Topic: Bass distortion(?) at Bonnaroo on all of my recordings...Newbie help?

[Robducati]

First off, I am very ignorant about the tech side of recording and such. I apologize in advance for what will be very basic and seemingly stupid questions...

I attended Bonnaroo this year with my 2 kids (I was the guy with the kid(s) on the red blanket, with the recording gear laid out in front of me). I purchased some new mics from M/M, they are the croakie mounted binaurals, I used a Sharp 700 series MD to record as well as an old Sony WMD3 after the Sharp was stepped on by a hippie at the Radiohead show.

I've  had the WMD3 since the 80's and have recorded a few shows such as Rush and Kiss with the electret mics that came with the unit, all of the recordings made with that sound ok with no bass distortion, no matter how close I was to the stage.

Everything I recorded at B-Roo this past weekend has TERRIBLE bass distortion throughout, on both the minidisc and the analog tape, really sounds like crap. My levels were set correctly (peaking just above 0 db), and were monitored throughout the shows.

I am wondering if I have recieved a bad set of mics, or if I now need a bass roll off unit with the binaurals. I enjoyed how I used to be able to just plug in the old Sony electrets into the WMD3, insert a cassette and set levels and just go at it. The old electrets were stolen by security at a recent Motley Crue show, thus the new mics had to be purchased. If I need a roll off box with the binaurals I will most likely purchase some electrets since my endeavours are very amateur and only suitable for personal use.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

                                                                                     Rob

PS... I was really admiring all of the "pro" rigs with the boom stands at Bonnaroo. I saw the rigs at Radiohead, which gave me some relief knowing the show was being recorded properly (after my Sharp got stepped on), and that I would more than likely be able to download a torrent of the show.

I also saw the rig with the purple mic covers at Matisyahu, and the guy (with wife/girlfriend) using a minidisc and handheld mic at Sonic Youth. My son said he saw some rigs at Sonic Youth near the board.

MANY thanks to all who taped at B-Roo!

[Javier Cinakowski]

The binuarls are prone to heavy bass and distortion, esspecially if you are just plugging them right into the recorder.  A battery box with a bass roll off would be a big help.

If you want to just use a set of mics with the recorder and no battery box/preamp/bass roll off you could get a set of the Microphone Madness HLSC's.  The cardiod pattern has some natural bass roll off and the mics do not distort when run directly into the recorder.

[Robducati]

Thank you windorabug. I wish the recordings had not been in vain, but I'm also glad the mics are not faulty.

I suppose the old electrets had the same tendency to roll off bass as the HLSC's.

[macroint]

after the Sharp was stepped on by a hippie at the Radiohead show.

Damn those hippies!

[Robducati]

after the Sharp was stepped on by a hippie at the Radiohead show.

Damn those hippies!

I should have not used the word "hippie".

There were quite a few rude people at Roo this year. My md was trampled and my daughter was knocked down several times. All by a**holes who did not care who or what they stepped on.

Not the best venue for a 10 yr old female... My bad...


                                                                                             Rob

[nihilistic0]

link to your mics?

[Robducati]

link to your mics?

http://www.minidiscaccess.com/

They are the Croakie binaurals in the "microphones" section.

I have a suspicion the mics may be faulty. Unless I am reading the info/lineage wrong on a DAT recording made at the Bonnaroo Radiohead show, an excellent recording was made using only binaurals and a d-8 DAT (I did not see any king of bass roll off device mentioned in the info/lineage). But, I honestly am only blindly guessing/assuming, I welcome and appreciate all advice and opinions.

                                                                                                                                     Rob

[Javier Cinakowski]

They are not defective the problem is this:

Maximum Input Sound Level: 105dB SPL, 1kHz at 1%

That is not good enough for Radiohead show.  Very easy to get above 105dB at a concert, esspecilly Radiohead

[Robducati]

They are not defective the problem is this:

Maximum Input Sound Level: 105dB SPL, 1kHz at 1%

That is not good enough for Radiohead show.  Very easy to get above 105dB at a concert, esspecilly Radiohead

That solves the dilema windorabug, thank you!

The dat taper had much better mics than mine I'm sure. Next time I make a purchase I will be sure to read the specs (even if I do not completely understand). I will put these up on eBay and shop for some better mics.

WELCOME TO ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR BETTER MICS. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED ME OUT ON THIS!

[run_run_run]

They are not defective the problem is this:

Maximum Input Sound Level: 105dB SPL, 1kHz at 1%

That is not good enough for Radiohead show.  Very easy to get above 105dB at a concert, esspecilly Radiohead

That solves the dilema windorabug, thank you!

The dat taper had much better mics than mine I'm sure. Next time I make a purchase I will be sure to read the specs (even if I do not completely understand). I will put these up on eBay and shop for some better mics.

WELCOME TO ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR BETTER MICS. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED ME OUT ON THIS!

lot of people like the AT 831 http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-CMC-2 . I do not own them, but I like the sound of them.

[KLowe]

I also learned a lot from Bonnaroo this year.  (i was the dude with the purple "dead rats" on my rig at Matisyahu....and yes....purple was the only color they had at Hobby Lobby)....but i digress.  My lessons learned.

1.  J-disks make for good landmarks for people to find their friends.
2.  Bass roll off should have been used for Beck....my copy sucks.  (but hey....I finally learned what bass roll-off was and when to use it  )
3.  NJB3's DO NOT LIKE HEAT!  No problem during any of the night sets I ran at.  But day time in a field makes a NJB3 very unhappy.....AND...when a NJB3 shutdown happens it will send you to a whole new level of "pissed-offness" never before achieved.
4.  tapers are really cool people and fun to hang with...esp. Lil Kim Jong and the dude runnin reel to reel
5.  722 sure are pretty.

[Robducati]

I was behind you and to the right of the SB mofrogeek. My 2 pup's were about 6 feet in front of you (16 yr old male & 10 yr old female, both very dark complection/ fuzzy hair due to my love of the "sistahs".

Did you check out the webcast rip of Matisyahu? You're rig is on it as well as another rig with black mic covers (no Jdisc).

The Matisyahu was the MOST distorted of the shows I taped due to the amount of bass.

It is really cool to have contact with you after seeing your rig at the show!

And for what it's worth, I like the purple!

                                                                                                        Rob

[KLowe]

Where is the webcast rip of Matisyahu?

[Robducati]

Here is one source for the webcast, there are quite a few from B-roo.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7xrch0

[Robducati]

here are more, better hurry before they go away...


Oysterhead
http://www.sendspace.com/file/njo69z

Tom Petty
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ijw4ne

Gomez
http://www.sendspace.com/file/rnfr2x

Les Claypool
http://www.sendspace.com/file/h0lqrc