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Technical Issue – Sennheiser Lavalier with limiter/distortion?
Hi there,
I’ve been willing to post this issue for a while, since I haven’t found anything similar (maybe I’ve been using the wrong keywords?) and since last week I had an important shoot that was the last drop in this issue, here I am.
I have three Sennheiser G3 lavalier sets and one of them has been acting weirdly for a while. I record it directly into my Canon C100 XLR inputs, normally along with a second pair of Lavalier (which acts normally).
Here’s what the result sounds like, direct from camera: (password: test) https://vimeo.com/257478167
Here’s what its waveform looks like: https://img42.com/wXfir
Throughout my timeline I can clearly see that the is a limit on what speaker says, a clear line on the waveforms compared to the second microphone with a second speaker, that has its wafe forms with much more “ups and downs”, therefore more natural and it sounds this way too – quite a difference from the speaker number 1, with the issue.
I was directing the project and I had one assistant on the C100 checking levels, and I know that she has not left the audio go hot – and actually, that’s the curious thing: it sounds like it is hot, but the numbers stay mostly on -9 db, pretty evenly.
I also know that this is not the C100, since I use regularly its both XLR channels with different mics and they don’t have this issue.The only issue that I know this one Sennheiser unit has is that the exterior left/right button is malfunctioned and only works going left, not right (a talent once set on it during a scene), but besides that, I don’t know of a cause for that.
-Does anyone know what this could be, should I just send my unit for repair?
-As for post, I did play around with Premiere’s EQ, mostly lowering the frequencies on the 3-6k range, and it made the file sounds a bit smoother, not so harsh when she speaks louder. Is there any other tips for what I could do in this situation? Is there a third party plugin or something that deals with that, or this is pretty much one of those scenarios where after recording there’s not much that can be done?
Thank you for any help!
Andre
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10 Replies
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I listened to your sound sample and it definitely sounds like clipping. My first thought would be that the camera input is being overloaded by the receiver. I work with a C100, and in fact, I did that today. Sounds like you are using mic in, if so, there are trim adjustments in the menu to help prevent overloading the pre-amp. Was your assistant monitoring the audio with headphones during recording? If overloading the input is not the problem, then maybe the wireless system has issues. Good luck.
P.S. one time when we were recording with the C100 t went haywire. No matter what we did, the audio into the camera was distorted. We powered down and removed the battery for a minute and the rebooted. It worked fine after that. Must have been a ghost in the machine…
Bob
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Thanks Bob,
That was helpful intel on the C100.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog -
Glad to be of assistance, Ty.
Thanks.
Bob
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I forgot to say, plug the wireless into an audio mixer and test it. That should tell you right away if it’s the wireless system.
Bob
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Bob, thank you so much for the info.
Now reflecting, I really think it is an issue with my wireless receiver: since the left-right button is only functioning on one side (to the right), I cannot lower its gain. So although it is not peaking on the camera, it’s peaking on the wireless set.
I really appreciate the tip on the C100, but for this case, I don’t think this is it, since I just used another mic with it and it was under a limit.The audio mixer tip is the one to go. I a couple of days I’ll have access to one and I’ll test it out.
Thanks so much, really appreciate your help and for sharing your expertise.
Best,
Andre -
Glad to be of assistance, Andre.
Bob Mark
Bob
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Hey Andre,
Please come back and let us know what you found out.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog -
Hey Ty,
Yes,I’ll make sure to come back and update the case.
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Hi all,
Ends up that the issue was on the receiver of my G3 lav mic kit. Since the button to lower the gain was broken, it’s something I couldn’t change and it didn’t matter how much lower I set the gain on the camera – the audio already arrived clipping.
I already sent the unit for repair.Fortunately, what save me was a software called iZotope RX 6, that has an “de-clip” that works incredibly well. Their basic version has this feature inclued – https://www.izotope.com/en/products/repair-and-edit/rx.html
Thanks again for all your help!
Andre
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Andre,
Thanks for the followup!
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog
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