Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: RockStarFool on March 08, 2018, 06:29:10 PM
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Hello! Good to be here. I'm a hack taper of a few years , music aficionado and musicain. I go to shows all the time, don't record much because my gear is so so, anyhoo. Hoping to up my game in the recording world for sure. My dream is to have upper level recording gear and better knowledge of post production software. I also had a question. Any Tedeschi Trucks Band fans out there? I was wondering why I haven't seen any recordings pop up of their last 5 or 6 shows? Thank you all! Great to be here! BG
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I go to shows all the time, don't record much because my gear is so so, anyhoo.
Don't let that slow you down! Better to have a so-so recording than none at all...and worst case scenario you get some reps in and learn a thing or two that can be put to use in the future.
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Thanks for the reply. Would like to stealth more shows. Is it my dumb profile name....or are people on here not very social ? 74 views and one reply. Oh well. I'll keep trying. :headphones:
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I didn't reply because I know very little about Tedeschi Trucks Band, but I will second the encouragement for "some recording is better than no recording." Mediocre recordings are the gateway drug to excellent ones!
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Welcome in taping community. I wish you a lot of fun with this beautiful hobby. Guys are right. You can make good recording even with cheap equipment - you could find a lot of examples here on the forum.
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Welcome, I've been taping for only 3 years now, started using the internal mics on my TASCAM Dr-100MKII until I saved up for some mics. I use 3 sets of Mics in my signature below, all run about $200 each (Church Audio's are a great starter kit with a poweramp imho).
I now have about 280 recordings uploaded to archive, of which 100+ are from a friend who sends me a dropbox wav file to upload for him. This was great practice using Audacity and CD WAV (both free software packages on the internet) to work on post processing files for my own, and my friends recordings.
Have fun with it and get to know your local venues recording band policies.
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Yes, you don't need a $2000 rig to make good recordings. Here is a TTB show done with Church Audio mics > battery box > Sony M10.
https://archive.org/details/ttb2016-12-02.ca11.flac24
Couple of comments about TTB - the tickets are expensive now so a taper has to be into the band to get them there to record. Second, the crowd can be a real downer if you are trying to tape open. Complaints about mic stands blocking their view, let alone if you want to stand and dance during the show. I'll be seeing them this summer, but am thinking about not recording. We'll see.
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^ agreed. I skipped all 4 of the DC shows for those reasons. Luckily Alex had it covered. The Ryman is a major PITA to tape at so I wouldn't be surprised if nobody ran for those shows.
Also will add another +1 to what everybody has said about not needing expensive gear. Neither of my rigs (stealth or open) top $500. You just have to know how to use it
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Welcome onboard the taping-ship :-)
We all started taping sometime, with some cheaper taping-rig, then moved up with some external mic´s etc.
The more you tape, the better this hobby gets.
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I am planning on the Clapton and TTB show in Greenwich Ct on May 26th
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Thanks for the replys you guys. Yeah TTB crowd can be tough. A lot of obnoxious drunks trying to re live crazy ABB days. But some guys have got some great pulls over last few months. The shows that are missing are indeed the Ryman shows....so makes sense now you mentioned it.
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Thanks for the reply. Would like to stealth more shows. Is it my dumb profile name....or are people on here not very social ? 74 views and one reply. Oh well. I'll keep trying. :headphones:
Love your profile name (handle is my term).
I've been wanting to say welcome as I am definitely a TTB fan. I have been a fan of Derek for some time, 1997?? Susan and he have a special place in my heart. I've been a busy opening of March, recorded 2 local shows already and doing one tonight.
I agree about the TTB crowd, especially at SPAC, my hometown shed) but I have made a couple of nice recordings of them in the past 2-3 years.
As others are saying, you don't need expensive gear, first thing is to get a consistent set-up no matter the price. By consistent I mean, reliable. The gear works all the time every time and can be operated if one is in a slightly inebriated manner, which I know no one ever is while taping!
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Listen critically to recordings on the archive. Make note of small differences in mics, capsules used, preamp used (if any) and so on. Key in on the best sounding recordings with the specific gear you're considering, as those are examples of the possibilities that a certain rig will provide in terms of sound quality. (Generally outdoor gigs sound better than indoor bc there's no room reverb.) Archive is your friend and you'll find your critical listening skills to improve the longer you are a taper. Importantly, ALWAYS trust your own ears more than the opinions of people on ts.com...ALWAYS. I learned this lesson the hard way and it cost me hundreds following the advice of people that hear differently than I do. Remember that people almost always have a bias to the gear they own....which causes their opinion to be skewed.
While I agree with others that you dont NEED top level gear to make good recordings, IMHO you do need top gear to make great recordings (when all other variables of live recording are optimized). Also realize that the base price of entry for a set of great gear is not necessarily linearly proportional to the price paid for good gear. Generally, to get top level sound, there's a premium to be paid to get top gear. Stated another way, it might cost 100pct more to get a 20pct sound improvement, if sound were quantifiable. That said, this generalization has changed a little bit of late as the market for used top end gear has dropped.
Ps: I'm a rare taper that loves blues but can't listen to TTB. Just don't like them at all. Susan...ugh!
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Thanks fanofjam. Sorry you don't dig TTB. I love them...but sometimes even I'm on the fence about Susan's vocals...like not in the mood. But most of the time I really dig it. And Derek and the band are just tops. Sometimes vocals can be a deal breaker....like for me with Widespread Panic. Not a fan of John Bell.
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Thanks fanofjam. Sorry you don't dig TTB. I love them...but sometimes even I'm on the fence about Susan's vocals...like not in the mood. But most of the time I really dig it. And Derek and the band are just tops. Sometimes vocals can be a deal breaker....like for me with Widespread Panic. Not a fan of John Bell.
I'm a music junkie and love it all. Blues based rock is a strange genre for me though. I guess it's bc my love of blues goes back to the originators and to me all the others are fairly generic sounding imitators. It's probably just bc I've listened to blues for so many years that nothing sounds fresH anymore.
As far as panic, I'm a fan but I'm pretty much one of those ornery dudes that thinks that any Mikey era show is better than any post mikey show.
That said, there's tons of music out there that excites me. I'm particular to funk...and in fact recording Dumpstaphunk tonite.
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I dig the funk as well. Lettuce is my band of choice for that....but I am branching out.
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I dig the funk as well. Lettuce is my band of choice for that....but I am branching out.
Dumpstaphunk
The Motet
Galactic
Foundation of Funk
...or anything with George Porter, Jr
Freakbass
A few of my favorites...
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I dig the funk as well. Lettuce is my band of choice for that....but I am branching out.
I'll add to fanofjam's choices:
Galactic is a fave of mine
Bernie Worrell and Woo Warriors or any Bernie stuff with or without pFunk.
More East coast regional- Deep Banana Blackout
Kung Fu- but IMO their recent stuff is more dancejam than funk
NOLA regional- Naughty Professor
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While I agree with others that you dont NEED top level gear to make good recordings, IMHO you do need top gear to make great recordings (when all other variables of live recording are optimized).
I really don't think I could disagree with this more
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I make recordings that are quite realistic and satisfying with:
Soundman.de OKM Klassik-Studio omni mics--in-ear things that look like earbuds, a little over $100 and could hardly be stealthier. Or Church Audio CA-11 omnis, about $130 + shipping.
Church Audio CA-UGLY battery box, $30 + US shipping (9V, Soundman maximum is 10V) or SoundProfessionals SPSB-10 (12V for the CA-11), $60.
Sony PCM-M10, for which you'd now have to substitute something newer that's similar--Roland R-05? the new Zoom F1?--about $200.
Or buy Pillowman's PCM-M10 in the Yard Sale!
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=185682.0
A live recording from the audience will never be a controlled studio recording. But to me getting away from talkers/whoopers/singalongers is far more crucial than a giant equipment upgrade.