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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: Rock_forever on October 03, 2021, 07:30:56 AM
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I am posting this here because I don't what to do or replace in my gear (Church mics & cables, Preamp CA- 9100, Sony PCM-M10 - a pretty regular setup, I would say). In one of my last recordings that I did before the first lockdown I noticed that all of a sudden there were very annoying crackles in my recording. In the last two weeks I recorded a couple of Little Caesar shows (the first concerts since March 2020). Before these shows I made a few tests at home and I realized that, as soon as I touch the cables, or the recorder and moved it in any way I had these crackles again. So, during the latest shows I saw/recorded, I let the gear run long enough before show time, packed it away and put it in my hip-bag and didn't touch anything during the show. Still in one of the recordings I have these crackles once again and I have no explanation. I stood still throughout the entire show.....
Any opinions ? Is it the recorder or the pre-amp or the cables (which would by my guess) ? Any help would be welcome, sample attached so you know what I am talking about.
Many thanks in advance for your help.
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Both channels or just one?
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Sounds like a loose or dirty connector.
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Set up everything like you usually do. In a quiet space, plug in some headphones and put the recorder in pause/record mode.
Systematically manipulate each portion of your input chain as you listen for the crackle. Begin right behind each mic capsule and gently bend the cable in all directions, working your way down each one. After that, gently spin the plug in the preamp. Operate the preamp controls.
Work your way down the remainder of the chain until you get to the recorder.
If the crackle is in a plug, clean it and recheck. If it’s in a cable or the preamp, replace or repair.
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Both channels or just one?
Sometimes just one, sometimes both....
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Set up everything like you usually do. In a quiet space, plug in some headphones and put the recorder in pause/record mode.
Systematically manipulate each portion of your input chain as you listen for the crackle. Begin right behind each mic capsule and gently bend the cable in all directions, working your way down each one. After that, gently spin the plug in the preamp. Operate the preamp controls.
Work your way down the remainder of the chain until you get to the recorder.
If the crackle is in a plug, clean it and recheck. If it’s in a cable or the preamp, replace or repair.
I will try that - thanks !
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My guess, based on long experience with essentially the same gear, is the problem will be found in the cables. YMMV.
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My guess, based on long experience with essentially the same gear, is the problem will be found in the cables. YMMV.
I was about to guess the same thing. Or where the cables meet the mics.
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Sounds like a loose or dirty connector.
^ This. Break out the contact cleaner, isopropyl alcohol, or DeOxit and clean all connectors, male and female. bAlways wise to make this procedure your first troubleshooting step IMHO.
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I've re-wired several pairs of CA-14's that exhibited the crackling you mentioned. I don't know for sure wether the wires started breaking down with age, which could have been accelerated by sweat, but the mic cable wires appeared, green as if they had started to mold. I have also seen green wires like this from a reaction between the wire and the teflon insulation.
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Every one of my Church microphones and two of the three church preamps I have owned have eventually succumbed to The Crackles. Usually just in one channel. As far as I can tell it was related to the wires which are very thin. They seem to be very delicate structures which are not really robust enough for close proximity to the body.
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Thanks for all your comments and advice. I think I can now start to analyze where the problem is - I hope it's not the mic-cables.........
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Did you narrow down the source of your crackles??
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Did you find the source of the crackles?