Topic: A friend wants to get into taping (another friend, not the last one).

[red]

rhinowing, what batteries do you use on the dr2d?  my rechargeables only get about 3.5; I believe fresh eneloops get more (5ish).  I absolutely love my sp-cmc's (4u, but, in my limited experience, for loud shows the 4.7k mod is essential w/ these.

[rhinowing]

rhinowing, what batteries do you use on the dr2d?  my rechargeables only get about 3.5; I believe fresh eneloops get more (5ish).  I absolutely love my sp-cmc's (4u, but, in my limited experience, for loud shows the 4.7k mod is essential w/ these.

just any store bought AAs -- I got a big pack from radioshack for like 10 bucks....I've actually never run 4 channel with it though, I imagine that decreases battery life a bunch

[red]

I was getting about 3.5 hours, running 4 channel. 

[colinw]

As a relatively new taper I have gone through this myself. I started with a tascam dr07mkii and ca14s as well as a small battery box. This slowed me to get some experience taping stealth and you can move to open taping with a stand and an extension cable for the mics. Eash peasy.
I hen stepped up to a tinybox and some larger mics for open taping - Busman bsc1s. Now I can use the Tinybox to power the CAs or the busman's with the Tinybox. I also bought a dr2d deck to allow for 4 channel recording. I have pretty much every situation covered with the gear I have.
For starting out in would think Church mics, a small battery box, and any deck will do. Even q cheaper tascam can be had for about $50 and the overall investment is pretty small format decent rig. He can always but preamp and more feature rich decks latest, as well as stepping up to a full open rig if he wants to.

[Phil Zone]

i would recomend the ca14-9100-m10 setup as well, however if he wants full size mics, i started with samson cl2 mics and they are pretty decent, you can listen to my tapes in the link in my signurature. there are a few i now have a busman bsc1s. but i had cl2-art dual pre-tascam dr05 as my first setup and it served me well for quite a while and still use them ocasionally as a 2nd or 3rd rig under the busmans or my ca setup.

[acidjack]

I'd also consider Naiant's mics. The X-R line has switchable caps and costs less than the CAs I believe. Lots of configurations.  The smallest version is about the size of an AT853. 

[StarkRavingCalm]

I was getting about 3.5 hours, running 4 channel.

The latest firmware on the DR-2D, 1.03,  has much better battery life. I have gotten 5 hours (Duracells) running 4 channel.
5 hours is when I stopped recording so I may have been able to get another hour out of it.

[candor]

I have the 2d and the M10.  Unless your friend has a need to record 4 channels with the 2d, the M10 is very much my preferred unit because of its outstanding battery life. You don't have to worry about your batteries running out at the wrong time with the M10.

I had a 2d and returned it to get an m10 because of weak battery life in the 2d and the ability to run a wider range of input settings with just a battery box with the m10.  Recording to the internal memory of the Sony eliminates possible memory card issues as well.  All in all I think the m10 would be a better recorder for a beginner and will work well as your friend gets experience as well.

[daspyknows]

good point.  I've heard good things about the Tascam DR2D as well.  The 5 second pre-record buffer on the Sony M10 is nice.  is there any mini recorder like these with a digital in that he might utilize in the future?

The DR2D isn't a bad choice but it's battery life pales next to the M10. 

Why would he want digital in because miniature mics are all analog?  Many people around here are running Schoeps active rigs to a TinyBox or Nbox and they're both analog.

I use the DR2D with Engerizer Lithiums and have no issues with battery life.  While the M10 does better its not a dealbreaker for me.  Digital in isn't going do do any good unless you have an external D/A converter which is one more piece of gear.  I run the Schoeps/NBox/DR2D as my small stealth rig.

[earmonger]

Here's another vote for holding off on the preamp. It's a big investment for someone just getting started, and I've never found I needed one for anything amplified (or even clearly  audible acoustic). I don't see the point of getting a preamp and turning it down to zero when you can get the same power to the mics via a battery box for 1/3 the $$.

If your friend is lower-budget or impatient, the Sound Professionals BMC-2 binaurals are what I started with, and those recordings sound pretty good. (Get the clips and, if they're getting a lot of use, the 3-year warranty.) The Naiant X-X stereo mic for $69 also looks tasty, but a lot bigger.

[rhinowing]

If your friend is lower-budget or impatient, the Sound Professionals BMC-2 binaurals are what I started with, and those recordings sound pretty good. (Get the clips and, if they're getting a lot of use, the 3-year warranty.)

seconding these mics, they sound surprisingly good for the price point ($60 last time I checked) and are also extremely small, about the size of a pencil eraser

[F.O.Bean]

I would go with CA14[Cards and/or Omnis] > CA 9100 Preamp > Sony M10 as well. I hardly think getting a 9100 for around $100 is a BIG investment And it serves as a battery box if you leave the gain low. Also, running LINE-IN on the M10 is DEFINITELY preferred over running MIC-IN, even tho the Preamp of the M10 is quite good. That way he would be covered if recording loud or quiet music. Why spend like $30-50 on a battery box, just to turn around and sell it if he needs more gain Doesnt make sense IMO

For a total of around $500, he would have mics/preamp/recorder, and a lil $$$ left over for accessories!!! Thats a pretty damn cheap setup IMO

[willndmb]

I would have him grab a Naiant Tinybox.  I think he could possibly have it configured to do 9v and p48 so if he upgrades to p48 mics he is covered.  You also have other options with the TB like transformers, dual outputs, etc.  A good start would be at853>Tinybox>M10.  With the at853 you have more mic pattern options than church mics.  Talk to darktrain he seems to have them for sale often maybe he can help you out.

agreed

[daspyknows]

I would go with CA14[Cards and/or Omnis] > CA 9100 Preamp > Sony M10 as well. I hardly think getting a 9100 for around $100 is a BIG investment And it serves as a battery box if you leave the gain low. Also, running LINE-IN on the M10 is DEFINITELY preferred over running MIC-IN, even tho the Preamp of the M10 is quite good. That way he would be covered if recording loud or quiet music. Why spend like $30-50 on a battery box, just to turn around and sell it if he needs more gain Doesnt make sense IMO

For a total of around $500, he would have mics/preamp/recorder, and a lil $$$ left over for accessories!!! Thats a pretty damn cheap setup IMO

I would agree but since I use the DR2D as my stealth recorder I would substitute that.  I also would agree about line in.  Mic preamps in theses inexpensive reorders leave a bit to be desired.

[earmonger]

I run mics-->battery box-->Line-in on the PCM-M10. At a typically loud show, gain is 5 to 7 depending on which mics.

Seriously, all the talk here has at various points convinced me to try a preamp only to turn around and sell it after it became clear that I was never going to use any gain from it. If I go to a quiet show, mics-->BB-->Mic-in. If I go to anything amplified, mics-->BB-->Line-in does it.

Why spend the extra $90 - $100 on a preamp if you're just going to use it as a battery box?