Topic: ST-9100 setting with R-09

[Belexes]

Some people have been asking about settings a lot on the R-09 and ST-9100 and last night at a fairly loud club show, 2 mains flown, 4 subs on the floor, and the R-09 at 8, I wasn't able to push past 11:00 O' Clock with the MM's and when I switched to my AT853's I was able to push it up to Noon on the dial without clipping. I'll post some samples later.

[heyitsmejess]

i dont use an r-09, but from chris church himeslf, he said to crand the gain all the way, and limit the input on the recorder.

thats worked fine for me so far.

[3-Fan]

Isn't the knob an output control and not a gain control?  So if you are something other than full on the knob you are only changing the output level into the recorder and not the internal gain structure.  I am running a ST-9000 and an R-09, maybe the 9100 is different.

[Belexes]

i dont use an r-09, but from chris church himeslf, he said to crand the gain all the way, and limit the input on the recorder.

thats worked fine for me so far.

If I did that, it would overload the 9100 from a high SPL situation. I already had that happen at a Tool concert.  Cranked the 9100 gain as far up as it could go and limited the input on the M1 that I was using and came out with a useless DAT.  On my 9100, there is a red light for clipping and I remember seeing it at Tool and ignoring it.  I shouldn't have.

8 is the unity setting on the R-09 (perhaps 13? that's in another thread), So setting the R-09 at unity and then get any gain required from the 9100 is what I do.

[Belexes]

Isn't the knob an output control and not a gain control?

Knob on the 9100 is adjustable gain control, up to +20 dB.

[Sami Ollas]

When I originally got my R-09 and ST-9100, both nearly simultaneously I might add, the consensus seemed to be that the unity gain is at 8 so that's what I used. I've now taped 5 very loud metal shows (2 up front and close to PA's, rest at soundboard), 2 semi loud hard rock gigs as well as 4 quieter acoustic gigs. All but of those shows were recorded with R-09 set to 8 and the ST-9100 set to max. The one show I used different settings was the last show I taped, where I had the R-09 gain set to 13, it was also a very quiet acoustic show. The very first gig I taped with it, a Chris Cornell gig, which was moderately loud show I taped at the soundboard. That was the only show where I turned the gain down a bit and in the end I believe I still had it at around +16-17dB. Never had any clipping issues and from the looks of it, it never got even close. For microphones I've used STC-11's for all the abovementioned shows.

Before the year is over, I'll be taping Motörhead, notorious for insanely loud volumes. I suspect everything will still go pretty much the same as before and that it wouldn't overload the preamp, nor the recorder.

[MSTaper]

There was some recent talk that unity gain is 18 on the R-09. At the Mule show last weekend, I set the R-09 on 18 and adjusted the input on the STC-9000 with gain set at 30 db. I don't recall where the knob was, but it was not turned all the way up. Still got pretty good sound. My chuch mics were hanging off the balcony.

I recorded the night before at a small, loud bar at home, not too close to the monitors, but got really lousy sound, especially from the vocals. The R-09 never clipped, at least the light didn't come on. Maybe dropping the gain to 10 db and lowering the input would help, but this is not the best sounding place. It actually presents a challege now to get a good sounding tape from this place.

rWc3523

[Belexes]

I guess for me, cranking the 9100  leads to disaster at loud concerts, going line-in with the 943 bodies.

[danzz1234]

My chuch mics were hanging off the balcony.

 

[ninjadave]

guys, you are comparing apples and grapes....the STC-11's are 4.7k moded so they are reducing the signal by 10-12db or so if i am correct so you will always need more gain with them.......comparing running those to the MM's or the 853's that are NOT modded isn't a fair one when talking about gain...that is why the gains on the 9100 are set way differently.....the MM's and 853's unmodded are much hotter, thus, less gain needed...i think i got this right...hope it helps.

ninja.

[bugg100]

I run h140/h320>9100>Church Audio ST-11 Omni/DPA 4061.  I tape mostly in clubs that are small to medium in size.  I run safety clip on the rockbox and set my levels at around 5 to 10 in the iriver and wind up at the levels posted below.

If I run 11 on the knob, I need 3 to 8 on the iRiver, depending on the band and how loud.

If I run 1 on the pre knob, I need 3 to -3 on the iRiver.....

I like to run the preamp with slight boost (12-2 knob) and let the iRiver find it's own peak level.  To me the bass sounds tighter this way, versus running the pre at unity gain.......



By the way, I'm not looking for opinions on Rockbox Safety Clip. I am stating how I use my 9100.

Have any of you guys got IEM's?  If so, pick a friendly club, go alone , set your gear up, start recording and monitor your different variables as they come at you.  listen to your preamp at FULL volume versus unity......  It made a big difference for me, but your mileage may vary!

Joe