Topic: Newbie with a Microtrack 24/96

[Mr. Bull]

First off I would like to thank the moderators of this site for doing such a great job managing posts and wrting Newbie tutorials for people like me.  Also to all the mebers of the site who are energetic enough to help people answer questions and fix problems.  I am hoping this love will transfer over to this post.

I recently puchased a Microtrack 24/96.  With it I bought a 2GB kingston CF card and the 10db attenuator.  I also updated the filmware. After reading through various posts for over 2 hours I found that the site answered many of my questions but at the same time raised a bunch of new ones.  Here are some of the new questions I have after reading diffrent posts.

The higher the bit rate the more information stored per unit of time?  Does the bit rate affect quality of sound recorded?

What are tape flips with the Microtrack? 

What is the 2GB Seamless Auto Split?  Is that something I should be worried about as a Newbie?

What does "Bit Bucket" mean?

When using a Batterie holder with usb port to fix the power drainage issues what happens when the AA in the battie pack runs out?  Will the Microtrack just shut down or will it automaticly switch over to the internal power? Or does this work opposite where it uses the internal power first?

I have read alot about Microphones on this site but now I am more concerned than ever that I might get the wrong type of microphones.  I don't want the show to sound like one big fart because I bought crappy mics.  I also understand the phantom power thing but don't know some of the lingo like "Cardioid" "Omni" "Binaural"
I want a mic that uses the phantom power provided by the Microtrack. The less equipment I have to sneak in the better.  What is popular around $100 or less?

If there are any tapers that are in the Denver area that would be intrested in showing me the ropes I would be up for that too.

This is a ton of stuff so any information will help.  If all goes well I can see myself becoming a bigger part of this site.

Thanks                Mr. Bull

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Bit Bucket means you can feed it a digital signal, and the recorder will basically save all those 0's and 1's. Also, you aren't using the recorders A>D when using a device as a Bit Bucket.

Cardioid and Omni are types of mics or capsules for mics. A Cardiod will pick up sound mostly from one direction (forward). An Omni will pick up from all directions, but you still should point an Omni microphone toward the sound source.

Binuaral is a technique using an Omni mic. Basically you put an object (frequently your head) between two Omni mics. This replicates the way YOU hear a sound. I think Binuaural should be used if you plan on listening with headphones, but I think it works fine for speakers as well. I only use Binuaral when I'm stealthing.

I live in Boulder. I have a show this Saturday at Albums on the Hill in Boulder, but I'm not 100% sure I'm taping (or if I'm even allowed to tape). After that I've got the Mark Vann Benefit at the Fox in Boulder (on 12/16, I think). I'm sure I will be taping that, and there will be plenty of other tapers. We're all pretty friendly (except Josh Simpson...he's a jerk...I kid, I kid).

You're certainly welcome to tag along, and I can show you the ropes. It's pretty easy.

I'd also suggest doing some reading over at Oade.com. A lot of good info there.

www.oade.com

Here's the mic faq at Oade:

http://oade.com/Tapers_Section/faq-mic.html