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I have to much gain on my basedrumchannel and my overhead channels. I use a Mackie sr24-4 board, atm25 basedrummic. and RODE nt5 as overheadmics. I use the Mackies inserts as direct outs to my soundcard which has 8 balanced inputs. I can't place the basedrummic. inside the basedrum, cause the signal is just to hot, even with the gain fully down! If placed a few meters outside the basedrum its ok.,but thats not the sound I want. The same with my overheadmics (don't worry I didn't place them in the basedrum). If I place them behind the drummers head, the signal is just to loud, so it distorts when the drummer hits his floor or snare. There are no switches to reduce the signal with 10 or 20 db. What to do?

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KurtFoster Sun, 03/09/2003 - 09:33

I don't have any experience with the ATM 25 mic but I have some of the Pro 35 clip ons that are of the same series. I have this same problem with them. Audio Technica makes a pad that attenuates the signal of these mics in 3 steps of 10dB. 10/20/30 dB. This has been the solution for me. Last time I checked, they were about $35 USD... Kurt
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anonymous Mon, 03/10/2003 - 07:56

That specific brand of mackie console have really
really really bad preamps it's hard to get anything smooth going through them invest in a couple of pres even cheaper ones but for God sakes don't use those! haha just a little over the top humor but no seriously I can guarantee that is your problem. Peace

KurtFoster Mon, 03/10/2003 - 09:39

It's not the pres on the Mackie that are distorting. It's that those mics are very hot and need a pad. I speak from experience. The Pro 35’s I spoke of, overload the inputs on any console I have ever used them on including large format "Pro" consoles and my Neve/Amek 9098's.

I believe that all the pres in Mackies are of the same ilk. There is a difference between the different series of boards, original, VLZ and VLZ Pro. While the pres on the Mackie aren't anything to write home about, they are useable. Just be sure to keep the gain down to about -10dB. There are other issues with Mackie consoles such as weak power supplies that contribute to an overall lack of headroom and so-so eq's. They are not really much worse however than the pres found on many low end digital boards like the Yamaha O2R.

Not everyone has the luxury of having access to a world class console and equipment. These individuals need to learn to make due with what they have. I submit it takes talent to be able to eeek out good sound from budget gear. Anyone can plug something into a Neve and have it sound good. That's a no brainier. ... Kurt
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