Topic: One channel doesn't seem to work, what to do?

[Giant_Rick]

Hi guys, recently I taped a jazz concert with a Sony DS70P mikes and Hi-MD recorder.
Regardless the quality (not the best but honestly the recording is enjoyable), there is one big problem.
One channel has no problems, while the other has music for the first 40 minutes, then it alternates some minutes with absolute silence to minutes with music on; after about an hour of recording, some big 'clicks' appears. It's the same noise when you touch the cable on a jack connector in its solding points.

My question is: should I delete one channel and double the second or should I leave the first 40 minutes and then copy the other channel when there is silence or noise?

If it helps there is no great stereo separation in between channels.

And, last question, what can I do to avoid this problem in the future (there is a jazz festival in town at the end of the month!!)? I strongly suspect it's the cord's fault.. I don't connect the mike straight to the recorder, I use a 3 meter-long cord, made somewhere over the world and quality is absolutely awful.

[Giant_Rick]

Is anybody willing to help me?

[Brian Skalinder]

I think you have another couple options (even if the first doesn't make sense), including a variation of one you've mentioned:

<1>  Leave it as is, flaws and all.  Sounds like the silence and artifiacts are substantial enough that this probably doesn't make sense.

<2>  Convert the recording to dual-mono (delete the bad channel and double the good one)

<3>  Keep the recording stereo for the first 40min, and then cross-fade using...

<a>  the good channel to patch the silence and noise for the remainder, or
<b>  dual-mono for the remainder, rather than taking the time to patch up the flaws

It's really a personal choice.  Do what sounds best to your ears and matches the effort you're willing to put into the fix.

Personally, even with minimal stereo separation, I prefer stereo recordings.  So I would do <3a> or <3b>.  Which one would depend on how long the recording continues after the 40min mark, how much stereo recording (without flaw) remains after the 40min mark, how many flaws exist, and how much effort I would have to put in for fix <3a>.  If I felt it was too much work and/or not worth the hassle, I'd do <3b>.  FWIW, I generally prefer a long-ish crossfade (5-30sec, depending) when making these types of transitions -- whether patching or simply converting to dual-mono -- because I find it easier on my ears.

As for avoiding the problem in the future:  systematically test your gear to identify the root cause of the problem.  First, try to duplicate the problem.  If you can't duplicate the problem, things become more difficult.  But if you can duplicate the problem, try to isolate the root cause. If you suspect the cable, test with the cable.  Then test without the cable.  And perhaps test with a known-good replacement cable.  If the problem only occurs with the suspect cable in the recording chain, then it's the culprit.  If the problem persists, follow the same process with the next most likely suspect component.  Etc.

[Giant_Rick]

Thanks for the reply!

The recording is about 95 min. long, I haven't listened until the end yet (I arrived about at 80 min and note all problems); I'll do this in the upcoming days..
I think I'll leave the recording as is for the first 40 min and then crossfade, but I'm afraid that the transitions won't be long as the 'good sections' on the not-working channel are short.

I wonder why it all happened, I tried the gear at home (even with very loud volume) and everything worked properly.
I carried the gear in a separate case and took care of not to overhandle it.
I even stayed completely still all the concert long (which caused me a little bit of pain in the back at the very end)!
I wonder why the hell the cable decided not to work!
And there's more, I wasn't able to find another cable (..how could it be in a euro country?!?!) to use instead of the faulty one!!

There's a jazz festival this week and I'm going to 4 out 5 gigs, which I'll (hopefully) record.

A quick question: I clamped the mike with a ''clothespin'' (clamped to the final part of the cord - female jack) to my shirt. Does it affect in any matter the recording?

Thank you

[Brian Skalinder]

If the good sections are very short, I might be inclined to just leave everything after the 40-min mark dual-mono.  I don't think I'd enjoy listening to the recording transitioning back and forth, back and forth.  At any rate, try both and see which you prefer.

Have you tried your testing while using the clothespin?  Perhaps it's putting enough pressure on the cable/connector that it's causing problems with the connector.  Try to duplicate the recording setup from the faulty recording as precisely as possible.

Have you tried moving the cable and (gently!) stressing the connectors (mics > cable, cable > recorder) while testing?  I'd try both with and without the clothespin.  Even though you might feel completely still while recording, your body is still moving with your breathing, with your adjustments for comfort, etc.  Even slight movement might reveal a faulty connection or solder joint in the mics > cable connection or the cable > recorder connection.  Don't focus too hard on the cable itself, the problem could just as easily lie in the mic cable that connects to the longer cable, or with the recorder's input jack.