zoom recorder for receptions

[Jim Stamos]

i posted issues on here about my hot audio from a reception with my ex1r. someone suggesting putting a zoom recorder in front of one of the bands speakers for audio. why wouldnt it get too hot as well? the audio is clean?

[Marcus Durham]

Originally Posted by Jim Stamos

i posted issues on here about my hot audio from a reception with my ex1r. someone suggesting putting a zoom recorder in front of one of the bands speakers for audio. why wouldnt it get too hot as well? the audio is clean?

You're not being very clear on why you want this setup. Why can't you hook a Zoom directly into their PA for a proper clean feed?

The Zoom is pretty versatile however and has half decent limiters on it. So you can set it up so if there are any sudden "surprises" it should just hit the limiter.

[Chuck Fishbein]

Also make sure that everything will be coming out of the PA system. In some situations, not every instrument (drums, bass) is mic'd or plugged into the mixer and that instrument might be missing from the mix.

[Jim Stamos]

im asking about this because the mic on the ex1r is useless and as far as plugging in, some djs/bands are jerks about it and wont let you or they say it will mess things up which we know it absolutely wont. this is unfortunate that a camera very good on so many levels gives you hot audio where theres loud music. ive shot 100s of weddings for 12 years with my dsr300 and never had an issue. also, some bands dont have audio guys there and thats even worse to deal with. and when i can go into the board i dont get the crowd sounds that make it better

[Marcus Durham]

Originally Posted by Jim Stamos

im asking about this because the mic on the ex1r is useless

Surely the mic on the EX1 is only as bad as the one you put on it? Or are you trying to use the internal mic?

The mic on the Zoom is OK but not great. But the unit does have various options for limiting or compressing the audio. You might want to consider a high quality mic that can cope with high audio levels plugged into the Zoom with the limiter set carefully.

Then sync it all up later with the wonderful Pluraleyes.

[Don Bloom]

And this is why I NEVER plug into the bands/DJs board. first many of the DJs don't know their gear well enough to be able to give an out. Second, the last time I did (this at a wedding reception) the DJ was a total idiot and unless the levels were pegged at 12 on a scale of 1 to 10 it wasn't loud enough and his inability to realize good from bad unfortunately cost me in not so good sound.
After much head scratching I found this idea right here on good old DVi, some years ago. I use a Sennheiser E604 drum mic with my plug in transmitter placed in front of the speaker. I put that signal to channel 2 on my camera (I set the transmitter to -6db) and then on my camera I use an AKG Blueline Hypercaroid going to channel 1 on my camera. I have numerous options to control levels. First my receiver (AT1821 dual channel) has levels adjustment on it. Second of course the camera has adjustments in the form of wheels to adjust each channel. Thirdly the camera has a built in -20db attenuation for each channel and finally the Hypercaroid has a -10 attenuation switch on the barrel. Gives me lots of latitude and immediate control as needed.
The drum mic gets everything the speakers put out, and captures the lower end of the music spectrum. The hyper gets the upper end of the music along with the room ambience and if someone is doing a speech and holds the mic in the wrong place like down at their stomach, the hypercaroid gets it.
While it may not be a perfect setup, it has worked very well for me over the years. I can monitor all the audio coming into the camera and my audio post production time has been cut way way down. Also if there is a screw up, I can't blame anyone but ME. No mumbling under my breath about what a bad DJ he was. This set up works very well for bands at a reception as well.
Like anything else we use, we just need to know the limitations.

[Thomas Gregory]

I agree with Don, and here's my twist on it. I run an SM58 (can pound nails with them and they still sound great) into a wireless transmitter. Set the attenuation at -6 or -9db, Hook the receiver to my EX1, and no matter where I go in the room, great audio mix. I place the mike on a boom stand about 2-3 feet in front of the speaker cabinet, so I get crowd noise with it too. Sounds great! The Introductions, toasts, music, all sounds good.

[Dave Stewart]

I've had very little success coming out of the board into a wireless or zoom. The guy running it either has it too loud or too soft. I did a video job for a couple of bands and the board guy sent the mix except it was missing the vocals - wth?! I used a zoom near a speaker at a wedding where a flute was played during the ceremony and it sounded fantastic. Also, the remote wireless mic to camera works well. I think if you're coming out of the board, then it needs to be set up and tested first with a knowledgeable sound reinforcement crew. It's dicey to just show up and ask for a -12db out from their board. The audio guy often just cocks his head and says "huh"?

[Jim Stamos]

thomas, sometimes its so crowded setting it up on a boom pole will risk someone hitting hit. i iwll test to see how well it sounds setting it on top of the speker. hopefully it will pick the sound up good.
thx
too bad, theres not a good boom mic i can mount to the camera to get good audio from the band without hving to put a wirless near the speakers,..ridiculous

[Don Bloom]

I've never had a problem with a mic stand on the floor in fron of the speakers. Of course the mic is only about 3 to 4 inches in front of the speaker (remember its a drum mic so i can take the high SPLs) and the stands fits neatly in between the legs of the speaker stand. A boom would be even better IMO because you can put it off to the side and even slightly behind the speaker stand. The stands are usually slightly behind the DJs table where his computer and mixer are plus they're pretty heavy. I've never seen anyone knock them over.
If anyone hits it, then they're probably drunker than your average bear.