Topic: Newbie.. Looking for mic recommendations

[Panthro10]

I am looking to tape my friends' bands at local clubs and possibly other shows that I attend where there may not be many other tapers, but taping is still allowed. So, I am not looking for anything stealth. I have browsed the boards, but haven't seemed to be able to search... So I am sold on the Edirol r-09hr, but now I need some mics to go with it, and I guess possibly a preamp (?). I am looking to get a matched pair of cardioid mics, for less than $500.. most recording I have listened too and like seem to be made with mics more in the $1000 per pair range, which I am not ready to drop on a new hobby... People seem to recommend the church mics, but they seem, to me at least, built for stealth.. Any help?

[notlance]

Get yourself a Busman Audio BSC1 Small Diameter (SD) condenser mic stereo set.  It comes with 2 mics with 4 capsules for each mic so you have a range of patterns to play with.  It also comes with shockmounts and a stereo bar.  Lots of options to play with in this kit; it's a mic education course in a box.  The whole kit is $450.00 as of now. 

http://www.busmanaudio.com/bsc1.html 

And no, I don't work for him.

[setboy]

Get yourself a Busman Audio BSC1 Small Diameter (SD) condenser mic stereo set.  It comes with 2 mics with 4 capsules for each mic so you have a range of patterns to play with.  It also comes with shockmounts and a stereo bar.  Lots of options to play with in this kit; it's a mic education course in a box.  The whole kit is $450.00 as of now. 

http://www.busmanaudio.com/bsc1.html 

And no, I don't work for him.

Do this.  You will need a preamp and phantom power for them if you do go this way.

[Panthro10]

I looked up the kit.. it does seem like it allows for a lot of options for the price. And I listened to a few recordings on archive.org made with them that sound great. I think I may go with this.. any preamp recommendations?

[Church-Audio]

I looked up the kit.. it does seem like it allows for a lot of options for the price. And I listened to a few recordings on archive.org made with them that sound great. I think I may go with this.. any preamp recommendations?

If you must go with an xlr mic the Busman mics are a great value for the money and after hearing some of the samples I recommend them to all of my customers that need an XLR based mic. For a preamp an edirol UA-5 is a good start.

Chris

[setboy]

I looked up the kit.. it does seem like it allows for a lot of options for the price. And I listened to a few recordings on archive.org made with them that sound great. I think I may go with this.. any preamp recommendations?

 ua-5 is a nice starting point that can be had few very little money now a days. But does the Edirol r-09hr digi in? I would think you would want to have a recorder that could take a digital signal from the UA-5. 

[notlance]

I looked up the kit.. it does seem like it allows for a lot of options for the price. And I listened to a few recordings on archive.org made with them that sound great. I think I may go with this.. any preamp recommendations?

If you must go with an xlr mic the Busman mics are a great value for the money and after hearing some of the samples I recommend them to all of my customers that need an XLR based mic. For a preamp an edirol UA-5 is a good start.

Chris

Chris: it’s impressive that you would recommend a competitor’s product.  I realize the Busman mics aren’t in direct competition to what you sell, but still, good on ya.

Panthro10: You said you are “sold” on the Edirol r-09hr, but does that mean you have already bought one?  If you are going the open rig XLR mic route, you could consider the Fostex FR-2LE recorder since it has XLR in and phantom power.  I’m not saying it is better than the Edirol + pre-amp route, but it is perhaps simpler.

[setboy]

I looked up the kit.. it does seem like it allows for a lot of options for the price. And I listened to a few recordings on archive.org made with them that sound great. I think I may go with this.. any preamp recommendations?

If you must go with an xlr mic the Busman mics are a great value for the money and after hearing some of the samples I recommend them to all of my customers that need an XLR based mic. For a preamp an edirol UA-5 is a good start.

Chris

Chris: it’s impressive that you would recommend a competitor’s product.  I realize the Busman mics aren’t in direct competition to what you sell, but still, good on ya.

Panthro10: You said you are “sold” on the Edirol r-09hr, but does that mean you have already bought one?  If you are going the open rig XLR mic route, you could consider the Fostex FR-2LE recorder since it has XLR in and phantom power.  I’m not saying it is better than the Edirol + pre-amp route, but it is perhaps simpler.

I have made some good tapes with my busman's and my fr2le

[Scooter123]

The Edirol Recorder is built for stealth. I would recommend any larger format recorder with AC and phantom power.  

As much as I like my Edirol, I think you might need to rethink the equipment a tad.

[Panthro10]

I have not purchased the r-09 yet. I will take a look at the fr-2le. Just from the research I have done the edirol seemed like a good buy, but I am new to all this.. and I really appreciate the help.

[Scooter123]

There are some nice second hand machines in the Yard Sale and I'd start with a review of them first. 

[dorrcoq]

I'm buying the Busman mic package tomorrow, to go with my new R4.  Hard to beat the price when it includes 4 different caps, shock mounts, and a mounting bar.

[Belexes]

I have made some good tapes with my busman's and my fr2le

Same.  It's a great combo for the price with impressive results.

There's a "make an offer" seller on Ebay for the FR2LE and I think the box can be had for around $425.

[Panthro10]

I have another "dumb" question... What is the importance of digi in? What does it allow you to do?

[JasonSobel]

I have another "dumb" question... What is the importance of digi in? What does it allow you to do?

digi-in will allow you to use an external A/D (analog to digital) converter, and send the digital signal to the deck to record.  Generally speaking, external A/D's are higher quality than internal A/D's.

And, as an alternate suggestion.  In addition to the Fostex FR-2LE, check out the Marantz PMD-661.  Both the FR-2lE and the PMD-661 are small recorders, and they both provide XLR inputs with phantom power.  If digi-in is important to you (which it doesn't seem like it is now, but having the option is nice in case you decide to upgrade to different equipment later on), the PMD-661 has a digital input, while the FR-2LE does not.