AT897 and flat/roll off switch at DVinfo.net

Marc Lipschultz · June 16th, 2005, 01:17 PM

Obviously a newbie question here, but ...

I just bought an AT897 and I see it has a flat/roll-off switch. Upper setting is slightly curved and the bottom setting is flat.

Can someone please explain what each setting is (I assume the flat icon is for the flat setting, but you never know) and what environment I would use each for?

Thanks alot in advance.

marc

Mark Burlingame · June 16th, 2005, 02:29 PM

The flat setting should be just that, flat. The other should be a low frequency roll off (which also can be called a high-pass filter) this cuts off low frequency vibrations, rumble, bumps, etc... these mics are very sensitive and usually you are not wanting to pick up these very low frequency sounds. I always have them enabled. Mark

David Ennis · June 16th, 2005, 02:31 PM

Correct, Marc. The straight icon indicates the flat setting and the curved one the bass roll-off position.

Sometimes you might want to reduce (roll off) the bass response of the mic. Examples are to reduce background rumble due to traffic noise or air conditioning, or to to counter the "proximity effect" of excessive bass due to having the mic very close to a person's mouth.

Marc Lipschultz · June 16th, 2005, 02:33 PM

great thanks.

The guy at the audio store told me I might want to put it on the flat setting if I was doing any narration/voiceover work. Do you agree with that?

Nate Ford · June 16th, 2005, 05:10 PM

i would agreee with that, as long as you're careful with placement and maybe consider a pop filter (those are about $25 at places like musician's friend, etc.)

i mainly use the low cut for outside use, where wind often creates low-frequency rumbling. but for v.o., the thing to be careful of (in terms of low-freq stuff,) is plosives.

if you repeat the word "purple," (or something else with p's,) and move your hand from side to side in front of your face, you'll feel the "p's" when your hand is in front of your mouth. that little blast of air, which is very directional, often translates into a low frequency pop/bumping sound on mics. if you play with mic positioning, and/or get a pop filter, you can avoid it.

i usually try to get my sound right first with acoustics, mic placement, etc, and only use electronic fixes when necesary. but, there's nothing especially evil about the high pass filter. they typically cut out stuff below like 80 or 100 hz, which you don't really need for what you're doing.

June 16th, 2005, 01:17 PM	#1
Marc Lipschultz New Boot Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 17	AT897 and flat/roll off switch Obviously a newbie question here, but ... I just bought an AT897 and I see it has a flat/roll-off switch. Upper setting is slightly curved and the bottom setting is flat. Can someone please explain what each setting is (I assume the flat icon is for the flat setting, but you never know) and what environment I would use each for? Thanks alot in advance. marc

June 16th, 2005, 02:29 PM	#2
Mark Burlingame Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 77	The flat setting should be just that, flat. The other should be a low frequency roll off (which also can be called a high-pass filter) this cuts off low frequency vibrations, rumble, bumps, etc... these mics are very sensitive and usually you are not wanting to pick up these very low frequency sounds. I always have them enabled. Mark __________________ DVX100a, PV-DV953 Rode NT3, NT1a, videomic Raynox HD6600pro WA Lens Vegas6+DVD

June 16th, 2005, 02:31 PM	#3
David Ennis Fred Retread Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 1,227	Correct, Marc. The straight icon indicates the flat setting and the curved one the bass roll-off position. Sometimes you might want to reduce (roll off) the bass response of the mic. Examples are to reduce background rumble due to traffic noise or air conditioning, or to to counter the "proximity effect" of excessive bass due to having the mic very close to a person's mouth. __________________ "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence..." - Calvin Coolidge "My brain is wired to want to know how other things are wired." - Me

June 16th, 2005, 02:33 PM	#4
Marc Lipschultz New Boot Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 17	great thanks. The guy at the audio store told me I might want to put it on the flat setting if I was doing any narration/voiceover work. Do you agree with that?

June 16th, 2005, 05:10 PM	#5
Nate Ford Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: new york, ny Posts: 121	i would agreee with that, as long as you're careful with placement and maybe consider a pop filter (those are about $25 at places like musician's friend, etc.) i mainly use the low cut for outside use, where wind often creates low-frequency rumbling. but for v.o., the thing to be careful of (in terms of low-freq stuff,) is plosives. if you repeat the word "purple," (or something else with p's,) and move your hand from side to side in front of your face, you'll feel the "p's" when your hand is in front of your mouth. that little blast of air, which is very directional, often translates into a low frequency pop/bumping sound on mics. if you play with mic positioning, and/or get a pop filter, you can avoid it. i usually try to get my sound right first with acoustics, mic placement, etc, and only use electronic fixes when necesary. but, there's nothing especially evil about the high pass filter. they typically cut out stuff below like 80 or 100 hz, which you don't really need for what you're doing.