The 'low-cut' function on the DPA MMA6000 preamp corner freq. is around 100hz I believe. Designed with dialog work in mind I'd think, it's too high/severe for music recording. Has anyone here done any mods to change it to be more useful for our apps?
Ordinarily I do not use any form of roll off before the recorder. Most of what I record is not overly loud or bass heavy and 4060's work very well. However, with
very loud amplified music that so often features unnaturally hyped bass 'gut slam', the 60hz region and below can become overloaded and overbearing on playback (gee, just like it is at the concert
). This was the case for me doing some HRTF recordings at Langerado a few weeks back, which is the loudest thing I've recorded with this 4060>mma6000>R-09 chain. In that case I ran the mma6000 at the zero gain setting for the first time > R-09 mic in (line-in jack still needs repair) low gain switch setting, preamp level somewhere around 6-8 on the Edirol. Results? Super bass heavy & boomy, but also some wonky highs at times that I hadn't expected or noticed before. I suspect I could have been overloading the mics a bit in this case. That problem obviously wouldn't be remedied by this mod. But I could at least cut back on the boom early in the chain and get something more manageable on
tape 'card' at another overly loud 'boom enhanced' PA'd gig.
Some have commented that the 10db higher SPL limit of the 4061 makes them more suitable for loud concert recording, also implying that the heavy bass loading is less of an issue than with the more sensitive 4060's in a high SPL environment. maybe, but I'm not looking to buy 4061's for 10db more headroom.
A simple low cut or shelf filter tuned to an
appropriate slope and corner frequency might do an acceptable job of this for me, to be engaged only when necessary. I'd ignore it most of the time.
What I'd love to have an shaped inverse 'bass hype' reduction filter that I can engage to tame that unnatural boom. That PA mixing style seems to be a common these days, maybe even expected at loud shows. I could rant about it but I won't. My theory is that people have become used to way over hyped bass and this has become the new norm. Perhaps sound reinforcement companies will start putting spare tires, jacks and lug wrenches inside their bass bins to get that one-note bass cruiser car rattle all the time at shows that fans increasingly have come to expect.
. Rambling..
Anyone change theirs themselves? anyone offering mods?
Thoughts?