Bamboozled in the UK with Canon XH A1 wedding audio

[Peter Dunphy]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

There's but one niggle in the ointment. The Minidisc is a mechanical device that every now and then spins up the disc to store its full memory, then switches off the disc while it remembers some more. This mechanical noise can be heard on the recording in quiet surroundings, so decent isolation between mic and recorder is a good idea.

tom.

Thanks for that Tom - I guess I could cover it with a dark sweater or something? Just now luckily won a bidding war on a MKE300 Sennheiser mic. I've contacted Jessops to clarify which Stock Code pertains to the clamp/table top tripod with the coarse plastic thread, so hopefully I'll be able to buy that soon too :o)

[Shahryar Rizvi]

wow, I came into this thread looking to just read more on the XH-A1 (which I plan to purchase within the next week or two). But I liked everything I was reading on the minidisc. I actually bought a Sony MZ-RH1 minidisc player myself in Spring of last year, mainly with the intent of working with recordings of stand-up comedy (which I like to perform and record). The main thread that advised me was this thread over here:
Recording Stand up / Stand-up comedy - Best Minidisc Solution? - Minidisc Community Forums

I really haven't been using my Minidisc to its full potential but hope to change that by reading more on it in similar threads.

[Philip Younger]

For an off-camera recorder you'd have to go a long way to beat the Roland Edirol R-09HR a brilliant, small, compact (smaller than a packet of cigarettes) professional recorder that records to SD card. Use the excellent built-in mic or plug in your own.

Don't have the website so google it and see

[Bill Pryor]

I have a M-audio Microtrack for that purpose. It doesn't have XLR inputs, but does have 1/4" balanced, so I use XLR-to-1/4" cables. Its weak spot is that it has a built-in rechargeable battery, so for a long event it needs to be plugged into an AC outlet.

[Peter Dunphy]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

No bother at all - it's been wired for that to put the same signal across both channels of a camcorder. Or a Minidisc recorder come to that - but the beauty of setting your MD to record in mono is that it will record for twice the time at the same high quality.

Hi Tom

How to you get your Minidisc recordings into your computer? Do you play them via your videocamera to get to your computer? What cable(s) should I get for this do you think? The little Minidisc (same as yours) I got had some rust around the battery contacts. I've scraped the rust away and used the tip of a knife to make the contacts touch a little better, and it seems to be working okay now :o)

There's an 'optical cable' with the Minidisc but I'm not sure if I can plug this into my XHA1 (ideally would like to attach the Minidisc directly to my iMac).

As regards the Jessops tabletop tripod/clamp I wrote to them "Dear Sir/Madam, For the Jessops Clamp/Table Tripod (Stock Code : 1018506) I need the one with the coarse plastic thread rather than the brass (fine) thread. Can you please clarify the Stock Code of the Jessops Clamp/Table Tripod which has the coarse plastic thread? I look forward to hearing from you, and placing my order. Regards, Peter"

They replied "Dear Peter Dunphy,

Thank-you for your email.

The Jessops Clamp/Table Tripod (Stock Code : 1018506) has a brass thread and is not plastic.


Regards
Lee Warren
Jessops Sales"

I've since written back to them with "Hi Lee

I've been advised by a videographer that there is a Jessops Clamp/Table Tripod available with a coarse plastic thread. Can you please advise which Stock Code it would be?

Regards

Peter"

...so I'll hope for the best :o)

If the plastic one is not available, would the brass thread one still be okay to use do you think?
_________

[Tom Hardwick]

Originally Posted by Peter Dunphy

Hi Tom How to you get your Minidisc recordings into your computer? If the plastic one is not available, would the brass thread one still be okay to use do you think?

I take the audio out of the Minidisc's headphone socket as the optical cable is only line in, The quality is still high because the mic is where you want it to be, and not where the camera wants to be.

The coarse threaded version will be fine - it just takes far longer to tighten it up, that's all.

tom.

[Peter Dunphy]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

I take the audio out of the Minidisc's headphone socket as the optical cable is only line in, The quality is still high because the mic is where you want it to be, and not where the camera wants to be.

The coarse threaded version will be fine - it just takes far longer to tighten it up, that's all.

tom.

Thanks Tom,

The audio from the headphones socket - does that cable go straight into your camera? Am not sure what cable I should scour Ebay for :o)

BTW I went for 100 Sony Premiums and a Head Cleaner :o)

Peter

[Tom Hardwick]

You did good on the tapes. Use the head cleaner sparingly.

The audio cable is a stereo 1/8" mini plug (same as your headphones of course) and it will terminate in whatever your sound card input is - often the same plug. I go in through my Storm bay, so it's normal phone sockets for me.

Sync it up on the timeline visually at one frame resolution and away you go.

tom.

[Peter Dunphy]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

You did good on the tapes. Use the head cleaner sparingly.

The audio cable is a stereo 1/8" mini plug (same as your headphones of course) and it will terminate in whatever your sound card input is - often the same plug. I go in through my Storm bay, so it's normal phone sockets for me.

Sync it up on the timeline visually at one frame resolution and away you go.

tom.

Thanks Tom, I've just volunteered to shoot my uncle's wedding for free on the 22nd! My two wireless lavs are on the way and I got my tabletop/clamp tripod today from Jessops, albeit with the brass thread as the ones with the plastic thread couldn't be obtained for love nor money :o)

And for anyone that's intererested in connecting their Minidisc to iMac here's some additional useful info I found:

"1/8" to 1/8" stereo cable , to the Line input of the iMac , You can go into Utilities , to Audio Midi setup and Adjust the input for Mic or Line level . then go to System Preferences / Sound and adjust the gain ( it has Meters so you can see the input level ) set the 900 to "Line Out" in the menu ( Audio Output)

Next Download Either "Final Vinyl " from Apple Downloads ( Very clean recorder , good audio quality) or if you want something more involved , Audacity is another freeby

Audio Recorder 3.1 also works and is VERY simple , multiple format recorder

Final Apple - Downloads - Audio - Final Vinyl

Audacity Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder

Audio Recorder http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17392 "

[Shahryar Rizvi]

I know this thread is wedding oriented, but since there's a spectacular discussion of MD usage going on, I wanted to chime in and take any advice anyone has to offer:

Originally Posted by Peter Dunphy

That's great Tom thanks :o) I can't wait to use it. It will also be incredibly handy for recording sound effects for a couple of short films I'm about to make.

I've also bid for a MKE300 Sennheiser mic to use in conjunction with the Minidisc recorder. Fingers crossed I get it. You mentioned it's best to record on the Minidisc in Mono. On the detail page of the MKE300 it states "Please note this mike has been fitted with a stereo 3.5mm jack shorted to mono." I suppose the mic having been 'shorted to mono' wouldn't cause me any bother would it, since I'm recording in Mono anyway?

I purchased a Sony MZ-RH1 Hi-MD unit back in the Spring of 2007 and my main use so far has been to record stand up comedy with it (I record myself and other comedians). Like you Peter, soon I would like to use my Hi-MD for short films too. So far I've used my Hi-MD pretty passively, taking it out here and there. Saving the audio just to hear it out, but never using it (I just used the built in mic on my Sony HC1 and it was always fine for what was needed).

When I bought my MZ-RH1, I bought it from sound professionals and it came with the SP-BMC-2 Omnidirectional Stereo Microphones with clips. I also added on a SP-SPSB-2 SOUND PROFESSIONALS SUPER MINI BATTERY MODULE for $59.00 with a 6" output cable. Whenever I used this, I would take the mics into the battery module, put that in the optical line in, and record near my camera. The volume was always a lot lower than the sound I got in my camera, but (I believe) it did sound cleaner.

I had also picked up a $25 Omnidirectional Mono Microphone ( w/ 5 foot cable) from giant-squid-audio-lab.com around the time I bought my minidisc, but never got around to using it. Finally when I mysteriously lost my mini battery module this year, I started attaching the Giant Squid Audio Lab mic to my shirt and connecting the mic to the Hi-MD that I would keep in my back pocket while on stage.

I really would like to try this table top tripod method that's been discussed here. Getting a direct line from the PA has never worked out and for most of the shows I record, it's a small room with a mic that plugs into a big speaker that's sort of behind the comedian. I know in better rooms like the Improv or something, the sound comes from all over so maybe for there, I need a different solution.

I had gotten a lot of advice in two forums over on minidisc.org:
1) Recording standup: Recording Stand up / Stand-up comedy - Best Minidisc Solution? - Minidisc Community Forums
2) Using a minidisc on a video production:Using Minidisc For Video Production - Minidisc Community Forums

One of the ultimate things recommended for me was to purchase the AT822. I hadn't got around to doing it, but now that I'm an XH-A1 owner (thanks Dave!, http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...078#post932078), I'd like to finally make the purchase for this mic.

I'd love to hear any further thoughts in regards to using the MD in general or the MD w/ the Canon XH-A1.

[Stanley Law]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

Peter - here's a shot of the mini recording set-up I use on the top table (shown here with the Sharp recorder that was lifted). It's generally backup, but I do love backup, any backup. The fold up stand is from Jessups, less than 15 quid.

A little self contained Minidisc recording set-up. So useful for audio backup.

The tie-clip mic is a Sony. Pretty cheap but then a cheap mic up close rocks I always say. In fact often the vows from the couple are 'too clear' in the church because of this close micing, and need to be downgraded somewhat with a mix from the shotgun.

tom.

That is absolutely brilliant Tom.

Another supporter of MD is myself. I've been using MD for over a decade now and I love the format. Another thought is the hundreds of thousands of writes and rewrites possible on the MD. The heads are a little fragile, but now since its a defunct standard, you can easily purchase replacement units cheaply.

Solid State recording definitely has a barrier to entry in price.

MD Recorders at the highest quality are almost as good as tape!

[Peter Dunphy]

Originally Posted by Stanley Law

That is absolutely brilliant Tom.

Another supporter of MD is myself. I've been using MD for over a decade now and I love the format. Another thought is the hundreds of thousands of writes and rewrites possible on the MD. The heads are a little fragile, but now since its a defunct standard, you can easily purchase replacement units cheaply.

Solid State recording definitely has a barrier to entry in price.

MD Recorders at the highest quality are almost as good as tape!

I've copied the exact same setup and it works a charm! :o)

[Tom Hardwick]

No motor noise getting through Peter? A mod I've made is to have the top and bottom clamp jaws held away from the MD recorder itself by fairly thick (10 mm) foam rubber, helping to isolate the mic.

[Peter Dunphy]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

No motor noise getting through Peter? A mod I've made is to have the top and bottom clamp jaws held away from the MD recorder itself by fairly thick (10 mm) foam rubber, helping to isolate the mic.

Good idea Tom thanks! Where would be good to buy the foam rubber do you think? B+Q?

[Tom Hardwick]

I had some on the workshop shelf. Better yet is to mount the mic in the Rode elasticated isolation unit. Quite cheap - I think about £25