I'M GOING TO PURCHASE A NOMAD 3 THIS WEEKEND FOR SHOW TAPING AND I'M WONDERING IF ANYONE KNOWS OF A GOOD MIC I CAN GET HOPEFULY IN THE 100.00 PRICE RANGE. ALSO, HOW LONG DOES THE BATTERY LAST FOR RECORDING? I'M GOING TO A SHOW WITH ABOUT 7 BANDS THAT WILL PLAY AROUND 1 HOUR SETS(LINKIN PARK, OFFSPRING, PENNYWISE, P.O.D.,DISTILLERS, ETC.) AROUND HOW MANY SETS WILL FIT ON THE 20 GB HARD DRIVE?
A couple of things...
As far as a really cheap mic goes, you can get a Sony ECM-MS907 for $100 new. I used one forever recording my own band, and while it's not audiophile, it'll get the job done. If you're willing to hunt a bit, you can sometimes find AT822's in that range used. (A friend picked one up for $125, and though it's all scratched up, it sounds fine.) Both of these mics take a single AA battery internally for power.
Really, though, the NJB3 needs an outboard preamp and A/D converter to sound good. (Opinion varies on this, so look around for the other side of it.) I use the Denecke AD-20, which provides both in a nice little package that runs off a single 9v for a LONG time -- like 8 hours. They run for around $325 new and can be had for much less used.
The next step up would be mics like the AKG C1000s (about $300/pr) or the Oktava MK012s (from $250-$350). The C1000s also take 9v batteries internally, but the the Oktavas require an external power source like the Denecke PS-2 ($150) or the Rolls PB224 ($100).
A single internal battery on the NJB3 will give you 2.5 to 3 hours of recording. My experience (including power conservation such as turning off the backlight and keeping the headphone volume level at 0 throughout the night) is 2.5 hours. The second battery ($40 or so) will get you up to 5 hours reliably. For more than that, you could consider building your own power supply. Some people have had good luck with a 12v SLA and the car adapter. For 7 hours, though, you're going to need something special.
In terms of what fits on the hard drive, just think in terms of CDs. 74 minutes of music is approx 650 meg, so that's how much it'd take up as an uncompressed WAV on the NJB3's hard drive. Looks like 7 hours should be about 4 gig, which would easily fit.
Lastly, most all of the bands you listed do not allow taping, which means that you're either going to have to "stealth it" -- meaning hide your recorder/mic/etc. and sneak it through and hope you don't get caught recording -- or pass on it.
Of course, if you're considering stealth, most of my above advice is worthless because you'll never want to carry all that crap in.
Maybe your best bet for stealthing 7 hours of music cheaply would be a MD and some inexpensive AND unobtrusive mics like the Core Sounds or the like. You'd only need MD, battery box, mics, and a pocket full of discs and AA's.
Chuck
Topic: Nomad 3 Questions (Read 3236 times)