Topic: My waveforms are very odd. (iPod + MicroMemo, please don't skip for that reason)

[EdwardHyena]

So I've been using my iPod and a device called the MicroMemo (and included mic, I know I'll get yelled at for that) for about a year now to record concerts. It's been a good choice for me because I already had the iPod, the MicroMemo actually fit in my budget, and I have yet to come across a concert where I couldn't use it. ("That looks like a recording device!" "No, it's just my iPod" "Oh, okay!")

However, I've been noticing that sometimes I get rather, for lack of the correct term, top heavy wave forms when I go to master the WAV files, and sometimes I do not. I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing wrong. For reference, "mastering" for me means removing the tiny DC offset, normalizing the audio, and then if need be, playing with the EQ to fix the acoustics (i.e. a venue with alot of bass bouncing off the walls). I've included images of four concerts as examples, Stephen Lynch in a small auditorium and TransSiberian Orchestra in a large sports venue as the good examples, and VNV in a small concert venue and Muse in an ampitheatre as the bad examples.

Before anyone tells me to use a different recorder, I should point out that I only have $50 a week expendable income, and most of that goes to things like gas or the very tickets I need to get into the concerts. I may be able to afford a better microphone, if someone can offer me a good suggestion (stealth is absolutely important some of the places I go.), but the iPod stays.

[theSeekerr]

Looks to me like there's nothing wrong, just that the two waveforms are being viewed at different timescales, ie. the "good" ones are showing maybe 1 minute of audio while the "bad" ones are showing 4 minutes or so.

but without a scale to view, I'm not sure.

[EdwardHyena]

I've changed the pictures to show timescale and so they're all in the same scale (I was trying to show the whole file in each case). The problem I am describing is the fact that on the VNV Nation and Muse files, the top of the wave form goes twice as high as the bottom.

[live2496]

My guess is that it's a dc voltage used to power the mic that's causing it to do that. You might try doing a low cut starting at 20Hz and adjusting that upward a little at a time to see if there is any improvement.

[drapes]

My guess is that it's a dc voltage used to power the mic that's causing it to do that. You might try doing a low cut starting at 20Hz and adjusting that upward a little at a time to see if there is any improvement.

I think so as well. I've seen this problem before with my recordings and fixed it by replacing the 9v in my pre-amp.

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,82012.0.html