concert sound overdrive`

A

aperture01

New member
hi everyone,

i just got a dvx100b about three days ago and i'm spending some time playing around with it learning some ofs ins and outs. i've used a canon gl2 in the past as well as several sony cameras, and i wanted to go around and get some footage to test the thing before i begin my big project which is a documentary on a local rock band.

anyway, i went to a show to get some test shots of some live stuff, and the sound turned out completey overdriven. i had headphones to monitor (although it was much to loud in there to hear through the headphones so that didn't help.) so i went by the audio meters. according to the meters my sound was just touching the red about a block or two from the two white marks. (about -10db I suppose) which should have been great.

when i got the footage back home it was heavily distorted. this made me think a bit because this is the second show i've done and the first show turned out much better, using the same rule of thumb (follow the meters) and the metere level was about the same.

i'm guessing the mic was overdriven. it must have been entirely too loud in there for me to get a good sound via the onboard mic (or maybe I was too close to the speakers (i was real close to the stage). the sound is especially bad when the bass kicks in.

in the future i plan to get a mix off of the sound board using a minidisc player and mix it in post, and use a mix of that and the live mix from my mic.

perhaps it's just the onboard mic, should i use a differnt mic that might be less "hot" to such sound. I have an SM57 that might not be bad for this type of thing (albeit it'll have to be mono cuz i only have one). in fact i need an entire mic setup for this documetnary but that's another question.

i suppose i'm just asking what did I do wrong, and how can I prevent it in the future.

i should mention that this camera is like a wet dream... i don't want to wake up :) hehe.

-Brandon
 
Very well could be the mic was maxed out. If so, your ears were probably being damaged too. While we can take temporary sounds in the 120db range, being exposed to that kind of SPL for hours will cause permenent hearing damage.

Not to sound like some old fart, but take care; a youth spent in nightclubs and concerts can have lasting effects that you will regret for the many years to come. Do not think these places are regulated to protect your hearing; they are not, the responsiblity is entirely on you.

If you get out of a place and find your hearings is even just slightly diminished, even though it will improve by the morning, you have just permenently damaged your hearing. And it has a cumulative effect. It will never heal, it will never get better.

I won't go off on a whole other diatribe about Ipods and headphones except to say it is getting scary how many people in their 20's have worse hearing then the folks at the retirement center. Imagine where they will be in 40 years (the kids not the senior citizens).

/old man rant off (I completely feel like that dad in the Twisted Sister videos now)

In the future, bring some ear plugs and get your audio off the mixing board.

Cheers
 
The last time I recorded something with my DVX in a small club, I found that the mic was overloaded. I don't think the internal mic can handle high SPL very well. An SM57 isn't a very good mic for that type of recording, but on the other hand it is unlikely to overload and you can also use it for a hammer if the need arises. Your best bet would be to get a little stereo condensor like something that concert tapers normally use and slap that on your camera, or just get the board recording. Just know that the levels on the board recording are usually out of whack (too much vocals, no drums, etc).

P.S. Wabbit, don't worry about me, I always wear my earplugs. In fact anyone that goes to a lot of shows should seriously consider the custom molded eytmotic earplugs, I cannot explain how awesome they are :)
 
tigeba said:
Just know that the levels on the board recording are usually out of whack (too much vocals, no drums, etc).
Click to expand...

As someone who used to do live sound, I just wanted to repeat this.
 
That completely depends on the venue and engineer. Smaller tavern (which almost always sound like a disaster anyways), yes; larger club and concert halls, you can get a pretty decent mix off the board.

Will you do better to have your own set-up? Yes, but I have yet to see a non-audiophile who has the equipment or patience to it right.


Cheers
 
Well, I'm assuming that most anyplace that will actually let your record their show is probably going to be a smaller venue. In the defense of live sound guys out there, in smaller clubs, not only is there usually not enough equipment to properly route everything through the PA, there usually isn't the need. Depending on the size of the venue, usually things like cymbals, some guitars, and some drums really don't need much amplification.

If I had to put up a show quickly in a small space, my first priorities would be vocals, bass (unless the player had a MONSTER amp), and kick drum. Things like cymbals don't need much help and a Marshall half stack can keep up with a several thousand watt PA, so those things tend not to be mixed very high on the board. If I had more time, I still probably wouldn't do much in the way of cymbals. There were many a show that I did where cymbals, hihat, and guitar amps got miked, but the faders on the board were all the way down. There was just no need for them in the PA.

If the sound guy is doing his job, the board sound should mix with the stage sound to make it sound good in the room. Not that you guys don't know this.
 
hrm

hrm

after reading that i wonder.... should i just go with the feed off of the board, or should i look at a mic that will be able to take the SPL's?

-Brandon
 
A mic that can take it isn't a bad thing to have in the bag. As far as the board feed, who knows what it might be like - it's going to be different at every show. The best thing to do is to check it out. If you ask the sound guy, he'll probably give a quick rundown of what's on the feed.

The most flexible solution would be too get a board feed and mic the show. You'll end up with 4 channels that you can then mix together (though many board mixes for smaller shows, especially rock type stuff, are mono).
 
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