Topic: Best External Mic for IRiver H140 - what's the Sony ECM-907 upgrade?

[kjillette]

oh okay, that was very helpful.
i should rule out omnis then, because i want to minimize crowd noise and some of these gigs already have too much.
one thing- i know i can put the At822 on a mic stand and point it at the band, but how do i place a pair of CMC-4s?
do i hang them on a mic stand, or lay them on a table? i imagine they might be difficult to aim the right way, but maybe that sounds really dumb.
-k

ps. i can't PM until i've posted more - can you email me instead?

[attheshow]

I bought a small "T-bar" which screws on to a regular mic stand and has two large clips for attaching standard mics. My MM-HLSC-1s have Shure rotating clips, so I just clip them on to the bigger clips. I will eventually (and you could too) build my own t-bar using a dowel or a wooden ruler or something like that, and run it through a standard shockmount.

I also had good results simply taping the mics (tape over the cords, not the caps) to a small gear bag, and placing it on a balcony rail. Check out some of the discussions on mic patterns to get ideas on how to arrange the mics for different conditions.

A table is probably not the best idea, as it is too low. You'll want a direct line from mic to sound source without anything solid in between. At most venues this means getting the mics 7 or more ft high.

I'll try sending you a PM, you should be able to respond. I think it only requires 5 posts.

[Belexes]

Sound Professionals make nice flex T-bars that attach to stands.  I have a 12" bar and have inserted my AT and MM mics into the windscreens with no issues.

[bugg100]

Now that you have some ideas about what mics may work for you, you should hit archive.org and search for those mics and listen for yourself.....

Joe

[Arni99]

if you go for the sp-cmc-8 or sp-cmc-4u don´t forget the low-sens-mod offered by soundprofessionals.
otherwise you´ll get distorted recordings taping very loud amplified shows.

[Javier Cinakowski]

Now that you have some ideas about what mics may work for you, you should hit archive.org and search for those mics and listen for yourself.....

Joe

best advice in this thread!

[calvinroots]

yes...that is the best advice.  With all things considered and all the listening to I did, I found the Church Audio looked like it would be the best for me...I just recently purchased Church's STC'11 card's with the omni caps as well and the 9100 preamp too.  Chris has been a pleasure to deal with and I personally would recommend him to friends of mine.

[kjillette]

thanks everybody! i'll do some listening and report back.
k

[kjillette]

Okay. I'm not sure how to find samples of different gear at archive.org. All my searches are coming up empty. What am I doing wrong?
Also, here are the specs I've found on the three mic sets I'm looking at. I'm doing my best to understand what's what, but I'd love to hear your two cents on how they stack up:

-Church Audio - there are three things available:
   1. CHURCH AUDIO STC-11 VERY SMALL CARDIOID RECORDING MICS ($110),
   2. CHURCH AUDIO CROKIE MOUNT STEREO RECORDING MICROPHONES ($130)   
   3. CHURCH AUDIO STC-9000 CARDIOD MICROPHONE SYSTEM ($230) - here are specs on this:
   1- Distortion of less then .02% @115DB @ 1K (when you use the built in mic pad)
   2- Frequency response 20 hz TO 20 khz
   3- An easy to use power switch when the mic is connected it turns on the power supply when its not the power supply   
            automatically shuts off.
   5-Switchable in – out high pass filter @12db per octave @100Hz
   6- 3.5 MM INPUT STEREO 
   7-Operates from a single 9 volt battery low power consumption 
   8-Low self noise microphones 27 dbA
   9- 1/8TH / 3.5mm stereo jack output connector for easy connection to portable mp3 recorders, computer sound cards, minidisc
            recorders and dat machines.
   10- Built in belt clip (OPTIONAL)
   11- High quality wind screenss
   12- The mics have 100% shielding to avoid inducted noise. 
   13- OUTPUT GAIN CONTROL
   14- THREE LEVELS OF GAIN SETTINGS +30 +10,  0db
-Sound Pros CMC4U's (on site $199, cardioid, uses Audio Technica u853 capsules (formerly AT853 capsules).
   (note to self: don´t forget the low-sens-mod offered by sound professionals)
   # Signal To Noise Ratio: 67 dB, 1 kHz at 1 Pa
   # Dynamic Range: 83dB without battery module, 98dB with battery module
   # Frequency Response: 30 - 20,000 Hz
   # Open Circuit Sensitivity: -40 dB (5.6 mV) re 1V at 1 Pa
   # Maximum Input Sound Level: 110 dB SPL, 1 kHz at 1% T.H.D. (125dB when powered by Sound Professionals battery module)
-Microphone Madness HLSC-1 (on site $250, cardioid)
   *  Frequency Response: 30 - 20,000 Hz.
       * Open Circuit Sensitivity: 8 mv/pa +/- 2.5db
       * Signal to noise ratio: 65 db
       * Maximum Input Sound Level: 138 db SPL without a battery module!
      * Comes with shure premium (360 degree rotational) holding clips and premium windscreens.
       * Requires a bias voltage of 1.5 to 12 volts D.C. (also known as plug-in- power) or one of our battery modules.

[attheshow]

Here are a couple of shows that I have recorded with MM-HLSC-1 mics. I'm essentially a novice, so there are better examples out there, but this is what you might expect to get for results early on:

MM-HLSC-1 without Battery Box > Mic In on MZ-RH1: (Perpetual Groove)
<http://www.archive.org/details/pgroove2007-10-17..ats.flac16>

MM-HLSC-1 with Battery Box (homemade) > Line In of MZ-RH1: (Blues Traveler)
<http://www.archive.org/details/bt2007-11-05.paradise.ats.flac16>

In both cases I used a dual mic tbar to space the mics ~17cm and spread them roughly 110 degrees. Perpetual Groove was taped 10-15 feet from the stage, Blues Traveler about 8.

[bugg100]

   3. CHURCH AUDIO STC-9000 CARDIOD MICROPHONE SYSTEM ($230) - here are specs on this:
   1- Distortion of less then .02% @115DB @ 1K (when you use the built in mic pad)
   2- Frequency response 20 hz TO 20 khz
   3- An easy to use power switch when the mic is connected it turns on the power supply when its not the power supply   
            automatically shuts off.
   5-Switchable in – out high pass filter @12db per octave @100Hz
   6- 3.5 MM INPUT STEREO 
   7-Operates from a single 9 volt battery low power consumption 
   8-Low self noise microphones 27 dbA
   9- 1/8TH / 3.5mm stereo jack output connector for easy connection to portable mp3 recorders, computer sound cards, minidisc
            recorders and dat machines.
   10- Built in belt clip (OPTIONAL)
   11- High quality wind screenss
   12- The mics have 100% shielding to avoid inducted noise. 
   13- OUTPUT GAIN CONTROL
   14- THREE LEVELS OF GAIN SETTINGS +30 +10,  0db

What you have posted above is different than any others posted, in that the above is a stereo mic set AND a preamp.  The pre listed is the ST-9000, a good deal if you tape either-

a little acoustic music (preamp gain portion),
a little LOUD (higher plugin bias power provided by the pre) music. Did I say LOUD?

In between those 2 extremes, you can do pretty well with the preamp section in the 140.

I have a 9100 pre and CA omnis with a 140 and 320 iRiver.  Recently, I gambled and came out good with an Ebay purchase of some DPA 4061 mics to use with the 9100.  A real step up for $255.  New the mics would run $700-900.  Go for the combo.... get a pre and mics for the price of the other mics, then later upgrade the mics.   
You will be happy with this as a start!

About the archive, navigate into the archive, search ONLY live music, and make good use of quotation marks and + or -.  All will be revealed.......

Joe