Topic: Sony PCM-M10 & Peter Gabriel

[The_Hermit]

Hello All - Nice Forum!

I'm a newbie, on a mission, and these threads have been very helpful.

What do you all think about this set-up…

The show is Peter Gabriel with a 50 piece orchestra, which is amplified.
I'll be up front, very close to the stage. The speakers are all directly above the stage, suspended in a fan-like array. All indoor venues, 1 large and 1 small.
The show has both quiet spots and full-on orchestra. No guitars or drums.

I have a Sony PCM-M10

I'm thinking of using SP-BMC-12 Croakie mount mics with a 12v booster.
Using "line in" with the mic set on "low sensitivity".
Does that sound reasonable so far?

How about "manual" vs "auto" record level settings? I'm a little foggy on that one. Unfortunately, my only practice recording will involve cranking up the stereo in my living room.

Any advice would greatly appreciated…

Thanks!
 

[rhinowing]

manual levels and line in is the way to go. you only want to use mic in if you aren't putting a battery box between the mics and the M-10

set your levels at the beginning of the show and don't check them too much. you're more like to ruin the recording by accidentally pulling out a cable or whatever checking levels than you are to set them badly in the first place....

you may find yourself not getting enough vocals due to being really close to the stage, though

[su6oxone]

you may find yourself not getting enough vocals due to being really close to the stage, though

Yeah, being that close to the stage with elevated speakers way above your head is not the recipe for pulling a nice tape... although with an orchestra I guess it might be okay.  You might want to keep your expectations low for this one, or even just forget about taping and enjoy the show.    But if you are determined to try it out, definitely don't set levels to 'auto.'  Like RW suggested, I would try to get an idea of the recording levels you might get at the show and set them before hand conservatively and then adjust them once it starts.  Usually it's better to be conservative and keep levels low at first because you can always raise levels but can't undo clipping.  Good luck and post a sample after the show if you get a chance. 

[admkrk]

definitely don't set levels to 'auto.'

never set the levels, or anything else for that matter, to auto when recording.

[acidjack]

Also, just note, when using line-in, the mic sensitivity switch is irrelevant.  Though I do leave mine on "low" just in case..

Don't be too discouraged... Depending how those PA stacks are angled you might do OK.  It's definitely worth a shot.  The BMC-12 are omni mics, so that should help.

[The_Hermit]

Thanks for all the tips and quick responses!

Good point. I hadn't thought about the vocals going over my head…  hmm… and I'll probably be getting a lot more orchestra straight off the stage.

Well, I could always move back a little :-) That's usually easy to do… my tickets are part of a package deal and a block of seats, which include access to the sound check before the show. So I'll be able to check & set my rec levels and listen for the sweet spot.

I saw this very show at Radio City a couple months ago, and I was stunned by the sound quality on some of the YouTube vids that surfaced, shot from about 20 rows out, just with a basic camera.

Would clip-on omnis, pointed straight up, be any better than the croakie mounts for the vocals?

Thanks again for all the help!

[acidjack]

^^ By definition, omnis are omnidirectional, so theoretically it should not matter how you point them (though in practice, most of them I believe are slightly directional based on where pointed).  But, I'd just go ahead and use the croakie mount anyway - it's what your comfortable with and it'll work. 

[gdplusmore]

I have had good results with the PCM-M10 body worn internal, manual mode, Low Sens, Limiter on...dial between 2-3..
good luck...

[mloewen]

manual levels and line in is the way to go. you only want to use mic in if you aren't putting a battery box between the mics and the M-10

set your levels at the beginning of the show and don't check them too much. you're more like to ruin the recording by accidentally pulling out a cable or whatever checking levels than you are to set them badly in the first place....

you may find yourself not getting enough vocals due to being really close to the stage, though

When I use line in with my Ca-14s> Ca 9100> Sony PCM-10  I get low levels, using mic in gives me more volume . I will have to check if the quality is affected.

[The_Hermit]

Mission Accomplished!

I was able to get a pretty darn good recording!

The speakers were suspended on the L & R sides instead of above, so that helped. I was front row center, (wow!). Some of the vocals did come out a little light in spots, but the orchestra is almost perfect. That Sony device and those croakie omnis worked great! What I wouldn't give to take those two gadgets back in time to some shows...

My overall volume is low. It needs about a 3-7dB increase, combined with a little equalizing in the mid ranges. When I apply those on playback the sound is good.

So now I'm wondering how to fix all those pesky "clapping" sections between songs. I'd like to save all that for gapless playback. Right now I have the show as 2 giant wave files, about 1 1/2 hrs each.

I'm on a Mac and have AudioFile Engineers Wave Editor, loaded with a zillion plugins.

My thinking is to somehow fix all the clap sections and occasional spike 1st.
Then equalize and boost each song individually using the URS N12 EQ.
Then break up the wave into tracks.

So I'm off to the computer/software threads for more research...

Thanks again to all who helped!