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Static and Clipping with Azden SGM-1X on EX-1
I have a Azden SGM-1X shotgun mic plugged in to my Sony EX-1. I’m having some clipping issues that I’m trying to sort out.
There is a small bit of static with everything the mic captures, almost like it’s clipping. It almost sounds like static electricity. The mic seems to be working just fine, since I’ve plugged it in to other devices and have gotten satisfactory volume and quality sound, without any distortion or static.
I’ve adjusted the input and trim levels, and can’t seem to get it to where the static will go away. However, there seems to be less of it the lower I set the trim. This generally makes the levels too low though.
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4 Replies
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Have you been able to use a waveform or frequency spectrum analysis?
EX seems to have a hard limiter which is more likely to result in pumping than clipping.Are you using the camera’s phantom power?
Could it be the other devices you hooked the mic too may be rolling off some of the high frequency basically masking or eliminating the “static?” Or maybe something eliminating “stuff” in the noise floor that the Sony camera isn’t doing?
Have you tried hooking the EX to another shotgun?
It’s really hard to judge this just by ear. If the trim controls aren’t fixing it then it’s nothing you can control with the standard camera controls.
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I haven’t tried a waveform or frequency spectrum analysis, nor another shotgun mic. I’ll see if I can track either down.
I’m not using the camera’s phantom power. The mic uses a AAA battery.
All the other mics I use seem to be working fine.
Are there any other audio input controls I could try, other than the trim or level control?
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[Adam Browning] “I’m not using the camera’s phantom power. The mic uses a AAA battery.
“Try camera phantom power and see if it makes a difference.
[Adam Browning] “I haven’t tried a waveform or frequency spectrum analysis, nor another shotgun mic. I’ll see if I can track either down. “
What audio software do you have on Mac SoundtrackPro has some basic tools. If you’re on Windows Adobe (Soundbooth?) or may Vegas (which supposedly has good audio tools) might have something.
[Adam Browning] “Are there any other audio input controls I could try, other than the trim or level control?”
That’s all she wrote as they say.
BTW don’t discount that you may perceive as “worse” in the EX may actually be “more.” In other words you may be hearing detail not making through when the mic is hooked up to other devices. That’s why the above tools will help.
If you can compare the EXACT same source recorded on EX1 vs recorded on something else, you may find out what’s up. You might actually be hearing more hi freq energy in the EX1 or maybe the noise floor isn’t being masked.
Even the “Mikey doesn’t like it” of audio (Base Big) felt Sony finally got it right with the EX preamp. I think he may have missed the hard limiter issue though. That hard limiter wouldn’t cause what you’re hearing though.
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The link below is what the frequency spectrum looks like in Soundtrack. Below that is a sampling from one of the recordings of someone ringing a bell tower.
https://i1.creativecow.net/u/115575/frequencyspectrum.jpg
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