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

[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