Recording help

M

mpairse15

Member
So recently I picked up some DRDK7s, BR1600CD, and misc stands. I am new to recording and am having some issues. All the mics pick up is the ringing in the drums. I can't get a solid sound out of them. The bass sounds like a thud with static, and the toms sound like a high pitched whining. I also can not get the over head mics to work. The files the Audio interface transfers over are AIF and BR2 files. I have no idea how to work with these. If anyone could help that would be great.

Thanks!
 
Your overhead mics probably need phantom power. Does the BOSS recorder give you phantom power?

The BOSS sounds pretty straightforward. Plug in your mics, and record on 8-tracks simultaneously. It sounds like you have too much gain on your mics. Plug everything in, and put your gains all the way down, then slowly bring up each one until you get a nice clear tone from the mic. Unless you're putting the mics in really strange places, I'm not sure what the problem could be.

The BOSS sounds like a stand-alone recording device. See if you can't just get it to record you playing first. If you're trying to dump those tracks into your computer, those files need to be .wav, right? The BOSS probably has a way to convert those to .wav. But, with your initial problems, first things first. Make sure you know how to operate that BOSS and make it record. Worry about the files into your computer later.
 
Bo Eder said:
Your overhead mics probably need phantom power. Does the BOSS recorder give you phantom power?

The BOSS sounds pretty straightforward. Plug in your mics, and record on 8-tracks simultaneously. It sounds like you have too much gain on your mics. Plug everything in, and put your gains all the way down, then slowly bring up each one until you get a nice clear tone from the mic. Unless you're putting the mics in really strange places, I'm not sure what the problem could be.

The BOSS sounds like a stand-alone recording device. See if you can't just get it to record you playing first. If you're trying to dump those tracks into your computer, those files need to be .wav, right? The BOSS probably has a way to convert those to .wav. But, with your initial problems, first things first. Make sure you know how to operate that BOSS and make it record. Worry about the files into your computer later.
Click to expand...

It does have phantom but I can't figure out how to enable it . Thanks for the reply!
 
http://www.rolandus.com/support/knowledge_base/view/22624623

The BR-1600CD has 8 XLR inputs can be enabled to supply phantom power. You will need to only use the XLR inputs for those mics - any mics that do not require phantom power should be plugged into one of the standard 1/4 inch inputs. Phantom power is only supplied to the XLR inputs, and when switched ON, it supplies it to all 8 XLR inputs and is not selectable individually.

Turning on Phantom Power:

1. Press the UTILITY button.

2. Cursor to SYSTEM and press ENTER.

3. Cursor to PHANTOM POWER and turn the dial to select ON.

4. Press UTILITY to return to the main screen.
Click to expand...
 
Bo Eder said:
Your overhead mics probably need phantom power. Does the BOSS recorder give you phantom power?

The BOSS sounds pretty straightforward. Plug in your mics, and record on 8-tracks simultaneously. It sounds like you have too much gain on your mics. Plug everything in, and put your gains all the way down, then slowly bring up each one until you get a nice clear tone from the mic. Unless you're putting the mics in really strange places, I'm not sure what the problem could be.

The BOSS sounds like a stand-alone recording device. See if you can't just get it to record you playing first. If you're trying to dump those tracks into your computer, those files need to be .wav, right? The BOSS probably has a way to convert those to .wav. But, with your initial problems, first things first. Make sure you know how to operate that BOSS and make it record. Worry about the files into your computer later.
Click to expand...

I did what you said and I still cant get anything but ringing. The mics are placed in a standard position.
 
http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/BR-1600CD_OM.pdf

The DR-C100 requires phantom. The other mics don't. That said, it sounds like the gain is set too high(thump/static).

Typically, you can safely enable phantom without hurting un-powered microphones. There are some mics that are an exception to this, but certainly not the ones in the kit you own.

Set up one-mic at-a-time and figure out the gain issue.
 
KamaK said:
http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/BR-1600CD_OM.pdf

The DR-C100 requires phantom. The other mics don't. That said, it sounds like the gain is set too high(thump/static).

Typically, you can safely enable phantom without hurting un-powered microphones. There are some mics that are an exception to this, but certainly not the ones in the kit you own.

Set up one-mic at-a-time and figure out the gain issue.
Click to expand...

I have been doing that. The toms dont even sound like toms. They sound like a distorted "alien" sound. I jsut dont get what I am doing wrong. I have watched countless videos on youtube, and browsed countless forums.
 
If things are terribly distorted then you are driving the inputs too hard. There should be an input trim or gain control. If it has a weird underwater sound, that is digital aliasing from very low levels, or there is something wrong with the unit.

Does the distortion only happen on certain inputs or with certain mics?

The mics you don't want to be switching phantom power on and off with are ribbon mics. You can actually have phantom power on with a ribbon mic but it's the way it goes on that is the problem, it has to hit both sides of the balanced connection at the same time. Also, you don't want to use a patch bay with typical 3 contact 1/4" plugs with a ribbon mic as the sequential contact will apply the power to one side before the other slamming the ribbon back and forth. I do this but I'm very careful to make sure the mics are patched and phantom power is off before plugging in the mic at the XLR which makes both connections simultaneously just in case I do screw up and accidentally have phantom on.
 
Aeolian said:
If things are terribly distorted then you are driving the inputs too hard. There should be an input trim or gain control. If it has a weird underwater sound, that is digital aliasing from very low levels, or there is something wrong with the unit.

Does the distortion only happen on certain inputs or with certain mics?
Click to expand...

The mics are listed in the OP. It's one of those $200 multi piece drum mic kits like a PG6, but cheaper.

You're probably right, and he's mistaking/confusing the levels with the gains. He should probably hit the following page in the manual first:

Input Sensitivity - Basic Operation; p. 25 -- He may also have "Stereo" instead of "Multi" selected for the inputs.

If that doesn't work, he can jump to page 258 and read "Automatically adjusting the volume balance"


Most of all, he should read the relevant parts of the manual and take it one-mic at a time.
 
Didn't recognize the models to know what kind of mics he had.

AIF is a computer audio interface protocol, not a file type that I'm familiar with.

Agree, start from page 1 and work though it. Although Japanese music instrument manuals can get pretty confusing. I've only scratched the surface of what my Motif does and older keyboards and recording devices often required getting a secondary How To, or Roland Recorders For Dummies book. So I feel the OP's pain. Nikon manuals aren't much better. I don't know why they don't hire a native English speaking person to write these. I used to work for Hitachi and while some of the folks from Japan were pretty conversationally fluent in English, their structure of thinking doesn't translate as well and instructions can get pretty garbled. Obviously they're much better at English than I am at Japanese, but I'm not writing manuals for them.
 
Could you take some pictures of your mic-setup and also upload some recording files?

And what do you mean by "The mics are in a standard position?"
Is your drumset tuned up? If your drumset is all tuned shitty the mics won't capture anything else.
 
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