Hi gang,
I recently bought myself a second-hand Sony TCD-D8, and am looking to buy a set of SP AT-853's (cardioids). I've heard nothing but good about them for the price, so I'm fairly sure those are what I'll be getting for mics. However, I welcome other suggestions since I'm extremely new to this and already I understand the point that it's better to be generous rather than stingy with funds, especially when it comes to mics.
My total budget is $500-800, and I've already spent $300 on the DAT. It'll be another $170 for the 853's. I'm looking for very good quality in my setup. I'm also leaning towards stealth, since some shows I go to may not be pro-taping. I don't really want to drag around a stand anyway. However, I'm sure I could upgrade to a decent stand later on to get above the crowd if ever needed.
I have an Echo Gina24 sound card with S/PDIF and optical input/outputs.
I'm setting up this rig primarily to record a Marc Cohn concert this May (acoustic, piano, etc). I'll be front row center in a playhouse/theater venue, so I'll be in a perfect spot for taping. Any suggestions on mic techniques, aiming, etc? I am hoping to get permission from the artist beforehand so I can set up close to/on the stage. If not, I'll have to stealth it on my lapels or in a hat.
Beyond that concert, the rig will be used for Mule, WSP, etc type shows from the crowd. Obviously I'm going to practice, practice practice before the Cohn concert to make sure I am familiar with what I'm doing!
My questions:
- What type of battery box/bass rolloff filter/analog-to-digital combo might be ideal for my setup/budget/use?
- Which is the better DAT > sound card input type - S/PDIF or optical?
- What sort of cables will I need to do all this?
- Is there anything else, obvious or not, that I may be overlooking?
I took a quick look at the AD-20 but that's way out of my price range. However, I'm curious to see how much better the quality would be using that over the onboard ADC in the Sony D8. Is an external ADC something I should really be concerned about at this point based on my budget, or will I experience decent results using only the onboard ADC?
Any and all other suggestions and observations are heartily welcomed!!!
Thanks in advance.