Tommorrow and Friday I'm going to see The Police in Amsterdam. I'd like to tape both shows in stealth mode. I'm using DPA 4061 mics..
The concerts will be @ the Amsterdam ArenA (Ajax ArenA), a football stadium 'famous' for it's acoustics. The sound is, in general, not very good. Other thing is, this venue is suffering from a 'stadium-syndrome', meaning the concrete-construction is 'eating' the bass.
Most of the time I'm using my DPA 4061 without any screens, but I was thinking on upgrading the lower frequencies a bit (at least, what's left of it). Should I use the Soft Boost Grid or the High Boost Grid?? DPA gives this info on them:
- Soft boost grid: 20 Hz - 20 kHz; 3 dB soft boost at 8 - 20 kHz
- High boost grid: 20 Hz - 20 kHz; ±2 dB, 10 dB boost at 12 kHz
Would one of the these screens be good for me in this situation, or is it better to use none??
FWIW I also posted about a similar topic on here and was told by many wiser people than I that running without grids in an uncontrolled (i.e., not mounted, at a rock concert) live recording environment was a bad idea. As others have said, if you get some dust or something in those mics or otherwise damage them, they are going to be expensive to replace. You're talking about making a stealth rock show tape here, not recording the symphony orchestra. Whatever benefit, real or perceived, of not running with grids exists (or doesn't exist), it will be eliminated by the much higher risk of damage to the mics from running without grids.
Since then, I've used my 4061s with the "soft boost" (more screen showing) grids every time and am generally pleased with the slight peak to the high freq and the overall response. I don't tape many stadium shows, though, and as a general rule, I agree it will be harder for you to achieve an ideal recording using these mics in that environment.