Topic: Muddy Bass w/ CMC-8

[Joshua Boyens]

Hey every one.  I just got my first setup together; Sound Professionals CMC-8s (Omnis) > SP-SPSB-1 w/ Bass roll off and Level Controls > (Line in>) Sony MZ-RH10  (recorded in PCM).  I recorded my friend playing guitar and it sounds great.  I then went to a small local show to test it out with some loud sound and the bass was fairly distorted.  It was a very small room (maybe 20' x 45') and the speakers were not that good too.  I had my level controls on the batt box all the way up, and the roll off set to 160Hz.  I had the mics cliped to my hat right above my ears.  I got about 2 yards from the speakers to see how they did that close.  I used the level controls on the Sony and had to take them down about half way the get the levels good.  My question is would it have been better for the bass to use the Sony levels all the way up, and use the SP levels to bring it down?  I did do some recording on my friend's stereo to play around with the bass roll off, and I didn’t notice much difference with the bass, even with the roll off all the way up.  Or, might it help more if I try to get as far back from the speakers as I can?  I know phantom power would probably be better, I going to go that route a little later.  Any suggestions for some stealthy phantom rigs would be great.  I will be recording Static-X in Sac at The Empire on Tuesday.  It will also be a very small venue (about 50' x 50') so any advice for that would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks for reading, Josh.  (BTW the Hi-MD recorder kicks ass! I played back my friend on the guitar for some one and they thought it was from a cd.  And you can adjust the levels on the fly, and exchange a AA battery in the external locking battery box with out powering down!)

[audBall]

Yeah, I'd try getting further back.  These omnis can shine given the right circumstances.  I love `em.

[itook2much]

2 yards (6 ft) from the stacks is pretty close.  I'd say back off, try to find the "sweet spot" for both sides of the stacks.  I often tape 20' or so from the stage DFC and usually get good results.  With omnis, it's good to be close enough to avoid a lot of crowd chatter, but too close can lead to distotion as you found.

As far as the levels, my battery box doesn't have them, but I'd set the box to max & dial in the Hi-MD to set the levels.  Err on the conservative side...you can always add gain/volume in post, but you can't fix a distorted recording.

And I can't recommend anything on the bass roll-off, as I don't use it.  I have done a post- roll-off, but I don't do it while recording.  Good luck.

[audBall]

And I can't recommend anything on the bass roll-off, as I don't use it.  I have done a post- roll-off, but I don't do it while recording.  Good luck.

I'll second this as well.  It's (seems) completely useless for our applications.  It either cuts too much low end off or not enough. 

[Joshua Boyens]

Hey thanks for the advice!  Well see how it goes tomorrow   .