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Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: Dede2002 on August 25, 2008, 10:44:59 AM

Title: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 25, 2008, 10:44:59 AM
Hello,

I taped (Ivan Neville's) Dumpstaphunk last week. Man, talk about ridiculouslly loud bass :o.
Anyway, I was running my MM-Custom BB's 95HZ roll-off setting. Well, the mics were powered, but I don't think the actual roll-off filter had any impact on the final recording. Sounds like no roll-off has ever been used. The bass is everywhere on my recording and I was not that close to the stage.
My question: does those roll-off units actually works (all the time)?
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Church-Audio on August 25, 2008, 10:48:19 AM
Hello,

I taped (Ivan Neville's) Dumpstaphunk last week. Man, talk about ridiculouslly loud bass :o.
Anyway, I was running my MM-Custom BB's 95HZ roll-off setting. Well, the mics were powered, but I don't think the actual roll-off filter had any impact on the final recording. Sounds like no roll-off has ever been used. The bass is everywhere on my recording and I was not that cloase to the stage.
My question: does those roll-off units actually works (all the time)?

The problem with passive roll off circuits like the one your using is they rely on the input and output impedance to set the roll off point of your filter. The filter is designed to be operated with a certain input and output impedance in mind. You should contact SP and find out what input and output impedance they are using to calculate the roll off frequency.

Chris
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 25, 2008, 11:24:03 AM
Hello,

I taped (Ivan Neville's) Dumpstaphunk last week. Man, talk about ridiculouslly loud bass :o.
Anyway, I was running my MM-Custom BB's 95HZ roll-off setting. Well, the mics were powered, but I don't think the actual roll-off filter had any impact on the final recording. Sounds like no roll-off has ever been used. The bass is everywhere on my recording and I was not that cloase to the stage.
My question: does those roll-off units actually works (all the time)?

The problem with passive roll off circuits like the one your using is they rely on the input and output impedance to set the roll off point of your filter. The filter is designed to be operated with a certain input and output impedance in mind. You should contact SP and find out what input and output impedance they are using to calculate the roll off frequency.

Chris


Thanks. I'll do that.  ;)
What about the roll-off on your (mine) CA-9100? How does it work?
My rig was: MM-HLSO-Micro (omni) and R-09HR.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: fmaderjr on August 25, 2008, 02:19:55 PM
I recall Chris Carfagno at Sound Pro's telling me my old Sound pro's battery box was calibrated for input into 10 Kohms (that of a Sony minidisc mic input). I don't know about the R09HR, but the R09's mic input is 20 Kohms and line input is 17 Kohms. Assuming your battery box is calibrated the same, and I assume it would be, and if the R09HR has the same input impedences as the R09, that means that for mic in, the rolloff would be only 10/20 of the amount shown on the battery box. For line in, it would be 10/17 of the amount shown.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 25, 2008, 02:35:35 PM
I recall Chris Carfagno at Sound Pro's telling me my old Sound pro's battery box was calibrated for input into 10 Kohms (that of a Sony minidisc mic input). I don't know about the R09HR, but the R09's mic input is 20 Kohms and line input is 17 Kohms. Assuming your battery box is calibrated the same, and I assume it would be, and if the R09HR has the same input impedences as the R09, that means that for mic in, the rolloff would be only 10/20 of the amount shown on the battery box. For line in, it would be 10/17 of the amount shown.

Thanks a lot. +T
I'm contacting Microphone Madness to find out about this.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Arni99 on August 25, 2008, 03:56:49 PM
I recall Chris Carfagno at Sound Pro's telling me my old Sound pro's battery box was calibrated for input into 10 Kohms (that of a Sony minidisc mic input). I don't know about the R09HR, but the R09's mic input is 20 Kohms and line input is 17 Kohms. Assuming your battery box is calibrated the same, and I assume it would be, and if the R09HR has the same input impedences as the R09, that means that for mic in, the rolloff would be only 10/20 of the amount shown on the battery box. For line in, it would be 10/17 of the amount shown.

Thanks a lot. +T
I'm contacting Microphone Madness to find out about this.
I know you say 100Hz is too much, but I would use the r09hr´s internal low-cut at 100Hz at really bassy concerts with my dpa4061 :).
The Victor Wooten concert I recorded...... with 2 bass players .....a post-roll-off of 145Hz still is not enough :) .

Try your MM-bbox at different settings at home and you will now how different settings affect the result.
 ::)
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 25, 2008, 04:12:37 PM
I recall Chris Carfagno at Sound Pro's telling me my old Sound pro's battery box was calibrated for input into 10 Kohms (that of a Sony minidisc mic input). I don't know about the R09HR, but the R09's mic input is 20 Kohms and line input is 17 Kohms. Assuming your battery box is calibrated the same, and I assume it would be, and if the R09HR has the same input impedences as the R09, that means that for mic in, the rolloff would be only 10/20 of the amount shown on the battery box. For line in, it would be 10/17 of the amount shown.

Thanks a lot. +T
I'm contacting Microphone Madness to find out about this.
I know you say 100Hz is too much, but I would use the r09hr´s internal low-cut at 100Hz at really bassy concerts with my dpa4061 :).
The Victor Wooten concert I recorded...... with 2 bass players .....a post-roll-off of 145Hz still is not enough :) .

Try your MM-bbox at different settings at home and you will now how different settings affect the result.
 ::)

In this particular gig, I'd say you're right, my friend. Dumpstaphunk also has two bass players in a private contest: which one is the loudest bass player ever ;D. Great band though.
Do you mind telling me about your post-production roll-off setting? -12bd, -20db?
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Arni99 on August 26, 2008, 03:48:01 AM
I recall Chris Carfagno at Sound Pro's telling me my old Sound pro's battery box was calibrated for input into 10 Kohms (that of a Sony minidisc mic input). I don't know about the R09HR, but the R09's mic input is 20 Kohms and line input is 17 Kohms. Assuming your battery box is calibrated the same, and I assume it would be, and if the R09HR has the same input impedences as the R09, that means that for mic in, the rolloff would be only 10/20 of the amount shown on the battery box. For line in, it would be 10/17 of the amount shown.

Thanks a lot. +T
I'm contacting Microphone Madness to find out about this.
I know you say 100Hz is too much, but I would use the r09hr´s internal low-cut at 100Hz at really bassy concerts with my dpa4061 :).
The Victor Wooten concert I recorded...... with 2 bass players .....a post-roll-off of 145Hz still is not enough :) .

Try your MM-bbox at different settings at home and you will now how different settings affect the result.
 ::)

In this particular gig, I'd say you're right, my friend. Dumpstaphunk also has two bass players in a private contest: which one is the loudest bass player ever ;D. Great band though.
Do you mind telling me about your post-production roll-off setting? -12bd, -20db?
You need to try different post-roll-off-settings and decide which result sounds best to YOUR ears and your homestereo ;).
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 26, 2008, 01:58:22 PM
I recall Chris Carfagno at Sound Pro's telling me my old Sound pro's battery box was calibrated for input into 10 Kohms (that of a Sony minidisc mic input). I don't know about the R09HR, but the R09's mic input is 20 Kohms and line input is 17 Kohms. Assuming your battery box is calibrated the same, and I assume it would be, and if the R09HR has the same input impedences as the R09, that means that for mic in, the rolloff would be only 10/20 of the amount shown on the battery box. For line in, it would be 10/17 of the amount shown.

Thanks a lot. +T
I'm contacting Microphone Madness to find out about this.
I know you say 100Hz is too much, but I would use the r09hr´s internal low-cut at 100Hz at really bassy concerts with my dpa4061 :).
The Victor Wooten concert I recorded...... with 2 bass players .....a post-roll-off of 145Hz still is not enough :) .

Try your MM-bbox at different settings at home and you will now how different settings affect the result.
 ::)

In this particular gig, I'd say you're right, my friend. Dumpstaphunk also has two bass players in a private contest: which one is the loudest bass player ever ;D. Great band though.
Do you mind telling me about your post-production roll-off setting? -12bd, -20db?
You need to try different post-roll-off-settings and decide which result sounds best to YOUR ears and your homestereo ;).


No doubt  about that.  ;D
I'm just curious about your settings
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 27, 2008, 05:15:51 PM
I recall Chris Carfagno at Sound Pro's telling me my old Sound pro's battery box was calibrated for input into 10 Kohms (that of a Sony minidisc mic input). I don't know about the R09HR, but the R09's mic input is 20 Kohms and line input is 17 Kohms. Assuming your battery box is calibrated the same, and I assume it would be, and if the R09HR has the same input impedences as the R09, that means that for mic in, the rolloff would be only 10/20 of the amount shown on the battery box. For line in, it would be 10/17 of the amount shown.

Thanks one more time. :coolguy:
R-09HR Mic Input  impedance: 30 Kohms
R-09HR Line Input impedance: 15 Kohms.


Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: George on August 27, 2008, 05:21:24 PM
Just my .2c: I would recommend not using any bass roll off and just do it in post....what if the bass roll off goes overboard and takes out too much bass.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 27, 2008, 05:53:45 PM
Just my .2c: I would recommend not using any bass roll off and just do it in post....what if the bass roll off goes overboard and takes out too much bass.

Thanks for your response. You know, the post-production thing could be a nightmare. With most tapes, all I have to do is set up a 60HZ (-6db) roll-off and this is it. But sometimes (like in the present recording) it's a real pain. Toooo much bass. Going up from 60HZ makes the sound thin/harsh and sometimes the troubled frequency is like 125 or 133HZ, not the 60Hz. The lower bass, mid-bass and whatever is something I don't know how to identify by ear.
Very dispointed with what could be otherwise a nice pull.
Anyway, I think that in an extreme case like the one I'm facing right now, you better accept it, forget about the whole thing and move to the next show  ;)
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Church-Audio on August 27, 2008, 08:49:27 PM
I think its always good with a set of 4060 DPA mics to have a roll off around 100hz at 6db per octave. This helps you get more of what you want on tape. But with some lesser quality mics I feel people have been using bass roll off as a way to reduce distortion.. That really does not work sure if you set a bass roll off to 850hz! your not going to hear much overloading that is going on in the low end. But you also going to end up with AM radio. I think its better to use mics that simply do not overload with bass and deal with it in post. You can do so much more in the way of eq later on that it seems silly to reduce bass ahead of time but 6 db per octave around 100hz should be ok for most venues. The other thing that concerns me is the lack of monitoring that most tapers that use small mics do in a live show. This also lends it self to a "less is more" approach and leaving the fine tuning for post when you can hear what your doing.


Chris
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 27, 2008, 08:53:24 PM
I think its always good with a set of 4060 DPA mics to have a roll off around 100hz at 6db per octave. This helps you get more of what you want on tape. But with some lesser quality mics I feel people have been using bass roll off as a way to reduce distortion.. That really does not work sure if you set a bass roll off to 850hz! your not going to hear much overloading that is going on in the low end. But you also going to end up with AM radio. I think its better to use mics that simply do not overload with bass and deal with it in post. You can do so much more in the way of eq later on that it seems silly to reduce bass ahead of time but 6 db per octave around 100hz should be ok for most venues. The other thing that concerns me is the lack of monitoring that most tapers that use small mics do in a live show. This also lends it self to a "less is more" approach and leaving the fine tuning for post when you can hear what your doing.


Chris


Good point.
My mics (Senn MKE-2) never let me down in the distortion department. But they sure capture a lot of bass. Sometimes too much.
Anyway, I believe it`s good to know the correct settings of my bb roll-off. Just in case.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: nameloc01 on August 27, 2008, 09:23:33 PM
Get yourself in the sweet spot,or as close as possible and don't use any roll-off. That's the best way.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 27, 2008, 11:06:43 PM
Get yourself in the sweet spot,or as close as possible and don't use any roll-off. That's the best way.

How are you?  :coolguy:
Well, that`s good advice for sure. But most of the times the sweet spot ticket/seat/table is already taken.
So is always good to know how to improvise.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: echo1434 on August 28, 2008, 12:48:59 AM
Just my .2c: I would recommend not using any bass roll off and just do it in post....what if the bass roll off goes overboard and takes out too much bass.

Totally agree. Using roll-off usually destroys the low frequencies around 20-30 Hz, as the roll-off curve gets pretty steep by that point.

And true, you never really know how much bass you're going to be up against at a given concert. There are just too many variables.

Ok, not everyone is skilled in post-production or likes to invest the time in it... But isn't that what the EQ control on a stereo is for?  8)
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: nameloc01 on August 28, 2008, 06:57:02 AM
That's why the most important factor is location, and effort needs to be spent getting good seats. And "effort" means a few different things.
Title: Re: Roll-Off units. Does it really works?
Post by: Dede2002 on August 28, 2008, 10:33:36 AM
That's why the most important factor is location, and effort needs to be spent getting good seats. And "effort" means a few different things.

Nameloc, one more time, I agree 100%.  :coolguy:
I was in a prime location in that particular concert (the bass was overwhelming anyway)
That´s why I'm always the first in line to get the best tickets.
But you can't always get what you want ( sing along, please)  :)