Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: AAR.oner on February 25, 2005, 09:00:07 PM
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hello all...a friend i was speaking to re: some taping questions pointed me in yer direction...he said this is the spot for answers, and after searchin in numerous threads, i thought i'd spell out my specific situation for more specific answers..so here goes...
i am a film maker and am gonna be doing some live video recordings...we've decided to capture the audio AUD and i need some advice re: mics and battery boxes and pre's....i've been collecting shows for a while now, and after reviewing my favorites and checking the rigs used to record them, well, i simply don't have $2K for a pair of mics!!! so i asked the folks over at trader's den and, based on my limited budget, received 3 mic recommendations: AKG C1000S, Rode NT3, and Oktava MC012...
being that i already have access to both the C1000Ss and the NT3s, i do believe thats the route i prefer to take [little to no budget on this one! plus could the oktava's be THAT much better?!] so, of these two mics, which will give me a better sound in a medium sized hall [anywhere between 20'-40' from stage--i know thats a ways away for this "level" of mic but...]
next question: i need a good battery box to run these off of as i'm not ever a fan of stickin batteries in a mic...what's yer recommendations?
next question: i'm going to be recording on a PCM-M1 [which i've actually never used before], but don't really trust its built-in pre's...what i would like would be to find a decent little "portable box" with good preamps [i don't need focusrite's or anything, but something better than what the m1 offers]
last question: need a good telescoping mic stand [atleast 12'-15'] and 2-mic bar for fairly cheap [these aren't gonna be "on tour" so they won't be gettin beat to hell--i want good & sturdy but bulletproof isn't necessary!]
If anyone can help, i'd appreciate it greatly! best yet, if you can give me what yer setup chain would be given these parameters, starting with either the C1000S's OR Rode NT3's > ? > PCM-M1, that'd be ideal...if you want to add yer opinion regarding mic setup i'd be more than willing to take that advice as well [i.e. X-Y, etc, etc]
KEEP IN MIND: i need to stay under $500 for all the above, or as close as possible [i know i'm crazy but thats owning yer own business for ya]
again thanks for the help...this is by far one of the most comprehensive "live recording" forums i've ever seen--can't believe that after reading about this site so many times back on STG that i never checked it out...well done TS Mods!
[as i mentioned earlier, i've yet to use this M1 and am sure i'm going to have some ?s for those with experience, but i'll save that for a few days from now!]
SLAINTE! aar.onerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
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Welcome to ts.your gonna love it. I can only speak with limited knowledge but here goes.mind you this is all just my opinion. I have c1000s I love them they'er versital (card or hyper), you don't need a battery box or phantom power, they sound ok ( kinda brite),and heres the big one CHEAP.As far as the concern about running on self powered mics they last forever in c1ks. I also have an M1 and you can run right into your mic in but in order to use your line in you'll need that pre. Theres another reason for the pre,the pre in the M1 is very noisey. I just recently added the UA-5 to my rig and never realized just how loud the pre is till I could compare the two ina cotroled setting.Mic Stand again this is just my opinion but,theres astore on ebay I think its called Amnova they sell light stands and thats what you are looking for.I picked up a 10 footer that I can actually get to 11.5' with foot print a little smaller for like 20 bucks shipped. Your going to need an adapter from some where if you do I probably have an extra layin around some where. Mic bar can also be done relatively cheap check your local giutar store that were I got my first one.Hell I may even have that somewhere too. T bar ok? You can do this under 500 easy. If you not in to big of a hurry.I paid 90 bucks for my Edirol UA-5, as long as you already have the M1 for storage it can be done! Good luck,Ron
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which [C1000S, NT3) will give me a better sound in a medium sized hall?
I've never been a big fan of the Rode mics, so I'd go with the AKG C1000S.
i need a good battery box to run these off of as i'm not ever a fan of stickin batteries in a mic...
Why not? Just stick the batts in the C1000S and you're ready to go!
find a decent little "portable box" with good preamps
If you want to keep things very low cost, you could run
C1000S (internal battery) > Hosa MIT-176 > D100 (line-in)
The MIT176s (~$40/pr) are low-z to high-z line transformers that apply a fixed amount of gain. How loud will your sound source be? These'll only work if it's pretty loud. If it's a quiet sound source, you'll need more gain and I'd recommend something like:
C1000s > Oade Bros digi-mod Edirol UA5 > M1 (digital-in)
The digi-mod UA5 runs ~$300 new at Oade Bros, less used, and say $50 for a power solution. There's a FAQ on the UA5 in the Archive | Pres, ADs, & Processors forum, make sure you read it to get a handle on what the digi-mod does, pros/cons of buying from the Oade Bros vs. stock and modding yourself, power options. The UA5 will provide phantom power for the mics, so you can ditch the C1000S internal batts if you wish.
need a good telescoping mic stand [atleast 12'-15'] and 2-mic bar for fairly cheap
Mic stands - plenty of options, check out the Archive | Microphones forum for a post on popular stands and another on stereo bar options, or search EBay for "light stand". Shouldn't need to spend more than $50 on the stand and $25 on the stereo bar.
So, if you run the UA, you're looking at $300 new + $50 new power pack + $50 light stand + $25 stereo bar + shipping and you're close to $500. Of course, all of this gear can be found significantly cheaper used.
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thanks for the info...quite helpful...checked out oade.com [which i've never been to] and was amazed at what they're doing...definitely gonna purchase a ua-5 from them...
another question, saw the SP C4 cardioids on their site--how does those sound in comparison to say the C1000S's...are they any more "full sounding" [better low-end]?
again thanks for the link to oade and yer suggestions...CHEERS!
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another question, saw the SP C4 cardioids on their site--how does those sound in comparison to say the C1000S's...are they any more "full sounding" [better low-end
Please don't misunderstand c1000s will give you plenty of bass if you want pm an addresse and I'll be happy to send a copy of a recent show.
Gregg Allman & Friends 2/20/05
c1000s(hyper)>stock UA-5>PCM-M1 (Line In)
My UA-5 hasn't had any mods done yet I use it as pre through the1/4" outs.
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I would go with the Oktavas over the c1000s. I just have never cared for the sound of the c1000s, but to each his own. I ran Oktava MC012 for a while and really liked them - especially for the price.
My $0.02.
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where are you located? You could always ask an experienced taper with a killer rig to come out and help. I know I would, if it's nearby....
+T for a fun project!!
h
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depending on how "live" the hall is, the hyper feature on the c-1000's may make a huge difference. C-4's don't have hyper caps available yet, but you can get octava's w/ hypers.
Matt
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cheers! thanks for the added info ya'll...
i do believe i'm actually gonna shell out a bit of extra $ and pick up a pair of SP C4s in addition to the ua5...htanks to those who turned me onto the oade bros. site--that ua5 digimod is gonna work better for film audio recording than the shure deck we've been using! plus, with the C4s, i wouldn't mind havin a new mic to play with in the studio, and at $300 for a matched pair...why not?!?!
thanks for all the info...glad i found TS for all this help...& now i have an excuse to buy equipment for "the business" that i can also use on weekends!
slainte!
aar.onerrrrrrrrrrr