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stronger audio through my lav?
I’m a newbie and have been shooting one and two person interviews with my Canon GL2, taking sound through a Beachtek DXA-4P adapter, and using Audio Technica AT899 lav mics. I don’t have a mixer.
When shooting single subjects, I’ve got the Beachtek l/r dials turned to just below the max allowance, the selector set to mono, because I want it split l/r, with one XLR cable plugged in and connected to the mic which is placed in the subject’s sweet spot.
What I’m finding after capturing the clips and beginning to edit is that there just doesn’t seem to be much amplitude in the resulting tape, and I’ve had to resort to normalizing gain when editing to increase it. The resonance and sound of the voices is good, but I don’t understand why there isn’t more “umph” to the audio amplitude of these voices I’m recording. I talked to the tech guys I bought the gear from and seem to be doing everything “right”–i.e. nothing accounts for why there isn’t more power to the volume of these voices.
When I’m setting the audio level on the camera, it seems to be at just the correct spot on the meter. I’ve also tried setting it slightly higher than what the meter would suggest. I’ve also tried using the camera set to auto levels for audio. Same issue.
Any thoughts/suggestions out there greatly appreciated.
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3 Replies
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I think this has been covered before. The Beachtek DXA-4P is an ADAPTER and it is passive. It is incapable of increasing the level of anything. It can only turn things DOWN.
There are many times when you need to turn things up. You don’t get that with the Beachtek DXA-4P. You also pay less for the Beachtek DXA-4P.
Probably what’s happening is some bridging effect as the result of feeding the mic to two outputs on the Beachtek DXA-4P. Try using just one output and see what happens.
When you decide you need a good mixer, try the Sound Devies MixPre or 302.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com
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Thanks for the response. Sorry for my ignorance, but what do you mean by “a bridging reponse from feeding the mic to two outputs” and, how would I “use just one output?” I’m assuming when I’m only using one XLR cable with one mic, that I’m only using one output.
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Ruby -
[Ruby Gold] “what do you mean by “a bridging reponse from feeding the mic to two outputs” and, how would I “use just one output?” I’m assuming when I’m only using one XLR cable with one mic, that I’m only using one output.”
That’s because you said:
[Ruby Gold] “I’ve got the Beachtek… the selector set to mono, because I want it split l/r”
Try NOT setting the Beachtek to “MONO” and just recording the one mic on ONE audio channel.
See if that gives you more level on that one channel.
The act of “splitting” the single mic to two channels (Mono position on the Beachtek) might (that’s MIGHT) cause a drop in level (that’s what Ty was talking about).There is no reason to NEED the same audio on both channels of the tape as you can just pan that one channel to “center mono” during the edit.
If you find that you DON’T get more level in the “Stereo” position (using just one channel) then you may set the selector to EITHER position you’d like.>>>BTW, check your CAMERA’s menu setting for “MIC ATT” (Microphone Attenuator).
Make sure it is set to OFF. This will give you maximum audio level from the mic input.
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