Topic: New CA11+Battery Box+Sony PCM = Loud Hiss?

[RoganSarine]

Hey guys,

I just got a new set of CA11's and a battery box. I connected them to my Sony PCM M10, I went to go test them out... alas, I remembered that I don't actually own a preamp, so there's no way I can get a good quality test.

So, I just want to make sure I got this right. For loud rock shows, I should use the line in (because I can't adjust the gain and it generally sounds cleaner)? While for acoustic shows, without a preamp, I should use the mic input?

The reason I ask is because when I use the above setup with mic input, I can put it right next to my drums crash cymbal and smack it. Except, even in the recording, I get a loud hiss. So, I was wondering if a preamp would solve this.

[Belexes]

If you tape loud shows, that setup with line-in should be fine. Anything quiet and you'd benefit from a pre-amp.

I always run line-in, but if you need more gain, switch to mic-in.  I don't think the M10 is all that noisey, but I could be wrong.

[acidjack]

The M10 mic-in set to LOW will also treat you fine for most loud shows.   If your mic isn't very hot (I believe the -11 isn't) you may wish to try that.  I usually run my Audix 1280s (which are mounted to the same type of Church housing as the CA-11) that way because they don't get high enough levels running line-in.

[faninor]

Do you mean a constant hiss in the recording or do you mean distortion at the point where you hit the cymbal?

If it's the latter, I think you need to back the mic a bit away from your crash cymbal, or switch to line in for this application, or probably a combination of both. Putting a mic right up next to a crash cymbal is going to be seriously loud, very probably higher SPL than what you'll experience at a concert -- either the mic can't handle this extreme SPL, or the recorder's internal preamp is overdoing it and causing distortion there, or both.

If it's the first, perhaps your recorder's mic in is just noisy and you could try running line-in, and get a preamp for quiet situations like acoustic shows so you can add gain while still running line-in.