Topic: New Taper

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

DMBprez - I can't reiterate enough the value of listening to lots of recordings made using the mics/equipment you're considering getting.  Soak up all the info about the recording (like the location from which it was recorded, stealth or permission, etc.).

The recent Oysterhead sources from Bonnaroo are perfect for this.  There were (I think) 5 different rigs set up by the SBD:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=66945.0

Terry

[DMBprez]

Okay folks, I'm torn here.  First off, thank you all for you input.  I have learned a lot in here and I appreciate everything you all have to offer.

Here's my dilema, I'm torn between two sets of mics.

The SPCMC-2a's and the SMK-H8k's.  Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated . 

[grider]

Thank you very much for your help Shane.   

strongly suggest you spend a bit more and get the better sounding and much smaller AKG 390 series mic, pair it with an Edirol UA5 and a JB3 and you are all set to make excellent tapes for a very affordable price

[grider]

Okay folks, I'm torn here.  First off, thank you all for you input.  I have learned a lot in here and I appreciate everything you all have to offer.

Here's my dilema, I'm torn between two sets of mics.

The SPCMC-2a's and the SMK-H8k's.  Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated . 

another piece of advice here, splurge on your mics and get everything else used and as cheaply as possible; if you have lousy sounding mics, you will never make great recordings despite what you run behind them; when I bought my first rig, I did the exact opposite of this, bought inexpensive mics, a new and expensive preamp/analog to digital converter, and the top of the line new dat machine; needless to say, I replaced my mics within six months

[DMBprez]

Can someone provide me a link to the AKG 390's?  Any input or suggestions on these?

[anodyne33]

I got a GREAT tape of the Iguanas Firday with my 391s. Here's a little info on them...
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/C391B/

It doesn't look like there have been any for sale here in a few months, but when I got mine they were everywhere. Expect to pay anywhere between $300 and $450 for a pair. The body of the mic is the SE300B and the capsules (or business end) are the CK91 (cardoid), CK92 (Omnidirectional) and CK93 (Hyperdardoid). I have the 91 and 93 caps and they work a little differently in different situations. Basically the 93 has a narrower pickup pattern, which is helpful if you are farther away from the source or in a particularly noisy crowd. I like the 91s as an all purpose cap.

Here's a pair on ebay for $600 BIN. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7361214046&category=41466 That's a litlte more than you would expect to pay here if they some up, but still about half of what you'd pay for a pair new.

[tscales]

I agree with everbody, and I took their advice only a few months ago.  Grider especially.

http://www.archive.org/details/duo2006-04-13.flac16

Do as much listening as you can before you buy. (but i totally understand if you cant wait, niether coukd I)

tim

[DMBprez]

I'm going to be completely honest, those mics are way out of my price range unfortunately.  Perhaps in a few years.  I'm only 17 at this point and don't have that much to toss around. 

Any more suggestions?

[svenkid]

SP c4s then.

[tapinfool]

I'm going to be completely honest, those mics are way out of my price range unfortunately.  Perhaps in a few years.  I'm only 17 at this point and don't have that much to toss around. 

Any more suggestions?

for an inexpensive set of mics look into the oktava mk-012's...

i run them into a ua-5>jukebox 3 and love the results

i picked mine up for $100 for the pair and love every second of the 200+ shows i've taped in the last 3 years

yes...there are considerably better mics. but for the price...there is no going wrong

plus next year after graduation you can always pick up a set of akg's w/ all the graduation party money 

[DMBprez]

^^^Exactly what I was thinking  . 

[anodyne33]

tapinfool has made some absolutely smoking tapes with his oktavas and i have proof!

[Will_S]

Some good advice so far.  The only thing I would add is that you need to consider whether you will be stealthing at all, either non-taper friendly bands or taper-friendly bands at non-friendly venues.

If you think you may need to stealth, I'd look at Audio Technica AT853s or the Sound Professionals SP-CMC-4 version of the same mics.  These are a good choice to get started IMO, since they offer quite decent quality and have interchangeable capsules available (cardioids, hypercardiods, omnis) so you can really experiment with different setups for different situations.  Plus, even if you buy some really nice open-taping mics down the road, you can hold onto these for stealthing.  Whereas if you go with the cheap open-taping mics you may not have much use for them once the upgrade bug bites.

[grider]

why don't you buy the Audio Technica 825's for sale right now in the yardsale for $245, well known quality mics, can be used for open taping or for stealth taping, and they are easily resold, and very small, I'd say get those over Oktavas for sure

[tscales]

I got total sticker shock in the begining too when I was considering buy mics new (which for a starter, isn't really neccessary since everyone around her take such good care of their gear)    I was considering buyin two new mics from sonicsence.com for like 550 EACH!!!

I think I only paid 400 for a PAIR of AKG393s, shock mounts, and a real nice manafrotto stand from Jay Morris a while back.  I made payments every month for 150 or so till i was paid off then he shipped the stuff to me - it was very doable financially and very friendly transaction.

My two bits...  buy used from a TS'er, and buy good, not great gear, so your not upgrading a 6 weeks.  Payment plans are the way to go for tight budget folks like me.

tim