The damage is done, but I'd love some advice on how not to repeat my mistake by identifying it.

Sony VX2100 Audio set on manual (probably at 3/4). Beachtech (not sure where the dial was but probably turned up way too high. Rode Video Mic plugged into Beach.

Result: Peak!!!! The music was loud. Its completely unusable (crackle, pop, hiss, distorted,) and I thought it would be the best of the three (I also had a Canon GL1 with internal mic and autogain) and I had an iriver plugged into DJ's board. So far I'm able to use the a mix of the Canon and iRiver.

Could I have avoided this problem by taking the audio off of manual and keeping it on automatic? Or would it still have happened on automatic if I had turned up the Beach dial by accident. It would have been great to have headphones on, and maybe I will the next time.

Thanks,
Scott

had you turned the audio to manual, you'd have likely had no distortion, but instead would have had breathing/pumping, or a compressed signal leaving you virtually unusable audio anyway. You'd have been better off following the cardinal rule of videography; ALWAYS put on good headphones during a shoot, and monitor audio, even on a locked down camera that is in a remote position. ALWAYS.

At the risk of sounding like a lecturer;
would you turn on your camera in manual mode and point it at a subject without looking thru the viewfinder or LCD panel? Prolly not. Using a camera without headphones is doing exactly that; shooting without monitoring.
There should never be a "maybe I'll wear headphones next time."

I WILL wear headphones next time...
I WILL wear headphones next time...
I WILL wear headphones next time...
I WILL wear headphones next time...

I WILL wear headphones next time...
I WILL wear headphones next time...
I WILL wear headphones next time...
I WILL wear headphones next time...


LOL, now just write it (by hand) 96 times more, and you'll for sure remember next time. ;-)