Topic: Is my R-09 broken or am I being paranoid?

[Dede2002]

Hi there,

Greetings from Brasil. Well, last week I let my R-09 fell down. At the time, the unit was well protected inside a soft cushioned fake leather case. The case was inside a fabric bag (t-shirt type fabric) full of stuff (wallet, papers etc). The whole package was on top of my table. Right after this tragedy, I turned it on and everything was working perfectly.
Question: is it possible that it is still able to record stuff but not like it should?
I mean, right after the crash (but before I've checked), I was absolutelly shure something bad had happend, that something had to be wrong.
Right now I have the feeling that the poor thing is not recording OK.
Am I being paranoid?

Thanks,
Sergio

[Teen Age Riot]

Welcome to the board!

What makes you think that the R09 isn't working properly anymore? Did you make any test recordings?
FWIW, I've dropped my R09 a couple of times. It's still performing flawlessly.

[Dede2002]

Hi,

Thanks for the warm welcome. Well, nothing in particular. I'm very protective (and paranoid) with fragile electronic stuff. I always think they will let me down (actually, I let it down literally). Since the fall I started to think that the recording quality is not like it used to be. Hard to compare though. Different venues, different PA, different everything. I'd like to hear from you: how much EQ and processing you have to use to achieve a good sound? I have to use a lot! Everything sounds awesome with headphones coming straight from the R-09. But it's a whole different scenario when it comes to loudspeaker listening. Sound is bloated, like my speakers were wrapped in a blanket or something.
Anyway, it's hard to tell. Everything works perfectly. I just don't know if the unit can actually work but at the same time not do it's recording job OK.
I'd like you to know that I really appreciated your response. Maybe the only thing I needed was a couple of comments from another R-09 user. I really thank you for that.
Take care,
Sergio

[Dede2002]

Hi,

My current rig: Sound Professionals TFB-2 (in ear omnis) > Sound Professionals Battery Box > R-09 (line in). Yes, I know what you're going to say: binaurals like mine are great for with headphones but suck through speakers. I have something to say: you're right.
Mind you, the best results with the TFB-2 were achieved with the mics outside the ear. But I have to say that that is highly unpractical. That's why I'm considering Soundmadness's HLSC-1 (Sennheiser cardioid components).I think they would match my Edirol just fine.
Anyway, I'd really like to know if you guys have to heavily EQ and filter the original R-09 WAV files to get a decent, clear and crisp sound.
Thanks a lot for you concern.
Take care and let me know,

Sergio

[Dede2002]

what does your rig consist of?
mics->pre?->r09 at what sample/bit rates?


I forgott the last one. I usually go with 16/44.100. Once I went with 24/48000 but to be very honest I didn't feel what I was expecting in terms of improvement.
Thanks,

Sergio

[Dede2002]

I don't ever eq anything.

That's why I'm concerned. I do have to EQ otherwise it will sound dull and lifeless. No to mention the  VERY low sound  output.


Excuse me, I'm not that well informed yet. Could you be more especific about the HRTF stereo thing? Thanks in advance.

[dorrcoq]

HRTF - try this, I don't really understand it, but maybe you will

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function

[digifish_music]

Hi,

My current rig: Sound Professionals TFB-2 (in ear omnis) > Sound Professionals Battery Box > R-09 (line in). Yes, I know what you're going to say: binaurals like mine are great for with headphones but suck through speakers.

I have just purchased the same mics to use with my R-09 http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,79660.0.html

Actually I have been very impressed with how these come out over speakers. My other rig is a Sound Devices MixPre and pair of Rode NT55s. These little gems (TFBs) are excellent and have nothing to be ashamed of in that company.

Question, have you tried the TFBs into the mic in with plugin-power on? What's the difference between that and line in with the battery box?

digifish

[Dede2002]

HRTF - try this, I don't really understand it, but maybe you will

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function

Thanks a lot for the tip. I'll take a look.

[Dede2002]

Hi,

My current rig: Sound Professionals TFB-2 (in ear omnis) > Sound Professionals Battery Box > R-09 (line in). Yes, I know what you're going to say: binaurals like mine are great for with headphones but suck through speakers.

I have just purchased the same mics to use with my R-09 http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,79660.0.html

Actually I have been very impressed with how these come out over speakers. My other rig is a Sound Devices MixPre and pair of Rode NT55s. These little gems (TFBs) are excellent and have nothing to be ashamed of in that company.

Question, have you tried the TFBs into the mic in with plugin-power on? What's the difference between that and line in with the battery box?

digifish

Hi,
No,I haven't. I usually use the Line In, with my battery box, of course. However I can tell you that the Line In gives you a more clean and crisp sound tha the Mic input. I've tried once to use the Mic input and the results were not that good. I only tape electric amplified music in very lively and crowded clubs. Whar really drives me crazy is the RIDICULOUS amount of bass in my recordings. It doesn't matter how much bass I cut or filter, it's always there. I can't afford reference monitors to help me mastering/EQ, so it's always try and error. What I hear in my Mac (with headphones) is not at all what I listen with my speakers! Sometimes I have wonderfull sounding stuff with Mac/Ear phones and the same piece of music sounds horrific with speakers. BASS,BASS AND MORE BASS.
As I said before, I'm deciding what mics I'm going to purchase nexto week: Sound Professionals CMC-8 (cardioid) or HLSC-1 (Sennheiser cardioid elements). Any comments?

[Dede2002]

the r09 has a bass rolloff circuit, hpf circuit, "low cut". That should help with the bass boominess, if not perhaps being too much.
I have no idea what the slope of the bass rolloff of the r09 is, and have never tried it, so I can't speak to that.
Try it at a throw-away gig. You'll learn a lot from the effort.

It also sounds like you might need to work on your speaker playback system, a bit, before making too many harsh assessments of your efforts.

For too much bass in your existing recordings,.... try an hpf edit of some bass loaded files, and see if that helps.
Something around 75hz and 6dB per octave slope really cleans up the sound sometimes.
Eliminating some of that overwhelming bass will help accentuate higer frequencies, without further eq'ing, especially live, in the hall, while mastering.

Hi Moke,

Thanks a lot. I did use the Low Cut once. You're right:it's too much. Thanks a lot for all the tips.
I really like to be here.

[tapeheadtoo]

Hey Dede... this is what happened to my R-09 and it was (and has been) fine...


http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,71338.msg955642.html#msg955642

[Dede2002]

Hey Dede... this is what happened to my R-09 and it was (and has been) fine...


http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,71338.msg955642.html#msg955642

WOW!!!! 
Yes, I'm a paranoid. Period. Thanks for sharing.

[Dede2002]

Hi there,

This message is just to let you guys know that my beloved R-09, yes, it's working perfectly. I went to a blues concert last night and the recording sounds awesome. Brand new theatre, awesome acoustics and an unbelivably (is that correct?) quiet audience.
Well, sometimes something very important escapes me: taping in noisy clubs with crappy PA will only produce noisy and crappy recordings no matter how good you're gear might be. Thanks for your suport!

[Dede2002]

+t for the update!
glad it was just crappy acoustics and not gear.

I'm the one to say thank you.