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Audio Disaster at Live Event – Line vs Mic
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You might considering getting a handy little device to pack along if you plan on doing more of these events like an Audio-Technica AT8202 Attenuator with 10, 20 or 30 db of Selectible Attenuation – In-Line XLR Barrel https://www.audio-technica.com/cms/electronics/a05620466ab0ce16/index.html/
Guy Cochran
DVcreators.net – DVeStore -
Hm. That reminds me – my camera has an attenuator switch for each channel. Is this something I could’ve used to cut the signal back? (Ok, my ignorance is REALLY showing now.)
Justin Whitney
https://www.justinwhitney.com -
Hello Brian,
The attenuation you’re seeing is probably on the camera mic circuit. Please consult your users manual for the exact implementation.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar -
The other thing you can do as a habit when initially setting up and checking the audio levels from your camera that is being sent from a unfamiliar mix board is to see if you can get a decent level on your audio meters using the line level first before switching/checking it to mic level.
If your audio meters are way too low at line level no matter how much you increase the levels then switch to mic level (after lowering the audio controls back to 0 or something low to start off with) and watch the meters to see what the difference is after switching and adjusting the faders up on your camera.
The majority of the time the feed from a mix board at a club or band is going to be at line level, especially if you are having to use a 1/4″ to XLR adapter to connect from the mixer to your camera.
Line level first then Mic level, that’s what I do. Oh, and I always have my own field mixer between any audio I get before it goes to my camera for any surprises.
Randy
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You might also want to buy a couple of isolation transformers that have a 1:1 turn ratio. ProCo has some that are great for balancing long runs of cable (plus they have Pin-1 Lifts for those times when there’s hum).
Wolf
<>< -
You can carry some inline XLR attenuators in the future if you can’t control each channel separately.
B & H sells some that have 3 levels of attenuation.
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You saying that reminds me that I have attenuator switches on my camera for each line. You think that would help? That’s sort of an advance feature for me – I haven’t used it yet.
Justin Whitney
https://www.justinwhitney.com -
Justin,
input pads on cameras usually referred to as attenuators, usually aren’t designed to knock line level down to mic level.
Regards
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar -
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