Hi Dean
I don't have the RH1 but I do have the MZ NH900 and I also use K6/ME66's. The
NH900 has two microphone sensitivity settings, high gain and low gain. You are
right in using manual recording gain but you will need to also juggle the
sensitivity settings as well, otherwise you may end up with low level
recordings or recordings which suffer from distortion caused by overload.
The gain control usually goes up to a maximum of 30, so you might typically see
25/30 as your recording level. If you are set on the high sensitivity setting
and you find yourself turning down the recording gain to something around 18/30
or less I would recommend you switch to the low sensitivity setting and
increase the gain.
The RH1 is a fine recorder but its one weak spot is headroom, but get the mic
sensitivity right and that will not be a problem. Initially at first you will
inevitably set it too the wrong sensitivity, I did, but as you get more
experienced you will start to 'know' what will be the right setting.
You are aiming to get a recording which is reasonably well modulated so that
you are neither too loud or two quiet. The recording level meters as a rule of
thumb, when the main subject of your recording is making its noise, should be
peaking at around two thirds of the scale or slightly more, that should leave
enough headroom for any extra loud sounds. The idea is to record the sound at
as high a level that is practical but avoiding over modding which will result
in distortion. Quiet recordings can have their levels increased later in
software but that is not really a good idea as that can cause other problems if
used too extensively. Again as you grow in experience you will get a 'feel' for
what you can get away with on the recording meters of the RH1.
Hope that helps you.
Phil
----- Original Message ----
From: Dean Portelli <>
To:
Sent: Friday, 20 July, 2007 10:38:26 AM
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Recording Level Sony MZ-RH1
Hi All,
I have finally put together my recording setup (Sennheiser ME67/K6 with Sony
MZ-RH1) and am trying to work out how to use it properly! I'm using the gear to
record bird vocalisations.
One of the things I have noticed is that using the Auto recording level with
High Mic Sensitivity is too sensitive for loud birds that are reasonably close.
I was wondering what other uses of the recorder normally do. I have switched to
setting the recording level manually but this can only be done prior to making
a recording (and not during), is there a recording level that would suit most
situations?
Any advice would be great because I'm a novice when it comes to this modern
equipment!
Cheers, Dean
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