Topic: Edirol R-09HR

[jjazzfusion]

I just got a brand new R-09HR. Recorded 3 shows so far. There is clipping present on all the recordings, especially during the bass/bass-drum frequencies. My LIMITER in on, levels are set between -12 to -6. The PEAK light never comes on, and I get the same results with external as well as internal mics. I also tried the Low Cut on and off with the same results. My externals are Core Sound Binaurals with the switchable bass roll-off. Is my Edirol defective, or am I doing something wrong? Hope you guys can help. I really appreciate it...

[Dede2002]

I just got a brand new R-09HR. Recorded 3 shows so far. There is clipping present on all the recordings, especially during the bass/bass-drum frequencies. My LIMITER in on, levels are set between -12 to -6. The PEAK light never comes on, and I get the same results with external as well as internal mics. I also tried the Low Cut on and off with the same results. My externals are Core Sound Binaurals with the switchable bass roll-off. Is my Edirol defective, or am I doing something wrong? Hope you guys can help. I really appreciate it...

Is hard to tell without knowing things like kind of music ( loud, very loud, extremely loud?), input (Mic or Line in) etc.
Anyway, stay away from the Low cut and Limiter features with live music.
We'll be able to help you once you provide more details.

[jjazzfusion]

Is hard to tell without knowing things like kind of music ( loud, very loud, extremely loud?), input (Mic or Line in) etc.
Anyway, stay away from the Low cut and Limiter features with live music.
We'll be able to help you once you provide more details.

Loud and very loud, Mic input, no preamp of any kind. Core Sound Binaurals plugged straight into the Edirol. Bass roll-off flat. I also used the internal mics on one occasion. I really appreciate your time

[Dede2002]

Is hard to tell without knowing things like kind of music ( loud, very loud, extremely loud?), input (Mic or Line in) etc.
Anyway, stay away from the Low cut and Limiter features with live music.
We'll be able to help you once you provide more details.

Loud and very loud, Mic input, no preamp of any kind. Core Sound Binaurals plugged straight into the Edirol. Bass roll-off flat. I also used the internal mics on one occasion. I really appreciate your time

Well, I'm sure other TS members can give you more suport, but based on my little experience I can tell you that plug in power ( I mean your mics powered by the recorder) can let you down when it comes to very loud music. Your mics would be powered all right ( with plug in), but without a battery box average 9 volts, they will not handle high SPL at their best. For very loud music, mics >battery box > Line input would be safer bet.

[tgakidis]

Agreed

[jjazzfusion]

[

Well, I'm sure other TS members can give you more suport, but based on my little experience I can tell you that plug in power ( I mean your mics powered by the recorder) can let you down when it comes to very loud music. Your mics would be powered all right ( with plug in), but without a battery box average 9 volts, they will not handle high SPL at their best. For very loud music, mics >battery box > Line input would be safer bet.

Correction. I do have a battery box with the switchable bass roll-off.

[Dede2002]

[

Well, I'm sure other TS members can give you more suport, but based on my little experience I can tell you that plug in power ( I mean your mics powered by the recorder) can let you down when it comes to very loud music. Your mics would be powered all right ( with plug in), but without a battery box average 9 volts, they will not handle high SPL at their best. For very loud music, mics >battery box > Line input would be safer bet.

Correction. I do have a battery box with the switchable bass roll-off.

Are you using fresh batteries?
Sorry for asking, but this may be the cause of your problem. Even with sensitive mics, you're not suposed to have this kind of problem with the R-09HR. By the way, since you told me you were using the Mic input, what about the Mic switch on the back of your recorder? How is it set up? Low or High? Anyway, the things that you describe makes me think about brickwalling: you levels look all right but the input signal is overloading the internal preamp. See, I'm trying to help the best way that I could, but I'm no expert really.

[jjazzfusion]

Are you using fresh batteries?
Sorry for asking, but this may be the cause of your problem. Even with sensitive mics, you're not suposed to have this kind of problem with the R-09HR. By the way, since you told me you were using the Mic input, what about the Mic switch on the back of your recorder? How is it set up? Low or High? Anyway, the things that you describe makes me think about brickwalling: you levels look all right but the input signal is overloading the internal preamp. See, I'm trying to help the best way I could, but I'm no expert really.

Battery is not fresh, although I tested it and it has full power. Mic sensitivity is let to LOW. What's this brickwalling you're describing?

[Belexes]

mics > BB (new 9V installed) > line in

Your recording should not brickwall, which is probably what you are describing.

[Dede2002]

Are you using fresh batteries?
Sorry for asking, but this may be the cause of your problem. Even with sensitive mics, you're not suposed to have this kind of problem with the R-09HR. By the way, since you told me you were using the Mic input, what about the Mic switch on the back of your recorder? How is it set up? Low or High? Anyway, the things that you describe makes me think about brickwalling: you levels look all right but the input signal is overloading the internal preamp. See, I'm trying to help the best way I could, but I'm no expert really.

Battery is not fresh, although I tested it and it has full power. Mic sensitivity is let to LOW. What's this brickwalling you're describing?

In non-expert words, brickwall happens when you mics overload,
sending a nasty/distorted/saturated sound to your recorded (even when the levels are OK).

[jjazzfusion]

In non-expert words, brickwall happens when you mics overload,
sending a nasty/distorted/saturated sound to your recorded (even when the levels are OK).

What causes this, and what is the best way to prevent it? And most important, how do I set the correct input levels?

[Gutbucket]

'Brickwalling' as mentioned around here refers to overload distortion that occurs at a stage in the signal chain before the recorder's meters.  Because of that, even if the recorder's input level is set low enough so that the levels appear fine at that point, the signal is already distorted.  If you were to look at the waveform in an audio editor, the tops and bottoms would appear as flat plateaus.  In essence, any part of the signal that is louder than that level 'hit's the wall'.

The original R-09 (not HR) will distort when the signal being recorded is strong enough to require an input gain setting of about 6 or below on it's scale of 0-30.  I don't have the HR version, but it reportedly has similar overload problems with very loud signals.  Where that happens on it's scale of 0-50 is the next question to ask.  I can't answer that one for you.

My guess is that you are probably either overloading the mics themselves or the input stage of the recorder.  Make sure the batteries are fresh and try again, recording something of similar loudness with the bass roll-off filter on the battery box both off and on.  If there is no distortion either way, the batteries may have been the culprit. If the bass roll-off eliminates the distortion, then the overload is likely to be happening in the recorder as described above. In that case, note the setting at which distortion occurs and use the low-cut when it gets that loud in the future. If it still distorts regardless of fresh batteries and the bass roll-off, then you are likely exceeding the SPL capacity of the mics themselves.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

The limiter is bad on music, especially bass-intensive stuff.    There is also a chance the CSBs won't handle the intense bass and levels.

[ilduclo]

The limiter is bad on music, especially bass-intensive stuff.    There is also a chance the CSBs won't handle the intense bass and levels.

not in my experience. CSB's with a good battery in the box should go 115 db or thereabouts. Levels like J Mascis comes up to....

I am guessing the 9v battery.... try a new one, and make sure to unplug the mics from the bb when you are not using them (CSB's use power just sitting there

[jjazzfusion]

I was also told by a friend to make sure that my firmware was up to date. Apparently, there was a fix in Ver 1.05 in regards to some noises when using the LIMITER. Also, where should I set my levels when plugging the mics to the line-in input?