Topic: What is the most casual way to tape + enjoy the show w/friends?

[psychwolf]

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.

[ScoobieKW]

1) Put your mics on a stand, and go somewhere else to talk.
2) Hang your mics from the ceiling or a balcony, and go somewhere else to talk.
3) Onstage + SBD Matrix, and go somewhere else to talk.
4) Find someone who hates to talk, give him the rig, and go somewhere else to talk
5) Remember that you paid big money for the music, and don't talk.

4 and 5 work at stealth shows, 1-3 work well when bands allow taping

[Phil Zone]

Check out church audio microphones, they are small and really easy to setup, you can get a mounting bar for them, making setup a breeze, and a battery box, church audio preamp, or naiant Tinyhead to power them and get gain. Then a recorder of some sort.

The trick to having a good time, is setup and get levels set, then take a step back and enjoy yourself. For stealth I don't know, I don't do it very often. Just get the mics up on a stand and talk not near them. As for people who want to Talk to you, if your with friends talk with them and don't acknowledge anyone else, and they will leave you alone.

[psychwolf]

Haha alright, yea usually when the music is playing none of us are trying to shout over it since I go to loud shows, so I'm in the same boat then and would be fine with some binaurals going.

I might setup my tascom on a mini-tripod in the back somewhere, but are you ever worried some of your stuff would get stolen? I usually don't know the sound guys at shows I want to tape heh.

And those Church mics sound good. Are these what you had in mind: http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/KP-WORSHIP ? I don't think I'm at that stage yet with price. I have to have a few awkward taping moments first before I can pretend I know what I'm doing and setup with multiple mics around the clubs I go to heh. I'd feel like there'd be a lot of pressure on me to put up a multi-mic setup with the people I know.

[Marshall7]

Leave it to someone else

[psychwolf]

Leave it to someone else

Nobody else is taping these shows unless it's with a handheld camera, and even then they usually get singled out by the drunks and are taking a beating up front of a speaker usually.

I'm new here and to each his own, but that kind of crap makes me want to leave already.

You have to start somewhere, so it might as well be with recording some original music and a small rig that grows throughout the years with practice. The other part of taping involves keeping it about the music and having the experience to not stick out. Plus, I don't have the experience to say I'm a taper with any kind of good setup yet like you may have.

[2manyrocks]

Don't mess with a camera tripod.  Find something to clamp your recorder to.  There are some cheap china clamps for cameras on ebay for under $7.00 that will work in many situations or sometimes you can luck into a Rowi camera clamp under $20. Fits in your pocket.  cheap.  Don't have to carry a tripod.  Easier to set up without tripping somebody which will get you in big trouble.

 

[psychwolf]

2) Hang your mics from the ceiling or a balcony, and go somewhere else to talk.

I like this since it's pretty impossible to get anything clean without getting jostled around on the floor of say a death metal show.

Any advice on some gear that's ideal for setting up before people arrive for a show, that wouldn't get jacked or could blend in well enough? I don't think the tech is there yet for wireless mics that I would be able to afford or risk not being jacked, but something like this is what I was thinking.

[2manyrocks]

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=150670.0

Useful ideas in this....find good spot, clamp your recorder, go hang out.

[psychwolf]

Don't mess with a camera tripod.  Find something to clamp your recorder to.  There are some cheap china clamps for cameras on ebay for under $7.00 that will work in many situations or sometimes you can luck into a Rowi camera clamp under $20. Fits in your pocket.  cheap.  Don't have to carry a tripod.  Easier to set up without tripping somebody which will get you in big trouble.

Cool I will check that out, that's what I was looking for some nice gear advice for that kind of thing. Yes I agree! Large tripods would make things awkward haha. I figured more like a mini tripod (3 inches high) that I could put the recorder under a hat or under something to both muffle the sound. That Rowi can really help me elevate the recorder above heads - great direction to go there for me I think.

[Marshall7]

Leave it to someone else

Nobody else is taping these shows unless it's with a handheld camera, and even then they usually get singled out by the drunks and are taking a beating up front of a speaker usually.

I'm new here and to each his own, but that kind of crap makes me want to leave already.

You have to start somewhere, so it might as well be with recording some original music and a small rig that grows throughout the years with practice. The other part of taping involves keeping it about the music and having the experience to not stick out. Plus, I don't have the experience to say I'm a taper with any kind of good setup yet like you may have.

I don't really care what kind of rig you have, everyone started somewhere...it's this comment that makes me think you're not serious about the whole idea:

"I want to be able to hang out with friends at shows or talk while I'm taping."

For most of us the biggest pet peeve we have is talkers ruining our recordings.  So for you to come flat out and say you're basically going to ruin your own...well, why bother?

[psychwolf]

For most of us the biggest pet peeve we have is talkers ruining our recordings.  So for you to come flat out and say you're basically going to ruin your own...well, why bother?

I can see how we got off on the wrong foot but I didn't mean finding a way to talk and record too. I just meant a way to not have my talking ruin the recording, and not having many mics set up which will have people expecting a lot out of me (which I can't meet as a newbie).

Some of the comments in the post here have pointed out some ways to tape and still talk to people I came with and enjoy the show, so I'm reassured to know it's common and okay to use a handheld, but I just need to be ready to clamp to any kind of surface. I figure having a decent clamp vs. a mini tripod to set somewhere is a great step in that direction too. Other tips and tricks like favorite places to set the recorders and not have them lost, damaged or stolen is great to have too since I haven't had to go through all of the dilemmas you all have yet.

[Scooter123]

Actually, its easier than you think.  Just three easy steps

1.  Buy a Nice Rig, Like  Schoeps or Neumann Mikes With a Quality Preamp and Recorder
2.  Give It To a Friend to Tape, and Rig Him Up
3.  Go the Bar With Your Friends and Talk and Drink to Your Heart's Content

[Cobiwan]

1) Put your mics on a stand, and go somewhere else to talk.
2) Hang your mics from the ceiling or a balcony, and go somewhere else to talk.
3) Onstage + SBD Matrix, and go somewhere else to talk.
4) Find someone who hates to talk, give him the rig, and go somewhere else to talk
5) Remember that you paid big money for the music, and don't talk.

4 and 5 work at stealth shows, 1-3 work well when bands allow taping

Thank you for that! I laughed so hard after reading this post.
Priceless

[hoppedup]

I hang out with my friends away from  my rig when I can while taping. These are two of those times:

1) Rig is in a safe spot and levels are good
2) Another taper is there and we take shifts

Otherwise, I sit/stand with the gear and watch levels all night. I miss out on a lot of pre-show activities with my friends because I need to get to the venue early for the sweet spot. If you want to make good tapes, you may have to forgo some enjoyment to make it happen.

If I want to go to a show and cut loose, I leave the gear at home.

[ScoobieKW]

1) Put your mics on a stand, and go somewhere else to talk.
2) Hang your mics from the ceiling or a balcony, and go somewhere else to talk.
3) Onstage + SBD Matrix, and go somewhere else to talk.
4) Find someone who hates to talk, give him the rig, and go somewhere else to talk
5) Remember that you paid big money for the music, and don't talk.

4 and 5 work at stealth shows, 1-3 work well when bands allow taping

Thank you for that! I laughed so hard after reading this post.


Priceless

You're welcome. 

One additional piece of advice for hoppedup, there are prebuilt times into a show to talk with your friends.

1. Preshow
2. Setbreak
3. Encore Break
4. After Show

The best part is that pesky band isn't playing so loud you have to shout.

[hoserama]

I do this all the time. It's easy for me.

Two methods so you can talk and drink and be stupid:
1. Show up before anybody else, often times including the band. Take direct outs off everything from the soundboard. Set up some microphones to run through the house system, then pick up the signal at the soundboard. You'll have to scream really loud for it to show up in the recording. Then spend hours at home mixing everything.
2. Run 5 ear monitor feeds into a multitrack recorder. Show up at soundcheck to find all the frequencies, then wire yourself up like a suicide bomber, and never leave your seat--no matter how badly you have to pee. But you can talk all you want!

Or the other way to look at it--the quality of the recording is highly dependent on how much you prioritize it. If you're prioritizing a bar night with your friends, then you'll get a good recording of a bar night with buddies.

[nulldogmas]

I'll mount mics on a nearby wall when possible so that I can be free to talk (or whisper, anyway — I hate people who hold audible conversations during shows, doubly so now that I'm taping), but more and more I resort to an easier solution: typing. When my wife and I go to shows together and I'm recording with head-mounted mics, we just discreetly pass a cellphone back and forth and type any comments we can't hold until the end of the set.

Also, to answer an OP question that I didn't see addressed: Nobody in the crowd ever asks any questions, in my experience. I could be carrying a ten-foot boom mic and wearing a fluorescent vest with "INTERESTED IN TAPING? ASK ME!" on it and I don't think anyone would say a word. (Except for one of my friends invariably asking, "Are you taping this?")

[Chuck]

Weird thread...

I can see how you drew the ire of some folks here. Many of us are very serious about taping. This is a forum devoted to live music recording, so it's a bit strange to read a post from a newcomer that wants to basically half-ass it and get good results.

It is the "hang out with friends at shows or talk while I'm taping" part of your post that drew the negative comments.

Many of us spend lots of our time and money on gear and tickets and don't understand why someone would pay to go to a live performance and talk through it. For us live performances are fleeting moments of joy that we want to capture and preserve for our own enjoyment and for people that were not fortunate enough to be at the event. Talking through a music performance is not only rude, but a waste of your money and annoying for people that are there to hear music.

That said, you can find lots of very good information on how to record live music at this site. You can achieve your goal if you do enough reading here. Just don't be surprised and offended when someone suggests that talking through a musical performance is not in line with the goal of making a good recording.

Anyway, welcome to TapersSection.com.

[perks]

learn sign language

[2manyrocks]

Talking and live recording at the same time are mutually contradictory goals.   

[yltfan]

I'm a little surprised at the black-and-whiteness of some of these comments. Maybe stealth taping and talking are incompatible, but with mics up on a stand, a board feed, some mics on stage, I don't see why I need to not talk. I'm clearly not going to be talking loud, and screaming into my mics, but I can enjoy the show, talk with friends, maybe even dance a little and not affect the recording. With the 24 bit recording, I don't even need to check the levels very much.

Stealthing--a whole 'nuther story.

[Chuck]

The OP's first post:

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.

Sounds like a  taper to me.

[Gutbucket]

Talk during the music when you feel the need / inclination as long as doing so is generally acceptible in the social situation (a bar more so than a theater, both far more than a classical performance hall where even wispering is plain bad form.. just wait for the breaks).  But even when it's socially cool, do so as if the people around you to whom you are not talking were stealth recordists, even if you have no reason to think they would be.  That's simply showing courtesy to everyone in the place who would rather listen cleary to the music without interspersed distracting bits of your conversation, and that's likely everyone there incuding those talking too loudly themselves, except for the person you are addressing.. and sometimes even they may feel the same way! 

Sure, it's all shades of grey and is situation dependent..  but remember that music is an auditory artform, and in a good many situations at least, people show up specifically to listen to the music.  Granted in some situations the reason most people are there may be as much or more for social coctail partly aspects as the music.  But if the situation is mostly about the musical perfomance, please do your best not to impose too much on those around you who are focusing on it and enjoying it. 

People would freak out if a stranger pulled out a flashlight to read a book next to them during the projection of a film in a theater.  How is talking incessantly over the music at a serious music performance any different?  Somehow that social situation is thought of quite differently, but really shouldn't be.  Both compete directly with the art form by polluting it's basic medium and lowering the signal-to-noise ratio.  The social scene at a well attended midnight cult-film is more like a cocktail party atmosphere, and there it's probably cool to read all you want there while people talk about the film and interact in the audience.

[acidjack]

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.

Lots of good advice here. As you'll see, there's a lot of negativity among tapers about "talking". Now, if you want to talk back at a bar or something, that's one thing. If you're going to the show to talk over the music, I think most of us think that's pretty annoying whether your recording is affected or not.

The simple answer is to mount the mics somewhere that they won't pick up a lot of sound of you or anyone else talking. For example, at one venue I go to a lot, I have some mics mounted high up on a post and aimed down at the PA. Place is terrible for talkers, but not my problem anymore. Similarly, a balcony clamp and extension arm are also your friends -- get the mics further from the people, and the less talking you pick up.

If you're wearing the mics, you can either tape, or talk, but not both. Also, omnidirectional mics like yours will pick up the most chatter, no matter where they are mounted.

If you really are just into going to shows and drinking and talking rather than listening to music (and I said "if"; I don't know you), taping may just not be your thing. It's a lot of effort to put into documenting a show that isn't even worth watching in the first place.

[hoserama]

If you really are just into going to shows and drinking and talking rather than listening to music (and I said "if"; I don't know you), taping may just not be your thing. It's a lot of effort to put into documenting a show that isn't even worth watching in the first place.

Best way to phrase it that I've seen thus far.

[nameloc01]

when a band is playing.. I shut my mouth and listen/watch. I don't go to shows with people who are going just "to hang out" or "party"..or whatever. Stealth taping forget about it.. if you cant stand there for 2 hours silently and be totally still I wouldn't even bother. Your only option is get a stand and run an open rig.. and even when I do that, I am pretty much with my gear..listening/watching the show. Unless you have a "babysitter" for your open rig, you need to make a decision whether you want to "go to work" and record a show (this is normally is how you should approach recording a show) ... or go to a show and have care-free fun with your friends.

[Sloan Simpson]

I got the owner of my favorite club to install a mount on the side of the sound booth up sort of high so that I just screw in a steel pipe as an extension and clamp onto that. That way when I want to talk I can go back by the bar or outside to the deck and not have to worry about guarding a stand. I can socialize and still take home a good recording. I don't talk loudly enough to disrupt anyone's listening but it's nice to be able to greet friends who happen by.

Of course you have to work your way into the venue's good graces first, but if you're open taping that's worth doing anyway for a number of reasons.

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

I got the owner of my favorite club to install a mount on the side of the sound booth up sort of high so that I just screw in a steel pipe as an extension and clamp onto that. That way when I want to talk I can go back by the bar or outside to the deck and not have to worry about guarding a stand. I can socialize and still take home a good recording. I don't talk loudly enough to disrupt anyone's listening but it's nice to be able to greet friends who happen by.

Of course you have to work your way into the venue's good graces first, but if you're open taping that's worth doing anyway for a number of reasons.

Oour local music joint did the same thing...  IN the pix below, you can see the "Taper's Booth" just to the left of the Soundboard Booth (right side of room next to bar)...  There is a steel pole mounted on the booth for clamping mics...  Before the kids were born, I used to hang out behind that booth at the bar and socialize, knowing that no one would go into the booth...  Most people thought it was the soundboard area so they stayed away...



Terry

[hoserama]

Is that 12 Galaxies in SF? Sure looks familiar. I remember taping there and being surprised as all heck about it, plus they had mics already setup. Went nice right into my multitrack.

[Cobiwan]

That's pretty sweet Terry. I archived for 2 different bars in OH back in the 90s and we did something similar. Currently here in CO, at the little venue I frequent, I had an old Shure A27M mic stand that I took the base off of and screwed into the top of the rafter at the "proper" center about 15' from stage. I then mount my boom arm from my K&M stand and extended it fwd about 2' to run FOB but run cables back to the SBD so I don't have to be in the middle of the floor. It helps to know the owner and the sound guy.

[daspyknows]

When you go to a movie with friends when do you talk?  Do you get up in the middle of the movie to go get a drink/pee/eat?  I would bet you don't.  Considering you are preserving history to some degree if you want to hear it again then just tape.  If its open taping then there is more leeway but  taping requires dedication to the craft. 

I think back to the RogerWaters show I recorded with my kid. He was 12 and ran a rig too.  In the seat to my left was a drunk guy who thought he was taping.  He started screaming into his own Zoomie and I typed into my phone a message to STFU and stuck it in his face.  Between sets he said he screams when he is excited and don't I ever scream at a show.  I told him I NEVER scream or talk into my mics unless I am telling someone to STFU.   

I am all for helping someone serious about learning the craft but not interested in wasting my energy on someone who isn't serious about it.

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

Is that 12 Galaxies in SF? Sure looks familiar. I remember taping there and being surprised as all heck about it, plus they had mics already setup. Went nice right into my multitrack.

It's the Pour House in Raleigh, NC... 

That's pretty sweet Terry. I archived for 2 different bars in OH back in the 90s and we did something similar. Currently here in CO, at the little venue I frequent, I had an old Shure A27M mic stand that I took the base off of and screwed into the top of the rafter at the "proper" center about 15' from stage. I then mount my boom arm from my K&M stand and extended it fwd about 2' to run FOB but run cables back to the SBD so I don't have to be in the middle of the floor. It helps to know the owner and the sound guy.

If you look at that pix closely, you'll see a mic set up centered and clamped to the steel beam...  It's just to the right of the small poster hung just below the balcony...  Jac, the soundman, uses that for something, but I'm not sure what for...

At one point, I bought a cheap set of mics and almost bought a cheap preamp to semi-permanently mount on the steel beam and in the booth, respectively...  I never went through with it, we had kids instead and I pretty much quit taping...  There are some nice tapes from people clamping onto that beam, mostly from the balcony above...  The booth tapes are pretty decent, mostly, you get above the crowd a few feet, and Jac runs the sound super-loud anyways...

But yeah, the Pour House did us right...

Terry

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

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

[stevetoney]

I just couldn't disagree more with most of the responses to this thread.

First, he's a noob and there are a VAST shortage of new tapers and most of you people are discouraging the guy from getting in because gasp he'd like to get a recording AND be able to have fun with his friends.  Oh my god the horror. 

Second, NOBODY is going to prevent talking on a tape, no matter what.  So all this discussion about not getting into the hobby because he wants to talk to friends is moot because even if he completely separates himself, he's never going to prevent crowd noise on a recording...so why worry about it if YOU like to talk?

Third, it's EASY to get good recordings and have fun.  Just target bands that are only taper friendly and then record open.  Putting mics high in the air is a very valid solution to your situation.  I got out of taping for awhile because I ended up realizing that I didn't like stealthing.  It was only after I put a mic up on a stand and STARTED ENJOYING THE SHOW AGAIN that I got back into taping big time.  The way I did it was putting my mics up in the air so I can drink, party, talk, and take a pee if I want to. 

And I'd take HUGE issue if someone here wants to accuse me of not being serious about taping just because I also want to have fun and socialize with my friends.  With upwards of $10K invested in my rig and taping an average of 130 performances the last 5 years, I think that qualifies me as serious.

So to the OP, I say go for it.  Get a rig where you can open tape, target bands that allow taping and have fun too. 

PS:  One option that hasn't been mentioned is putting your mics up at the stage lip.  Doesn't keep the chatters at the stage off the recording, but can help to maximize the music volume to crowd volume ratio and serve to mask crowd noise on the recording.

[Chuck]

I have re-read the thread and the Op's original  post regarding and still believe the OP wanted advice regarding "the most casual way to tape + enjoy the show w/friends?" with "binaural mics that go in my ear" If the OP wants a recording of himself talking to friends during a show, that's cool.

Of course you can record bands with microphones on a stand and converse with friends between songs and sets. I certainly like to enjoy myself while recording. That's what I like to do. But, I don't record covertly. But, if I did, I wouldn't be chatting etc... while doing it.

I agree this thread has gotten too much focus on the talking thing. But, I do believe it's bad manners to talk loudly with people while the band is playing.

I hope we didn't scare the guy off... because he can find all the info he needs here. Too bad he hasn't come back to the discussion to clarify what his goal is.

[acidjack]

I got the owner of my favorite club to install a mount on the side of the sound booth up sort of high so that I just screw in a steel pipe as an extension and clamp onto that. That way when I want to talk I can go back by the bar or outside to the deck and not have to worry about guarding a stand. I can socialize and still take home a good recording. I don't talk loudly enough to disrupt anyone's listening but it's nice to be able to greet friends who happen by.

Of course you have to work your way into the venue's good graces first, but if you're open taping that's worth doing anyway for a number of reasons.

Oour local music joint did the same thing...  IN the pix below, you can see the "Taper's Booth" just to the left of the Soundboard Booth (right side of room next to bar)...  There is a steel pole mounted on the booth for clamping mics...  Before the kids were born, I used to hang out behind that booth at the bar and socialize, knowing that no one would go into the booth...  Most people thought it was the soundboard area so they stayed away...



Terry

I have used that booth, and agree it is super handy! +T to all of you for coming up with that!

[Sloan Simpson]

I just couldn't disagree more with most of the responses to this thread.

First, he's a noob and there are a VAST shortage of new tapers and most of you people are discouraging the guy from getting in because gasp he'd like to get a recording AND be able to have fun with his friends.  Oh my god the horror. 

I'm with you.

I find this place pretty hostile to new tapers a lot of times.

[stevetoney]

Oour local music joint did the same thing...  IN the pix below, you can see the "Taper's Booth" just to the left of the Soundboard Booth (right side of room next to bar)...  There is a steel pole mounted on the booth for clamping mics...  Before the kids were born, I used to hang out behind that booth at the bar and socialize, knowing that no one would go into the booth...  Most people thought it was the soundboard area so they stayed away...



Terry

Sweet looking venue.  Looks alot like the 8x10 in Baltimore, only 8x10 is the venue that installed the house mics and you gotta tap into them...no setting up your own rig.  I see from the image filename that it's Pour House.  What town is it in?

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

What town is it in?

Raleigh, NC

Terry

[earmonger]

Hostile to new tapers?? I don't think so.

But there is no defeating the basic laws of acoustics. If you're talking near your mics, that's what they will record. If you are stealthing then you are the microphone stand. Microphone stands aren't party people.

Human perception is an amazing thing--we have the ability to tune out all kinds of peripheral information. But mikes don't.

[achalsey]

Human perception is an amazing thing--we have the ability to tune out all kinds of peripheral information. But mikes don't.

Luckily they do too though!  ...unless you're running omnis I guess. 

[Sloan Simpson]

Hostile to new tapers?? I don't think so.

I guess if you ignore most of the posts in this thread.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

I think the OP's question about running mics on your body and talking has been discussed. Probably not going to work too well. I've done it for a show that I just wanted for my "historical records." Obviously I don't share those publicly.

If the OP is taping OPEN bands though, s/he is welcome to bring some mics and clamp them to my stand. Most open tapers are happy to let you clamp and if you want to leave that is usually fine. Personally, I'm even ok with running someone's gear (mine comes first and if something goes wrong with your gear I'm not going to spend a ton of time trying to figure out what is wrong).

To be honest if I have a clamper and the space in the section is limited, I'd PREFER if the clamper leaves! Seems like most of the time they'll usually hit record, set their levels and that is the last I see them until set break or the end of the show.

So, OP...don't be discouraged by any negative responses here. Do want you want, have fun, and try to learn this fun hobby.

[capnhook]

To be honest if I have a clamper and the space in the section is limited, I'd PREFER if the clamper leaves! Seems like most of the time they'll usually hit record, set their levels and that is the last I see them until set break or the end of the show.

.........have fun, and try to learn this fun hobby.

Learnin' when to come back with fresh beers, and to block and to sub when said taper needs to use the necessary room, are taught in your sophomore and junior years......

Don't need to be around gear with beer if'n yer learnin'.....you will thank someone sometime for this advice

[psychwolf]

Hey everyone, just wanted to check back on this thread. Thanks for all of the comments. I totally understand the need to set the noob on the right path, and I appreciate any comments. And it's awesome to know about that taping booth -- what a great idea!  I knew there were venues out there cool with taping like that.

I posted my first "tape" in the new tapes thread (I still have to figure out the logistics of posting to the Live Music Archive so for now: https://soundcloud.com/psychwolf/sleepcomesdown-live-at-the), but my first experience was really cool. I just went with a small Tascom DR05, and talked to the sound guy who let me put it right by his booth. I set the levels low (probably too low since I was cautious), turned the limiter on, and would check in on it periodically. People were really cool about it.

I took the recording back the next day, equalized and leveled it with sound forge (since I had the level very low), and then posted the flac to soundcloud and gave the band a torrent of the files. All-in-all, a great experience and I felt like I was actually helping the bands get some live shows out there to their fans (turns out they were video recording the same night). That's why I wanted to get into this since I'm always going to shows, liking bands, and finding myself trying to tell people what a band is like over and over.

[Chuck]

Good news! I'm happy to see we didn't scare you off.

[Cobiwan]

Here's a pic of the setup Im doing. Pictured below is where the 100' GAKables XLRs are being installed at the Stage Stop in Rollinsville, CO. The cables will run from the mic stand mounted on top of the rafter FOB about 15' from stage, to the left along the top of the rafter, back down the side wall, then right along the top of the next rafter, down the brick column, meeting up with the snake going to back of SBD, with enough room to run directly into the Midas SBD for matrix, or to the side of the SBD to plug into a rig. This is a way to record without interfering with your tape, but it helps to know the owner and the sound engineer to get approval for such an install.