properly, even though you've shaved down the ridge - I vaguely recall someone previously having trouble with CS plugs and the JB3.

[George]

What Brian said.  That happened to me once at a Primus concert when I ran my dat and njb3 at the same time into a MV-100.  The njb3 version has a serious bass rolloff and it was later determined that the damn plug was not seat in all the way.  After that I switched to a straight miniplug because the plastic around it didn't block it from being seated properly and all has been well since then.

[jcrab66]

one thing i noticed a few years back is for some reason the coresounds 1/8" mic plug does not fit properly in the JB3. Go to rat shack and get 90 or straight adapter and use it. Everyone I know that plugged coresounds mics into their JB3 had the same problem, that porc tree sample doesnt sound bad, too bad theres no low end....

[nihilistic0]

I must reiterate that Im not plugging my mics straight into the JB3.  I see how the plug fo rthe mics is rather large and could cause problems, but Im running those in my SP batt box, and the batt box plugs into the JB3.  The plug for the batt box is much smaller, and plugs in without hitting any of the case around the jack

The onyl place the plug *might* be an issue, is where the mics plug into the battery box


Is there any way to test connectivity of any of this crap with a multimeter?

[lsd2525]

I use the core sound binaurals, and while I'm not sure, I think you probably have the same battery box that I do. If so, it has a bass roll-off switch on it. If so, I'm sure you've checked it, but just wanted to throw that out there in case you havn't. I have to run mine with the bass roll-off engaged while taping in small indoor venues; however, the cards don't have the bass response that the binaurals do so in 99% of situations you should have the switch set to "flat". Hope this helps.
Dan

[RedRocketSr]

I have almost the same setup (sp-cmc-2 -> sp-spsb-1 w/roll off -> jb3) and I get more than enough bass. This was taped at FOB about 8' with the mics pointed directly at each stack (about 25 feet away). Here's the taping.. http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=34360

[nihilistic0]

I use the core sound binaurals, and while I'm not sure, I think you probably have the same battery box that I do. If so, it has a bass roll-off switch on it. If so, I'm sure you've checked it, but just wanted to throw that out there in case you havn't. I have to run mine with the bass roll-off engaged while taping in small indoor venues; however, the cards don't have the bass response that the binaurals do so in 99% of situations you should have the switch set to "flat". Hope this helps.
Dan

Neg, its the batteyr box with no bass rolloff

[Brian Skalinder]

Is there any way to test connectivity of any of this crap with a multimeter?

Not that I'm aware of.  Have you tried these:

• make sure all the 'effects' are turned off on the JB3 (I don't recall if they're even active during recording, but can't hurt to check)
• confirm you're able to duplicate the problem using the same gear, plugged in the same way as at the show
• then get a 3.5mm extension cable so you may test the gear without the Core Sound cable and JB3 connecting to one another - female 3.5mm stereo on one side of the extension cable, male on the other;  plug the Core Sound batt box into the female end, then the male end into the JB3 - and try again

[nihilistic0]

No EAX effects are enabled while recording

Bought an extender stereo cable, and Ill be damned if everything isnt plugged in all the way.  The rubber around the battery box is minimal, and does not come in contact with the plastic around the jack on the JB3 in any way, it is firmly pushed all the wya in.  I plugged in a extender cable from the battery box, and it snapped firmly all the way into place, and plugged thge mics in the other end, those also plugged firmy into place

I set my mics up, and recorded my PC speakers, once with the JB3 as the recording device, and once with the PC

JB3 settings are line in, 48kHz wav, +12db gain
PC settings are line in, maxed out teh slider under audio properties

Links to my equipment

Mics - http://www.core-sound.com/lcmics/1.php (I have the low cost cardioids)
Battery Box - http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-SPSB-1 (no bass rolloff)

Here are mp3's of what I recorded. The mics and speakers were in the exact same location for both recordings, and the volume of the speakers was almost exactly the same for both recordings

JB3 clip
PC clip

I had to boost the shit out of both the clips

Is this evidence that maybe my mics are broken? I tested the BB battery, with a voltmeter, putting out 8.9V

[balou2]

No EAX effects are enabled while recording

Bought an extender stereo cable, and Ill be damned if everything isnt plugged in all the way.  The rubber around the battery box is minimal, and does not come in contact with the plastic around the jack on the JB3 in any way, it is firmly pushed all the wya in.  I plugged in a extender cable from the battery box, and it snapped firmly all the way into place, and plugged thge mics in the other end, those also plugged firmy into place

I set my mics up, and recorded my PC speakers, once with the JB3 as the recording device, and once with the PC

JB3 settings are line in, 48kHz wav, +12db gain
PC settings are line in, maxed out teh slider under audio properties

Links to my equipment

Mics - http://www.core-sound.com/lcmics/1.php (I have the low cost cardioids)
Battery Box - http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-SPSB-1 (no bass rolloff)

Here are mp3's of what I recorded. The mics and speakers were in the exact same location for both recordings, and the volume of the speakers was almost exactly the same for both recordings

JB3 clip
PC clip

I had to boost the shit out of both the clips

Is this evidence that maybe my mics are broken? I tested the BB battery, with a voltmeter, putting out 8.9V

Do you have access to another pair of mics you could test as a comparison?  If you get a similar response, then you need to think about upgrading.

Regardless, you should consider trying multiple angles, set-ups and the likes during the same show.  You won't get a tape you like, but at least you'll learn how your equipment sounds in various positions and places...trial and error IOW.

[nihilistic0]

bump

Im not going to tape any more shows with my current setup.  Its sounds like garbage and no amount of mic positioning is going to fix it. 

Anyone else have any suggestions?  Im thinking that my mics are fucked, maybe a wire came loose or something, I dunno.

Im going to try to get some CMC-4's (AT853) and run that into my SP battery box line in into the JB3

Is this a known good configuration?

[jcrab66]

at853's are great if you actually get those and not those sp wanna bes that run with that shitty sp batt box

[tangerineman]

No EAX effects are enabled while recording

This got my attention... Is this a known issue? I would have thought the EAX settings playback of a previously recorded track only, not the signal being recorded. Anyone?

Apologies if this is covered in the jb3 faq. I don't believe it is tho.

[ScottT]

When did you last replace the battery in the batt box?

Could be a bad 9v... try a different one and see if that changes anything.

[nihilistic0]

I tried 2 different batteries, measured both of them with a voltmeter.  One was reading a little low at arounmd 8.6, but the other one was around 8.9

Both gave the same results, and its the same results as when the battery box was brand new

[CHURCH-AUDIO]

I think your problem has a common link. I would doubt very highly that both your mics are dead. I think its a plug issue have you check the plug with a meter set onto 1k ohms? Try attaching the red lead to ground on your mics plug, and the black lead to the rind and then to the tip. You should see a resistance of around 500 to 800 ohms if not check the ground on your mics connector. If its not that I suspect the bat box. And if its not that I would check your cable that goes from the bat box to the JB3 by using a cd player to record into the line input.

Chris Church

I hope that helps as a last resourt You can always send it back to SP they are pretty good about this kind of stuff and can tell in an instanant.

bump

Im not going to tape any more shows with my current setup.  Its sounds like garbage and no amount of mic positioning is going to fix it. 

Anyone else have any suggestions?  Im thinking that my mics are fucked, maybe a wire came loose or something, I dunno.

Im going to try to get some CMC-4's (AT853) and run that into my SP battery box line in into the JB3

Is this a known good configuration?

[Karl]

What you really need to do is switch out mics, then switch out batt box.  Process of elimination.  I would put money on the batt box.

[nihilistic0]

It was the mics

I got some at853's, recorded a show, and it came out quite well

[CHURCH-AUDIO]

Maybe you have a bad connection inside the 3.5 mm stereo jack? I would check that out some time even though you already have new mics. Just for interests sake.

It was the mics

I got some at853's, recorded a show, and it came out quite well

[nihilistic0]

Ive gone over just about everything I could.  All connections and soldering jobs were secure, I just figure the mics somehow got fried

O well, they weren't that great anyway, and was looking to upgrade

[Geoff G]

Ive gone over just about everything I could.  All connections and soldering jobs were secure, I just figure the mics somehow got fried

O well, they weren't that great anyway, and was looking to upgrade

New mics sound like the way to go...