Topic: Soundman OKM II Rock Studio very distorted audio

[dsanchez]

My gear is the following:

Soundman OKM II Rock Studio microphone
Roland r-07
Battery box (A3 adapter)

Before I got the battery box I tried to record a few concerts without it, and the recording was distorted (in the past I recorded gigs with microphone madness without battery box to very good results). Soundman suggested me to get an A3 adapter to overcome this issue, so I did it. Yesterday I went to a shoegaze gig to try this setup, the distortion was even worst despite the 20db option was selected in the device, even my Xiaomi telephone records nicer audio.

What am I doing wrong? Thanks for your feedback.

[pillowman]

hey my friend,

how are you ?
sad to read about the bad recording result.

Have you bought the OKM2R direct from soundman (Germany) ?

I am a bit confused because your wrote that you bought the A3 separately
and I am 100% sure that it is always included with the Rock Studio version.

My first guess was that it is not the Rock version ?!? but it's difficult to tell from here.

I myself had bad luck with buying a OKM2Rock pair very long time ago directly from soundman
when I got a Classic microphone instead a Rock microphone ..

lets stay in touch ..
kissis
pillowman

[dsanchez]

Thanks for the quick response

I bought initially a Classic too, and returned it due the bad results.
The Rock version I bought it from a UK shop.
The A3 Adapter directly from Soundman.

Thanks

[morst]

if the mic and preamp are able to play nicely, then it's probably your Roland settings. Are you using Mic in? Try Line In and see if you get high enough levels that it sounds ok?
I'm not at all familiar with the mic and battery box, but if the battery box raises signal to line level, (or if it's just a really loud show) then it may distort if you try to record using Mic Level input settings on a recorder.

[dsanchez]

Thanks. I was just reading the Roland r-07 manual and they suggest the following settings to record loud live sessions:
Frequency: 44,1khz
Recording: WAV 24-bit
Low cut frequency: OFF
Limiter: OFF
Input level: 25
Will try this exact configuration and report back if it solves it.
By the way, there's nothing in the settings to change to 'line in'. You just plugin the microphone in the MIC/AUX IN connector.

[roffels]

if the mic and preamp are able to play nicely, then it's probably your Roland settings. Are you using Mic in? Try Line In and see if you get high enough levels that it sounds ok?
I'm not at all familiar with the mic and battery box, but if the battery box raises signal to line level, (or if it's just a really loud show) then it may distort if you try to record using Mic Level input settings on a recorder.

Pretty sure the Roland doesn't offer line in.

[stl_oni]

R-07 shouldn’t be a problem, used it myself very often with the A3/OKMIIRS and the CA9200/CA14 Cards. Problem most likely are the OKMIIR(S). Soundman changed the caps a few years ago to some unknown Sennheiser caps (must have happened after 2000/2001). I bought my last OKMIIR(S) in 2018/2019 and - other than the earlier version which could be used to record in stadiums directly under the PA - the new version distorts very easily if there’s to much bass or reverb. Switch the low cut filter on and the distortion is gone but then you loose everything below 300hz and the recording sounds terrible flat. That’s why I switched to DPA 4061 in 2022.

[Gutbucket]

May very well be the mics, but just to double check a few other fundamental things:

1) Check the battery box battery to make sure it is fresh with sufficient capacity.  Best to measure the voltage it produces while under load.

Thanks. I was just reading the Roland r-07 manual and they suggest the following settings to record loud live sessions:
Frequency: 44,1khz
Recording: WAV 24-bit
Low cut frequency: OFF
Limiter: OFF
Input level: 25
Will try this exact configuration and report back if it solves it.
By the way, there's nothing in the settings to change to 'line in'. You just plugin the microphone in the MIC/AUX IN connector.

2) ^ That recommendation may be for recording using the R-07's built-in mics. The sample rate setting (44.1kHz) shouldn't matter.  Best input level setting is likely to depend on the sensitivity of the external mics used, so just set so it low enough to avoid visual clipping on the meters.. however know that there is most likely some input level, beneath which a recording made in a high SPL situation will "brickwall" distort, even though the meters do not indicate clipping, and regardless of how much lower you set the input level.  That's the effective "do no go below" input level for external input to that recorder.  I've not used R-07 and don't know what that number is, but you might find it in the R-07 threads or from another R-07 user,

[Thelonius]

I can confirm that the R07 does not have a line in mode. It can, however, record at a very low input level. I recorded Neil Young with Crazy Horse this year with 4060s (CS HEB) and I believe I had the input set to around 3 (I can’t remember for certain but I believe the max input level is 65). My guess would be the mics can’t handle the split you set the record level correctly.

Perhaps it would be possible to see if you can record your stereo at a moderate volume as a starting point, and then gradually increase the level to see what point the distortion starts? At least this would tell you if the mics can record well at moderate levels or if there is something else going on.

You should not, as gutbucket pointed out, use the 25 setting without checking the levels. I suspect that would clip my 4060s in any rock concert setting.

[Gutbucket]

^ That's a good data point.  The 4060s Thelonius is using are more sensitive than other small mics and have a full low frequency response.  That meanings in high SPL situations they will produce a rather high output level which will require a lower input level on the recorder to compensate.  So if Thelonious isn't experiencing overload using those mics into an R-07, that points toward either the battery in the battery box failing or the OKM mics being overloaded.