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Author Topic: Recomennded Gear Thread?  (Read 2521 times)

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Offline voltronic

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Recomennded Gear Thread?
« on: November 24, 2020, 07:21:00 PM »
We tend to have a lot of posts here asking about what the best X is for Y situation.  I think it would be a good idea to maintain a "recommended gear" thread to collect all of these .  It would be up to one member to keep this post updated, unless a mod thinks it should be their job.  (I volunteer if no one else is interested).

Each item could have the handles of members who endorse the product listed after it, so people would know who to ask if they had specific questions, and so people have an idea how many people feel strongly about a particular item.  (This could get out of had for certain products, I realize.)  Everyone has their own experiences and opinions, but this would allow you to "vote" for a product, although lists within each category would remain alphabetical so there is no preference order.

Because mics are highly specific, I suggest only listing general brands or product lines within a brand.  For example, DPA 4000 series, Schoeps Collette series, Sennheiser MKH, etc.

This post could be limited to items used in the capture of a live concert (including cables, clamps, stands, etc.).  That would be a lot of stuff on its own.  Or, it could be extended with follow-up posts to include playback gear for mixing and mastering, software, etc.

To keep the gear list of a reasonable length, I suggest a minimum threshold of users endorsing it (5? 10?), and you must have direct experience with the product to offer endorsement (on your honor).

The person maintaining the thread should also keep it locked, as we have the dedicated sub-forums for discussion of specific types of products.  This thread should be for the list only; not for discussion which should occur in the appropriate sub-forums.  Endorsements could be offered to the list maintainer via PM.


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Offline jerryfreak

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2020, 09:45:10 PM »
boy that sounds like a herculean effort, though i see its utility. I fell out of taping for a few years several times and upon returning was behind on lots of gear that had come out in that time... and i found it challenging to go thru volumes 1-7 of say mixpre series and get a clear picture

organizationally it could be a challenge. would it be a subforum of "recommended products", with individual threads for SDCs, preamps, all-in ones, etc.? with posts on individual gear within? where do people ask questions? if in the thread,it gets cluttered. If done via PM, the community-shared info aspect is lost.

I can host a static site in wiki format if needed
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Offline heathen

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2020, 11:47:51 AM »
It's a noble idea, but couldn't it potentially deter experimentation?  The type of concert recording most of us do is far from solved, so I think efforts should be more towards experimentation than standardization.  But that's just my opinion  :shrug:
Mics: AT4050ST | AT4031 | AT853 (C/SC) | Line Audio CM3 | Sennheiser e614 | Sennheiser MKE2 | DPA 4061 Pre: CA9200 Decks: Zoom F8 | Roland R-05

Offline voltronic

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2020, 12:53:33 PM »
It's a noble idea, but couldn't it potentially deter experimentation?  The type of concert recording most of us do is far from solved, so I think efforts should be more towards experimentation than standardization.  But that's just my opinion  :shrug:

That's a fair point. I wasn't suggesting standardization, but more of a starting point for people looking for a list of proven solid performers to look at. There are plenty of good recommendation lists for pro studio and home studio equipment out there, but nothing really like that for live concert recording, even for people who do it professionally. My idea was just to make a resource list we could share with people, and then they would be free to explore from there.
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
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Offline heathen

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2020, 01:33:39 PM »
Yeah I didn't mean to imply that you were suggesting standardization, just that it could be an unintended consequence of this.  That said, I still think it's a noble idea  :clapping:
Mics: AT4050ST | AT4031 | AT853 (C/SC) | Line Audio CM3 | Sennheiser e614 | Sennheiser MKE2 | DPA 4061 Pre: CA9200 Decks: Zoom F8 | Roland R-05

Online aaronji

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #5 on: November 26, 2020, 05:22:01 PM »
Interesting idea, but it may work better in theory than in practice. For example, when does a product "time out" of the list? The R-09 used to be THE small recorder of choice here. At some point, the M10 assumed that role. Now, neither are produced and there are other (better) options. Or consider votes for a product. Not all votes are created equal; someone that has only used a single pre-amp, for example, has much less insight than someone that has gone through ten. That is probably exacerbated by the "fluffer factor", where people feel the need to support the products they chose personally. On top of those kinds of issues, people tape different things, have different personal preferences and peeves, and like different sonic characteristics (think the old "muddy Schoeps" or "clinical DPA" posts). There are also lots of great products out there that haven't been used extensively by the members here, but that doesn't mean they aren't worthy of consideration.

Offline jerryfreak

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #6 on: November 26, 2020, 06:31:03 PM »
yeah the "flavors" cloud it a bit

perhaps we could be more pragmatic about it. like for example, just acknowledge that schoeps and DPA have different sounds, and point people to a resource where they can hear different sources, but then break down the practical differences of each, for example

cost and availability: in the full-size SDC realm, schoeps is preferred as the capsules themselves are cheaper, and much more common on the used market

operationally: DPA are easier to power due to the permanently polarized capsules

size/stealthability: DPA are smaller as a package both at the capsule end and also smaller on the electronics end (could be a d:vice, or a CA9100, or a Coresound HEB, etc), due to no need for complex high-voltage power supplies

flexibility: the microdot setup used by the DPAs allows you to sub in 406x/606x series for the prison search gigs.

those are all pragmatic decisions that go beyond the flavors of the capsules themselves

as far as recorders, sound quality has really converged in the last few years its almost more about feature set. Any handheld can get you close to 95-100dB dynamic range with a hot signal. though some take hotter signals than others, some have better gain ranges, absence of 'zipper' volume steps, etc.
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Offline heathen

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #7 on: November 27, 2020, 03:10:35 AM »
How about approaching this from a different angle.  Compile links to past posts/threads that are particularly informative about things specific to concert taping.  Armed with that knowledge, someone can be in a better position to assess the choices out there and decide what is the best fit for them.  This is particularly so where some of those topics may seem counter intuitive at first, or aren't common knowledge.  Teach a man to fish, and all that...

Potential topics could include discussions about: how much of the reverberant sound is actually picked up, even by directional pattern mics (I know DSatz, for one, has discussed this); the importance of a mic's off-axis response; relationships between mic spacing and polar pattern; etc.

Certainly these topics can get complicated and technical, but there's so much good information on this forum that I believe it's all there for the finding.  Putting something cohesive together would be a challenge but in the long run it may be more useful than a gear popularity contest (I use that term not to dismiss your idea, but just for the fun of it).
Mics: AT4050ST | AT4031 | AT853 (C/SC) | Line Audio CM3 | Sennheiser e614 | Sennheiser MKE2 | DPA 4061 Pre: CA9200 Decks: Zoom F8 | Roland R-05

Offline ycoop

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Re: Recomennded Gear Thread?
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2021, 06:27:18 PM »
Bumping this because I think it’s a tremendous idea. When I started out a few years back I felt overwhelmed with all the information. There’s a “start here” forum post which is like 10 years outdated and not particularly useful. I could see other individuals being turned off from starting down the rabbit hole. As the taping community gets older and more of us retire we should be doing what we can to recruit new members.

I think a general post about signal chain components would be a helpful starting point (particularly when it comes to active cables and other more taper niche gear that doesn’t have any other documentation on the web). Within that section beyond the basic introduction we could link to relevant threads which would elaborate as well as point newcomers in the direction of pre-existing threads for any questions they may have.
Mics: Avantone CK-1s, AT853 c+o
Pres: CA9100
Recorders: DR-60d mkII, DR-2d

 

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