Topic: Sony PCM-M10 (Part 3)

[fmaderjr]

hmm... does nobody have any suggestions for me and the setup ill have?

read all three threads on the Sony and other threads on here related to your mics

I think a fairly safe way to go about it is to set the the UGLY at 75%-90% of full gain (Chris Church says that's safe even at loud shows) and start with the M10 at around 5/10 (there is some dispute about whether unity gain is 4 or 6).

You won't easily be able to change levels on the UGLY during the show, so watch your meters when the show starts and make any necessary adjustments with the M10). You should probably aim for the meters the to be peaking between -6 and -12 to allow for unexpected increases in the volume of the concert. You can add gain later when you are processes the recording on your computer.

 

[willndmb]

I'm not sure this is the best place to ask this question but here it goes anyway. I just ordered this recorder along with CA-CAFS and a CA-UGLY. I have a Roger Waters concert on the 8th of october. Unfortunately I won't be able to test this new equipment before the show. Can anyone recommend some settings for me to use? Ill be recording 24/48 and i assume from what i have read that ill need to use the line in input. The venue is in an arena seating approximately 18k. Thanks in advance.

Jim

Mics > ugly > m10
The mic send hi/low doesn't matter since you are going LINE IN
The record level manual
DPC - off
LCF - off
Limiter - off

[fmaderjr]

Limiter - off

You don't want the limiter to have to kick in, but I like to leave it on as a safety valve and set my levels conservatively enough to insure that it's not likely to kick in.

I think that's a win-win situation, but its a matter of personal preference. If your levels do temporarily go over 0 dB briefly, the limiter can make it sound better.

[buffalofloyd]

Thank you thank you thank you, this is the kind of input I was hoping for. Thanks very much for the advice! I hope these mics make better recordings than my Core Sound Cardoids.

[aaronji]

I think a fairly safe way to go about it is to set the the UGLY at 75%-90% of full gain (Chris Church says that's safe even at loud shows) and start with the M10 at around 5/10 (there is some dispute about whether unity gain is 4 or 6).

Personally, I would start somewhere in the 3.5 to 4 range.  That has seemed to work well for me with a 9100 (same as an Ugly, I think?) and low-sensitivity mics for loud rock...That's with the pre ~80 or 85%..

[fmaderjr]

Personally, I would start somewhere in the 3.5 to 4 range.  That has seemed to work well for me with a 9100 (same as an Ugly, I think?) and low-sensitivity mics for loud rock...That's with the pre ~80 or 85%..

I would go with this advice since he has practical experience doing it this way. I generally don't set my Church preamp as high as Chris recommends, so I was taking a guess as the appropriate M10 setting when you do set it at 85-90%.

[buffalofloyd]

Thanks for the responses thus far. They are much appreciated. Normally I would have some time to test out my system but I will be relatively tied up until the show. So, any head start I can get is helpful and appreciated :-)

[fmaderjr]

The most important thing is the UGLY setting (85-90%) since it's a huge amount of trouble to change it during the show. Set the M10 around 4 going in as aaronji recommends and be ready to change it if necessary.

[Neilyboy]

I just joined the club.. missed the 199 deal but snagged it from amazon for..

Delivery estimate: October 7, 2010 - October 13, 2010
Shipping estimate for these items: October 4, 2010 - October 5, 2010
   1    "Sony PCMM10 Portable Digital Recorder (Black)"
$213.54

Can not wait to tinker with it
neil

[buffalofloyd]

I just got mine in the mail yesterday and I have to say I'm pretty impressed so far. The unit seems nice and sturdy to me and very compact! The integrated 4gigs is awesome. I have a MT and a 4gig microdrive so if I having the built in memory is the nuts. Having removable batteries is awesome cause my MT battery sucked terribly. I used to be able to get over 2 hrs @ 16/44.1 and now the battery gets half of that so I had to constantly use an external which added bulkiness to the setup which also sucked. I can't wait to take this unit and make a recording. The track marks and dividing seems a lil convoluted but ill do all that on my computer for the most part. Overall I think I made a good purchase. Now I just need my mics!

[kleiner Rainer]

Hi all,

since there is still discussion which rec level setting gives 0dB of amplification from line in to line out, I pulled out my old Radio RIM PG 100 (a battery powered 1khz sine generator with attenuator and AC millivoltmeter). Calibration was checked against a Hameg HM8012 4 1/2 digit True RMS DMM.


Here are my findings:

0dB from line in to line out (1Ohm source resistance, 100k load resistance, Limiter and low cut off): Rec level at 6.2 (estimated).

While I was at it, I checked some levels at that setting:

-12dB on the level meter: approximately 245mV
-6dB on the level meter: approximately 490mV
0dB (FS)  on the level meter: approximately 940mV.

Due to the nature of the on screen VU meter, there is an unavoidable inaccuracy when setting/reproducing levels.

Since I own an EU (CE certified) version, your values for 0dB may vary. Sony is known to have changed output levels to comply with local regulations (headphone levels for example).

Hope that helps.

Greetings,

Rainer

[NOLAfishwater]

if you are plugging a pair of Church Audio mics directly into the mic input with no battery box, would you turn plug in power on? I noticed I was getting levels without having to turn on the plug in power.

[fmaderjr]

if you are plugging a pair of Church Audio mics directly into the mic input with no battery box, would you turn plug in power on? I noticed I was getting levels without having to turn on the plug in power.

 

Plug in power on. Mine shows no levels with CA-11's PIP off as expected.

I thought your internal mics might be creating the levels, but they seem to be cut off when there is something plugged into the mic in or line in.

[NOLAfishwater]

thanks.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Due to the nature of the on screen VU meter, there is an unavoidable inaccuracy when setting/reproducing levels.

A great feature of the 7xx recorders is that the display shows how many dB you are adding.  So there is no mystery.  If only all recorders did that...  Though many pre-amps do, like the v3.