Topic: Total n00b questions

[maidencolorado]

OK, it will only take a minute of time to figure out I am a total n00b when it comes to the fine art of taping.  I recently recorded the first shows I am willing to share (I have done a couple more, but they will remain hidden for the good of everyone else).  First off, my rig for the shows was as follows:  Sony MZ-N707 with SP-CMC-20s.  I have since gotten a JB3, have Church STC-11s and an SP Keychain Batterybox.

Now for the questions...

For some reason, my recordings came out mono.  I used Audacity to duplicate the channel and make a "stereo" source.  Is this what anyone else would have done?  I then used CD Wave to split the tracks and save as FLAC Files.  What is the deal with the different compression levels?  It recommended FLAC level 5, but I used 8 since it said it was the best compression.  Right move, wrong move or indifferent?  I left the audio as it was when I recorded it, since I know everyone has different tastes in how a show should sound, but I'm pretty happy with how they came out.  I'd be more than willing to post a sample if (again my n00bness shines through) someone could be kind enough to show me the way to post a sample 

Sorry for my complete lack of knowledge on these items, its a learning process and we all have to start somewhere.  I figure I may as well start from the ground up.

Thanks in advance for any tips as well as for your time and patience.

Oh, and the shows I taped were Into Eternity, Redemption and most of Dream Theater from Baltimore 14 Aug 2007 in case anyone was wondering.

[willndmb]

i can't recall off hand if the jb3 has a setting to record mono vs stereo, but that might be your "problem" there
as for flac, the higher the number the more compression
the more compression the smaller the flac (but the longer it takes to decode/encode too)
the plus to havuing a smaller file is that you can save more flac on a dvd/hd and they can be uploaded/dl faster

[Humbug]

For some reason, my recordings came out mono. 

Any idea why?

I used Audacity to duplicate the channel and make a "stereo" source.  Is this what anyone else would have done? 

Yes.

I then used CD Wave to split the tracks and save as FLAC Files.  What is the deal with the different compression levels?  It recommended FLAC level 5, but I used 8 since it said it was the best compression.  Right move, wrong move or indifferent? 

I personally use level 5, as it encodes/decodes a bit faster, and the size isn't a lit different on disc. Personal choice tho.

I left the audio as it was when I recorded it, since I know everyone has different tastes in how a show should sound, but I'm pretty happy with how they came out.  I'd be more than willing to post a sample if (again my n00bness shines through) someone could be kind enough to show me the way to post a sample 

That's fine - I normally balance the left/right channels (no need for you to, until you get a stereo recording!) by boosting the volume of the individual channels, and add fade in and out. You can post a small mp3 sample here if you like (500 KB I think).

Sorry for my complete lack of knowledge on these items, its a learning process and we all have to start somewhere.  I figure I may as well start from the ground up.

Thanks in advance for any tips as well as for your time and patience.

Oh, and the shows I taped were Into Eternity, Redemption and most of Dream Theater from Baltimore 14 Aug 2007 in case anyone was wondering.

Welcome to the obsession...

[Brian Skalinder]

For some reason, my recordings came out mono.

Could be your 1/8" plug wasn't completely inserted into the JB3's female socket.  Some plugs don't fit well in the socket and a mono recording could be a result of a bad fit.

[attheshow]

If you were using the MD, the original MD recorders from Sony have a mono mode which doubles your recording time. If you used MD and got more than 74 min on a disc, then this is your problem.

[maidencolorado]

Into Eternity and Redemption were between 36 and 40 minutes each, so not sure if that would affect the time on the Sony MD.  I think I may have just found the reason for my mono recording.  When I looked again at my mics, the wire going into my right mic has come a bit loose from the mic itself.  So it looks like the solution may be to use the STC-11s from now on.  I knew about the bad connection possibility, so I checked that throughout the night.  That's why I was so surprised to get a mono signal, guess I needed to look at the other end.  I'm checking out a local band at a bar this weekend, I'll take both sets along wiht the JB3 and try them out.

Thanks for the feedback and information to this point, glad to see I'm not too far off base.  As for posting a sample here, is there a specific area I would go to?  Sorry again, I'll get better as I go.

[Humbug]

Into Eternity and Redemption were between 36 and 40 minutes each, so not sure if that would affect the time on the Sony MD.  I think I may have just found the reason for my mono recording.  When I looked again at my mics, the wire going into my right mic has come a bit loose from the mic itself.  So it looks like the solution may be to use the STC-11s from now on.  I knew about the bad connection possibility, so I checked that throughout the night.  That's why I was so surprised to get a mono signal, guess I needed to look at the other end.  I'm checking out a local band at a bar this weekend, I'll take both sets along wiht the JB3 and try them out.

Running two rigs will quickly rule out one set of mics..I think I know which ones!

Thanks for the feedback and information to this point, glad to see I'm not too far off base.  As for posting a sample here, is there a specific area I would go to?  Sorry again, I'll get better as I go.

Yes, press the "Additional Options... " button when you reply..

[dorrcoq]

Rather than going to a show and testing your equipment, why not put on the stereo at home and do a quick recording.   A lot better than being disappointed later.

[maidencolorado]

Thank you all again, very helpful.  I can't give +T yet, I'll get there.  I hadn't even though of using my stereo for a stand in band.  Makes perfect sense, and it will save time and frustration.

I'm getting around to putting up a sample of Redemption's Bleed Me Dry.  I know it will be short, but if anyone has any feedback, I would appreciate it.  I know you will need a bigger sample to make an honest judgement.

[dorrcoq]

Sounds fine to me, but my laptop has crappy speakers, so you best wait for some other opinions.

[maidencolorado]

Thanks!  Yeah, I don't think laptops were designed with MP3 samples of live recording in mind, not sure what they were thinking there

[dorrcoq]

Have you checked out the Colorado team thread?  Lots of guys there who really know there stuff and would love to help a maiden, I'm sure!

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,89629.0.html

[maidencolorado]

Thanks, I'm actually Maryland based now.  Hope to make a return to Colorado someday though.  As for the maiden part, that's actually a referrence to Iron Maiden.  Goes way back to high school 

[dorrcoq]

  As for the maiden part, that's actually a referrence to Iron Maiden. 

OUCH!

[maidencolorado]

  As for the maiden part, that's actually a referrence to Iron Maiden. 

OUCH!

Not a problem