Sorry for taking so long to respond again! I'll respond to comments in order.
Russell: Interesting... definitely something to think about. I hadn't thought about the mic possibly being over-driven before going into the pad, but it totally makes sense. I just figured the pad control was "moved" to the receiver instead. When I get a chance at school, I'll see if I can test this. Our mics are the high sensitivity versions, so this could be the issue. The only other show we've done with the QLXD1's since moving from the ULX's was a play, so no music involved and actors spoke more quietly. You might have hit the jackpot!
Kevin:
- I do the same for strain relief. Since I mic on the left side for kissing/hugging purposes, I ask actors to turn their head all the way to the right before taping on their neck. That way, they've got all the capability to move their head they need.
- Your tip about putting tape on before makeup then mic'ing after is GENIUS! I think I'll do that for the next show I work on.
- [Your third paragraph] This is what Russell was saying too, and it seems to make a lot of sense. I'll try the test you suggested when I get a chance and I'll report back.
- During the show, the person mixing can't see the receivers. We know it's not ideal, and we're actually "renovating" our sound booth area very soon (hopefully >one month) to make it more efficient. I've attached a picture of what it looks like now, a superimposed image of the design for the new part, and a diagram of the benefits of this new plan. Although it looks like there's a wall right next to the ear of the person mixing, in actuality the sound isn't impacted by this.
Mark: I'm going to try your suggestion. I had tried it in between shows when the run was still going on and that didn't fix the issue, but I'll try it again, yelling louder.
Kevin again: Yes! This is exactly what happened to us. I'll try your test and report back.
Eric: I agree, it's seeming more and more like this is related to the problem. Based on what Russell and Kevin said, it seems like the issue is that I can't pad the mic's level down before it goes into the pack's preamp. This could definitely cause my issue!
Kevin again again: Yep, your analogy seems just right. Like the camera op, I never saw an issue with my meters, since I wasn't looking at the mic's meter (I figured it was mirrored on the receiver, which wasn't peaking, but I didn't know about the mic possibly overloading the pack's preamp before the signal even got to the receiver).
Guys, I think you might have figured it out! Thank you so much for all your suggestions. It's really fun and educational for me to hear your thoughts and conversation on the forum.
I'll test out some of these suggestions and report back on how the tests go. If you have other questions about our setup, just ask!
