Guy, your problem is very possibly that you're overloading the mic
itself. All mics have a maximum SPL that they're capable of
recording. The shure is somewhere between 119 and 129. There is a
lots of low energy in a thunder clap, and it's probably just too loud
for the mic. If the 722 lights aren't clipping, it's probably that.
You could try and switch to low gain to see what happens, that will
tell you if it's the 722. Also, is the limiter engaged on the 722?
That should keep the 722 from distorting (or help).
I too find that the metering scheme on the 722 is such that files
into PT seem lower than my DAT. The good news, that if you're
recording 24 bit, recording a bit low shouldn't be much of a problem,
just gain it up a bit, the 722's noise floor is WAY down there, and
at 24 bit, the resolution is still there, over 16 bit.
Tim
On Jul 17, 2006, at 6:26 AM, guyhand2 wrote:
> I've been familiarizing myself with my new Sound Devices 722 and
> Shure VP88 stereo mic by
> recording the numerous thunderstorms that have rumbled through
> Idaho this summer.
> Although I've been careful to keep my volume levels low enough not
> to distort the loudest
> cracks of thunder, I find the occasional sound of distortion in
> playback.
>
> When I look at the waveforms in ProTools, I don't see any clipping
> and they appear to be well
> below a distored level, yet I can hear it now and then (but not on
> all of the thunder, and not
> neccessarily on the loudest occurances).
>
> Do I need to change the Gain Range on the 722 from "normal" to
> "low" even though the
> overall level is lower than I'd like? Any other suggestions?
>
> Also, on a slightly different slant on sound levels, I find that in
> general recording on any of
> my mics if I don't keep the volume near the top end of the level
> meter LEDs on the 722 (near
> the 0 dBFS mark), I get a far more anemic final level (as seen in a
> ProTools wave form) than I
> was accustomed to getting on my old Sony DAT recorder at what
> appeared to be more
> moderate levels. Any suggestion?
>
> Guy
>
>
>
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