So I want to get into taping, but I also don't want people asking me questions, and I want to be able to hang out with friends at shows or talk while I'm taping.
How do all of you get around that? What are some sleek setups that sound really good without taking your attention away from just having fun at a show too. Or what are some tips for leaving the recorder on its own to do the work while you enjoy the show?
For example, for my first setup I went with binaural mics that go in my ear, with a cord that can go under my shirt so it'll look like I'm just wearing ear plugs or something. But, what happens when I start getting into higher quality or want to talk to people next to me while the show is going? I'm wondering how my first show will go with this setup.
Taping is pretty hard-core if you want good results. That being said, you can get "listenable" results with the internal mics of a small pocket recorder...
From your posts, it sounds like you want to tape bands that don't necessarily allow it... In that case, you should actively start talking to them to see if they might actually let you tape... If not, plan on doing some work...
Get to know the Sound Guys at the venues you attend. Buy them beers, kiss their asses. When you finally want to record, talk to them. You might be able to put your Rig in their booth. The Tapers in Raleigh have been around long enough that most of the Sound Guys know how to deal with us and are willing to help...
Some of the small pocket recorders have a place to screw in a mount. You could buy an adapter so you could use a clamp. Then you could clamp the recorder in position, perhaps overhead on the ceiling or whatever, and leave it there knowing that it would be a PITA to get it down, thus hard to steal...
So like, you get to the venue early. Get a bar stool and clamp your recorder to an overhead steal beam and hit record... Walk away and retrieve at the end of the night... I think if you set your levels low enough (you'll get the hang of it - go test it with shows you don't care about), you'll get a good enough recording that you could EQ later...
Or you can put it in the Sound Guys area, once you get to know him... Maybe he'll give you a SBD patch?!?
Terry