Topic: what happened here? CA omnis and nasty low end

[run_run_run]

Way back in november I ran split omnis on the baloney rail for DTBs and it came out really bad

Photo of the mics


Duck tape for the win


short sample
http://download.yousendit.com/F70409245CB0BA36

Church Audio Omnis > Church Audio  ST-9100 > Iriver iHP-100

[ilduclo]

check your batteries in any amp/preamp/battery box?

[run_run_run]

check your batteries in any amp/preamp/battery box?

they where fine before the show

[bugg100]

Yeah, but what is fine?  I find that I need to check voltage w/ DMM to minimize battery waste.  The louder the show the more important it is to have no less than 8v or so....  At lower than that, i found that you get distortion on the low end.  I hate 9 volt batteries.

[run_run_run]

Yeah, but what is fine?  I find that I need to check voltage w/ DMM to minimize battery waste.  The louder the show the more important it is to have no less than 8v or so....  At lower than that, i found that you get distortion on the low end.  I hate 9 volt batteries.

I see, I don't really recall its been awhile

[Alchemy]

It sounds like the levels coming out of the pre were too hot for the iRiver. Even though it may have looked OK on the level meters, it was too much for the iRiver to handle. Was the CA pre doing most of the gain work?

[Belexes]

I think you may have overloaded the pre. I got a Tool recording that sounded like this.

[run_run_run]

It sounds like the levels coming out of the pre were too hot for the iRiver. Even though it may have looked OK on the level meters, it was too much for the iRiver to handle. Was the CA pre doing most of the gain work?

yeah it was +20

[Belexes]

It sounds like the levels coming out of the pre were too hot for the iRiver. Even though it may have looked OK on the level meters, it was too much for the iRiver to handle. Was the CA pre doing most of the gain work?

yeah it was +20

Do you have the ST-9100 with the red LED that shows if it's hot/clipping? I don't think early versions of the pre had this, but version 3 does and is extremely helpful when dealing with a high SPL situation.

[run_run_run]

it has a light, honestly I was just checking the irivers meter

[Alchemy]

Yea, sounds like what happened was that you overloaded the iRiver's pre with too much gain coming out of the CA pre. Something like that wouldn't show up on the iRiver's meters. Start with the CA pre to unity gain, and set gain from the recorder first before using the CA preamp. You want to use the least amount of gain possible from the CA pre.

[Belexes]

Start at about 11 'O Clock on that pre. That's unity and then you just keep turning it up until you get the gain you need from the pre, but without overloading it.

[taylordb]

I'm a little confused from the last 2 posts.  If you can overload the iRiver's pre with too much gain coming from the CA pre....and it won't show up on the iRiver's meters, how can you start at unity gain on the CA and just keep turning it up until you get the gain you need, but without overloading it.....if overloading it won't show up on the iRiver's meters?

Does my question make sense.

[Belexes]

I'm a little confused from the last 2 posts.  If you can overload the iRiver's pre with too much gain coming from the CA pre....and it won't show up on the iRiver's meters, how can you start at unity gain on the CA and just keep turning it up until you get the gain you need, but without overloading it.....if overloading it won't show up on the iRiver's meters?

Does my question make sense.

You can overload at the pre and the meters on the recorder won't show it.  The signal into the recorder will be a hot distorted mess. I start at unity on the pre and on the recorder and then add gain on the CA pre until I am seeing satisfactory levels, then double-check the CA pre to make certain I am not overloading it.

With the CA pre, you can get +20 dB, which is really uncalled for at a loud concert.  I learned my lesson at Tool!

[Church-Audio]

Yeah, but what is fine?  I find that I need to check voltage w/ DMM to minimize battery waste.  The louder the show the more important it is to have no less than 8v or so....  At lower than that, i found that you get distortion on the low end.  I hate 9 volt batteries.

I see, I don't really recall its been awhile

Try to support my mics by the cable ends do not have them resting on a hard surface because you can end up with vibration that is picked up and reproduced by the microphone as distortion You should use  tape on the heat shrink side of the mics so that they are sticking out from your clamps.. Or build a elastic shock mount Don't forget to give me the plans I have an idea on how to build one but it involves castration bands.....  Also when using my omni mics you must back off on the gain just a tad to say 75% instead of 100% because my omni mics are hotter then my cards.