Topic: Stack taping with Cards/Hypers

[MLKLuke]

HI guys,
in 90% of the shows I taped I decided to do "stack-taping" because here in italy the mixer/soundboard zone is usually full of crying/clapping/chatting persons and it's not a quiet place to tape from

I use AT853 with cardioid or hypercardioid caps...and my question is:

which is the best configuration (din-dina-ortf....) for my mics for stack-taping? what's your experience with that?

thanks in advance for your help 

bye

Luke

[dgodwin]

for stack taping, I'd just use A-B. 

[vanark]

for stack taping, I'd just use A-B. 

I did my first stack tape last night and used A-B.  CA-11 cards.  I think it came out pretty nicely.

http://www.archive.org/details/jmayer2008-07-12.ca11.flac16

Since I was running for a stack tape, I didn't worry about getting a good stereo image, but rather with capturing the sound.  Seemed to work okay.

[justink]

i've run a-b, xy, and din for stack.

of all the three, i prefer a-b, even though some people say to only run a-b w/ omnis.

is it just me or does xy and din lessen the depth (bass) of your tape on the stack?

-j

[Will_S]

I'd also run A-B for stack taping, it's not like there's much of a stereo image in the music to preserve, so it's more important to keep the signal on axis.

That said, if you run cards A-B with your head in between them, there's still a baffle attenuating sounds from the opposite side.  So AB stealthed cardioids can still have a decent image....but of the room and crowd rather than the music if you're right up against a stack.

[su6oxone]

I did my first stack tape last night and used A-B.  CA-11 cards.  I think it came out pretty nicely.

http://www.archive.org/details/jmayer2008-07-12.ca11.flac16

Sounds pretty good, where were you located in relation to the stacks?

[vanark]

I did my first stack tape last night and used A-B.  CA-11 cards.  I think it came out pretty nicely.

http://www.archive.org/details/jmayer2008-07-12.ca11.flac16

Sounds pretty good, where were you located in relation to the stacks?

about 30-40 ft back, almost directly in front of the right stack in a big shed venue.  Started at 8.5 ft but then security came about 30 min. in and told me to lower it to shoulder height.

[MLKLuke]

thanks for the answers. so you would just put the mics in A-B configuration and point your head straight to the stacks or with some kind of angle?

[Liquid Drum]

I use DIN (think thats right) and works fine for me and I tend to stand about 1 metre from the stack!! 

I stealth 90% of the time though.

[MLKLuke]

I use DIN (think thats right) and works fine for me and I tend to stand about 1 metre from the stack!! 

I stealth 90% of the time though.

I've never been so close...I usually am between 10metres and 20metres from the stacks

[Jeremy Lykins]

here in italy the mixer/soundboard zone is usually full of crying...

LOL....crying?  What kind of shows are you attending? 

I just tried stack taping a few weeks ago as an experiment out of necessity (I had no other place to set up) and I was very happy with the results.  I only tape in small bars with small P.A. systems, so high volume hasn't been an issue with me.  I typically set my preamp to +10 and my R-09 to 20-22 and still have to boost the volume afterwards (I don't HAVE to, but I like to).  I tried stack taping three weeks in a row at the same bar, with mixed results.  When the crowd was small the recording sounded good, but for the crowded show I had people walking in front of my mics all night long so there's a lot of phasing on that recording.  Here are a couple of my good recordings from stack taping in a small bar:

http://www.archive.org/details/kaseyrausch2008-07-06

http://www.archive.org/details/redlefty2008-07-06

[Dede2002]

for stack taping, I'd just use A-B. 

I did my first stack tape last night and used A-B.  CA-11 cards.  I think it came out pretty nicely.

http://www.archive.org/details/jmayer2008-07-12.ca11.flac16

Since I was running for a stack tape, I didn't worry about getting a good stereo image, but rather with capturing the sound.  Seemed to work okay.

Sounds pretty nice to my ears.
Most of the times, PA systems provides mono sound, so don't worry about stereo image. Point your mics to the stacks and be happy.

[jonbo]

A-B

[su6oxone]

about 30-40 ft back, almost directly in front of the right stack in a big shed venue.  Started at 8.5 ft but then security came about 30 min. in and told me to lower it to shoulder height.

Cool, thanks.  I don't really listen to JM, but it's a nice recording. 

[ScottT]

is it just me or does xy and din lessen the depth (bass) of your tape on the stack?

Correct as far as XY is concerned.  I don't have the technical details to explain why, but that is the nature of XY.  It provides some natural rolloff of lower frequencies, which can be advantageous depending on what kind of music you're recording.

I'd love to read a technical explanation of this if anyone has a link...