answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

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Lawrence
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answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Lawrence »

over in the trade me thread you mentioned wanting to know more on mics and someone pointed at the Beato clip.

There are two separate issues and I don't know which it is so Ill touch on both.

Overloading Mics.
Mics are designed to pickup very small changes in air pressure. A test we used to show students was a candle flame - if the singer (or kik drum or whatever) produced enough air movement to visible affect the candle flame then that position was too close for a mic.
Now of course this is a massive generalisation...and was actually done to show how plosives and fricatives (the sounds in the human voice that generate big air movements such as the letter P) should be handled. I have trained singers to improve mic technique by having them sing to a candle and learn to turn away slightly every time there is a plosive or fricative in the lyric.
Most mics can handle VERY loud sounds but as a rule...if you wouldn't put your ear there then don't put the mic there.

If you are interested I could do some posts on how mics actually work internally and what makes them directional or not etc.

Overloading the input.

This is the more likely scenario. because most mics can handle very loud sounds it is possible that you are presenting a lot of gain to your input. In the Beato vid he somewhat oversimplifies the concept so here's a little more detail.

Most mic inputs are generally designed with amplifying vocals in mind (yes another generalisation..go with me here) so if you have both a sensitive (think loud) mic and a loud source - say a loud singer up close or a guitar cab - then the signal is at the upper end of what the input is expecting.
I am assuming at this point that you know how to set input levels in the analog world using a solo or PFL and a meter. This is not always available with a DAW set up. While you should peak at roughly zero in the analog world this translates to -18 in the digital world. If you are working at 24 bit then average signals in the lower third of the meter are fine.
If you cannot turn the input down enough you simply have to move the mic further from the source or look at some sort of attenuator that could be plugged in to reduce the input.

If you want more info and have specific question let me know...
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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by mrmofo »

I think it was another member asking about mics. Molly tried to answer the question.
There are still some that think the neck PU is moved to accommodate the extra frets which only proves they cannot detect the difference in length of each.

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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Molly »

Cool answer. It was Single Coil who was having the issue and I'd just watched a Beato video that mentioned overloading mics so flicked him a link (not really knowing if it'd address the problem).

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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Slowy »

So: I settled in here for a long read and it was over in seconds!

(My current read is a 2500 page trilogy)
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Molly »

Slowy wrote:So: I settled in here for a long read and it was over in seconds!

(My current read is a 2500 page trilogy)
Ah, you're reading my book: 'Guitars I've Loved & Lost'

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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by sizzlingbadger »

Molly wrote:
Slowy wrote:So: I settled in here for a long read and it was over in seconds!

(My current read is a 2500 page trilogy)
Ah, you're reading my book: 'Guitars I've Loved & Lost 2018-2019'

fixed :winky:
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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Lawrence »

Slowy wrote:So: I settled in here for a long read and it was over in seconds!

(My current read is a 2500 page trilogy)
:thumbup: yeah - just a bit paranoid in this twitter driven world!
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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by kdawg2a »

sizzlingbadger wrote:
Molly wrote:
Slowy wrote:So: I settled in here for a long read and it was over in seconds!

(My current read is a 2500 page trilogy)
Ah, you're reading my book: 'Guitars I've Loved & Lost 2018-2019'

fixed :winky:
Actual lolz.
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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Single coil »

neat
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.

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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Capt. Black »

I've missed these posts from Lawrence!

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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Lawrence »

Capt. Black wrote:I've missed these posts from Lawrence!
:oops: :oops: :oops:

kinda miss doing them! :silent:
GrantB wrote:
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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Bg »

Lawrence wrote:
Capt. Black wrote:I've missed these posts from Lawrence!
:oops: :oops: :oops:

kinda miss doing them! :silent:
Feel free to keep doing them now Sgt Confuscious is no longer here.
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Re: answering Molly - long post warning for those with short attention spans

Post by Single coil »

I like informative shit like that.
I’ll put me mics out further from the amps and see what happens.
werdna wrote:Well at least I can still make toast in the bath without anyone telling me it's unsafe.

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