Important Tip! Remote Recording & Cell (Mobile) Phones......

[XLR2XLR]

We all love our phones but here is a top tip that could in theory prevent a ruined recording.

Get each band member to switch their mobiles off, I recently had to do a copy and paste on a live gigs keyboard line cause the player left his mobile on and I got the
digital pulses through his almost certainly unbalanced cabling.

Worth noting IMO.

cheers

[Thomas W. Bethe]

What about all the people in the audience? Some cell phones are notorious for "broadcasting" digital noise. The front row in some theaters is close enough to the stage to have their signals picked up. Most places today tell the audience to turn off their cell phones but what a majority of people do is put them on vibrate and not turn them off. It is a mess.

[Corran]

I don't know if I've been extremely lucky or just have good cables, but I've never had any cell phone interference problems, even with my phone vibrating in my pocket right next to the recording device (I do usually turn it off - but I do forget sometimes).

[XLR2XLR]

Sure but a band member should know better if they are being recorded IMO.

If not, it should be mentioned especially those using guitars and keyboards which has unbalanced cabling and sesnitive
unbalanced pick ups.

Never seen a "turn mobile off" in the UK before!

[JPeters86]

Originally Posted by Thomas W. Bethe

What about all the people in the audience? Some cell phones are notorious for "broadcasting" digital noise. The front row in some theaters is close enough to the stage to have their signals picked up. Most places today tell the audience to turn off their cell phones but what a majority of people do is put them on vibrate and not turn them off. It is a mess.

When I record a live gig or something I always ask the audience to turn off their cell phones during the show before the band kicks in. I tell them stuff is being recorded and that cell phone interference can render the recording unusable. I guess most people want to avoid feeling guilty so they comply.

[klaukholm]

the Concertgebouw has a very effective way of dealing with this.
A loud cell phone signal through the PA followed by an announcement.
It works very well, and it's quite funny the first time you hear it.

[d_fu]

The actual pulsating cellphone interference is easier to deal with in post than a phone ringing in the audience... (or, for that matter, mains hum)

It's a series of pulses that a good declicker or even manual removal can deal with. I still keep good ol' Cool Edit Pro 1.3 for the "Remove single click" feature. Takes time, but can be done.

BTW, your posting looked like spam (touting mobiles) at first glance...

[edwinhurwitz]

I think the modern generation of phones are a lot worse than previous phones, now that they have G3 networks and other data services. When I moved to an iPhone, I got a lot of interference, whereas before, I had none at all. When my band was recording a record this past December, we had a ritual of powering down the iPhones. As more people get iPhones, the more we're going to have these issues.


Edwin

[Remoteness]

Check this thread out from the open book called "Remote Possibilities."

Cell Phones and Microphones?

[MichaelPatrick]

Balanced lines and active electronics are also susceptible. I ask everyone to turn cellphones off if they are anywhere near gear.

Question: Is it enough to turn off the radio, i.e. airline mode?

[edwinhurwitz]

Originally Posted by MichaelPatrick

Balanced lines and active electronics are also susceptible. I ask everyone to turn cellphones off if they are anywhere near gear.

Question: Is it enough to turn off the radio, i.e. airline mode?

Not in my experience. It needs to be all the way off. I'm not sure why that is, but there it is!

Edwin

[MichaelPatrick]

Originally Posted by edwinhurwitz

Not in my experience. It needs to be all the way off. I'm not sure why that is, but there it is!

Safe is better than sorry. Thx!

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by MichaelPatrick

Balanced lines and active electronics are also susceptible. I ask everyone to turn cellphones off if they are anywhere near gear.

Question: Is it enough to turn off the radio, i.e. airline mode?

in flight mode nothing will be received or transmitted so its just the same as any electronic device in your pocket thats not doing anything. i cant see any problem with it but if its not anything why bother having it on at all?

ive never had any problems with balanced lines either, so even when the audience is close to or even on top of a snake ive never worried. ive even had my phone on top and next to consoles and people using wireless internet on the same network with out a problem. can you explain when you've had problems with balanced lines?

its also worth noting that different countries use different bands which may cause different results.