Gear / Technical Help > Microphones & Setup

Stealth low-sensitivity setup from scratch

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Emskidoodlepip:
Hi there—total newbie here glad to find such a welcoming community of tapers. I'm ever so sorry if I'm clogging the board with more typical newbie spam; I struggled to find similar up-to-date posts that would answer my question and I didn't want to necrobump, hence this new thread.

I'm cutting my losses (after too long selfishly attending shows and hoping that somebody else would put in the work and record for me) and finally getting into taping myself, and was hoping if anybody could advise. I'm posting in the Microphones sub-forum because it seems like that's the most variable part of a setup and I can "botch on" a recording device later, but I'm aware of my ignorance here so please do correct me here! Anyway, my criteria are:

* I'm looking for a stealth setup ideally. I'd love a more open taping situation, but I'm from the U.K. where many venues sadly look down on taping, so I'd rather stick to stealth;
* I'm also interested in low-sensitivity mics, as many shows I watch really push it volume-wise, around 120-125dB, and I often find myself watching from the very front;
* As mentioned above, I live in the U.K., which in my experience creates difficulties in finding good kit, since most recommendations for sellers on this forum, of course, are over in America—so sellers over here would be very appreciated;
* My budget is around £200-250 (in US$ that's about 275-350, I think?) for the entire setup, from microphone to storage device. I'd definitely really struggle to exceed that, but if you think that a particular bit of gear is worth the extra push I can give it a try!
I did see recommendations for not-too-dissimilar things elsewhere in the forum, but being sold on the other side of the world from me makes purchasing difficult, and with a differing budget perhaps I could do better for my money!

DSatz:
If those are the actual sound levels, your hearing will be severely damaged by them, and by far the best favor that any of us can do for you is to convince you to stand farther back.

morst:

--- Quote from: Emskidoodlepip on August 08, 2021, 03:06:13 PM ---
* I'm also interested in low-sensitivity mics, as many shows I watch really push it volume-wise, around 120-125dB, and I often find myself watching from the very front;
--- End quote ---





--- Quote from: DSatz on August 08, 2021, 09:37:46 PM ---If those are the actual sound levels, your hearing will be severely damaged by them, and by far the best favor that any of us can do for you is to convince you to stand farther back.

--- End quote ---
These concert taper types, well sometimes they wanna be where they wanna be, I guess???


EARPLUGS might help if there is anything left of your hearing!

I sure hope those numbers reflect peaks and not average- that's like aircraft noise or a hammer pounding a nail.


If you wear earplugs which knock off -30dB it still peaks at 95 dB.

Emskidoodlepip:

--- Quote ---If those are the actual sound levels, your hearing will be severely damaged by them, and by far the best favor that any of us can do for you is to convince you to stand farther back.
--- End quote ---

Thank you... I honestly appreciate the concern! I make sure to be wearing pretty serious ear plugs and I give my ears a good break from noise afterwards. Most shows obviously aren't quite that level, but bands like Sunn O))) or Swans won't really dip far below 120dB much.

That's definitely a reason why I've been struggling to find apt mics—many recommendations seem to mainly consider quieter shows. I'm guessing that versatility in a microphone from these types of very loud shows to quieter ones isn't really going to exist in good quality? If that's the case, I'd rather prioritise the loud ones, if that helps.

if_then_else:

--- Quote from: Emskidoodlepip on August 09, 2021, 04:35:38 AM ---
--- Quote ---If those are the actual sound levels, your hearing will be severely damaged by them, and by far the best favor that any of us can do for you is to convince you to stand farther back.
--- End quote ---

Thank you... I honestly appreciate the concern! I make sure to be wearing pretty serious ear plugs and I give my ears a good break from noise afterwards. Most shows obviously aren't quite that level, but bands like Sunn O))) or Swans won't really dip far below 120dB much.

That's definitely a reason why I've been struggling to find apt mics—many recommendations seem to mainly consider quieter shows. I'm guessing that versatility in a microphone from these types of very loud shows to quieter ones isn't really going to exist in good quality? If that's the case, I'd rather prioritise the loud ones, if that helps.

--- End quote ---

A set of low-sense modded SP-CMC-4U (AT-853U) microphones should be sufficient for your purposes unless you're stack-taping at these ultra-loud shows. I've used them on some Part Chimp and Amenra sets (if only as my backup mics) and, at least SPL-wise, these bands are in the same league.
You might find these occasionally in the Yard Sale (even from Europe). But you will want to make sure they're actually low-sense modded.

I've used my MBHO actives (KA-300-NBs) + "Baby N'box" at a Stephen O'Malley solo set in June with great results. But, obviously. he wasn't nearly as loud as the full band. And the actives setup will definitely exceed your budget.

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