Sennheiser Shotgun Mic/audio problems
 

Hello. I have the MK66 (i believe) Sennheiser shotgun Mic for my XL1S. I recorded a concert with it. However the entire audio was messed up when I watched it with closed ear headphones. Here are all my settings info. I put the mic in audio 1 with rec level set to manual, imput select set to audio 1, level was at max and balance right in the middle, and audio 2 rec level set to auto and balance set to middle, level at max, and also set to mic att 20, mix select variable, and 12 bit st 1.

I think I had the audio levels set to max it drowned out the noise, and the audio is barely useable because it was to long. does anyone know what I did wrong and how I could fix this? what exact settings should I use for the future? thanks!
all i want is clear, balanced, hearable audio.

> audio is barely useable because it was to long.

Not sure what you mean. Was it distorted?

I gather that you had the ME66 connected to the Audio 1 input. Was Audio 1 set to MIC, MIC ATT, or LINE level?

Note that the ME66 has a relatively high output level, so if you had the input set to MIC and manual gain at MAX, there is a reasonable chance that the input was oveloaded with corrsdponding distortion caused by clipping. In manual gain mode one has to monigot the meters to keep levels in an aceptable range.

However, the Audio 1 input factory defaults to LINE level setting, so if the recorded audio was too low, that is likely why.

A common issue: if you were monitoring the concert with earphones - you have to be sure you use resonably sensitive earphones with good isolation, otherwise the ambient sound leaking in will make it difficult to judge the recorded sound.

re
 

My Audio 1 was set to Mic ATT, however I did have it to manual levels and it was at max, so this is probably why, so you think i should just put the audio level at automatic not manual?

test

As Nathan suggest, test is the best way to decide. In any case, it will depend on the program material. Auto gain and MIC ATT should work of for some program material - depends on whether or not you are trying to preserve the natural dynamic range of the program, or want to keet it at roughly equal loudness.

But good idea to learn to use the meter for audio, especially in situations where earphones are not easy to use.