Topic: Stealth Recordings in Europe, need a mic and have no clue

[gauloisesblondes123]

Hi Everyone,

I´d love to start recording live shows and want to buy the gear. I think I´ll get the Edirol R 09 HR but I´m a bit lost about the microphone. It´s gonna be a hidden one, that´s for sure. The problem is, that I live in Germany and all the tipps from other tapers I read are from the states and I can´t seem to find the Mics people recommend at the european market. (E.G. CA-14, SP-CMC´s or OKMs)
Do I have to have a look for "lavalier-microphones"? Does anyone know? But then again, when I look at those they don´t seem to have a corresponding plug for the Recorder. Unfortunately I live in a City with ONE music-store and they seem to have even less knowledge about this stuff than me, so I´m dependent on information from oneline-shops and don´t find my way around.

Maybe there´s a European (or even german) taper on the boards, who can point me into the right direction, give a few tipps and/or is willing to answer some more of my questions,

thanks a lot in advance,
greets Kris

p.s. I wanted to start recording my next show an nov 14th, otherwise I´d go for ordering something in the states. But there shipping is about 3 weeks, so I thought I´d ask here first

[acidjack]

In Europe, just for speed of shipping alone, I'd consider the OKM-II series.  Those mics sound great and are made in Europe, so you'll avoid some duties, etc.

I see lots of European guys with OKM-IIRs and haven't heard many bad pulls with those.  I think "Microphone Madness" is also in Europe or the UK and has "Sennheiser-driven" mics that are quite good (MM-HLSC-1 I believe, but I don't own those). 

Americans will always say Church or Sound Professionals.  Both are good choices, but if you have a show on the 14th, there is no chance you'll get Church mics, or probably Sound Pros mics, in time, and you'll be paying shipping duties.

[Fried Chicken Boy]

acidjack gave a couple of good suggestions for microphone sources.  I also thought Microphone Madness was in Europe but a check on their website has them based in Florida.  Who knows, maybe they have an office/warehouse overseas as well?  Get in touch and see what they say.  If time is of the essence, the OKM-II series is probably your best bet and Soundman is in Germany > http://www.soundman.de/

[TimSmith]

I live in Moscow and I've got CA-14. They are great. IMHO you can't go wrong with CA-14.
If international shipping is ok for you, I'd buy CA-14 or maybe CAFS - they are super-small.

[Ziggz]

Soundman's site seems to be down (for me anyway) at the moment. They also sell on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/soundman_ek/m.html

[gauloisesblondes123]

Thanks everybody for the advice!
I wasn´t just asking for the brand, but also for the TYPE of mic I need.
Those tiny ones are like these, right?
http://www.thomann.de/de/lavalier-mikrofone.html

(hope the link works - its all german language though)

cuz if I understand correctly those are mics for speakers or fitnesstrainers and stuff like this. Will those be sufficient for a rock-concert?!
Depends I guess, huh?
But then again most of them do have different plugs. The Recorder has a "klinke" plug and the mics have XLR or L-plugs. So I thought they might not work with the recorder anyways.

[swordfish]

PM sent in German

[TimeBandit]

get a Church Audio ugly preamp + ca14 mics - really one of the best for 007'ing.
or maybe some CAFS which are really tiny.
ordering is no problem. bought my church audio stuff in the yard sale here or on ebay so importing to eu is the minor problem.
also microphone madness and soundpro's shipping to europe, but i'm most satisfied with the church gear.

if you want to buy new sets contact Chris church here on his sale thread, do not use the ebay store (because here are the special offers and much cheaper.)

[acidjack]

The PM in German is probably more useful, but the general need is for a stereo pair of omnidirectional or cardiod lavalier-type mics with high sound pressure level (SPL) handling.  Over 125db SPL should be the minimum.

It's somewhat easier to just shop for brands that already sell the mics as stereo pairs (Church Audio, Soundman, Sound Professionals, etc.)  Most people don't use these kinds of mics for recording music like we do (they are used for instrument miking sometimes, like the DPA 4060s) so they aren't generally sold as stereo pairs. 

Thanks everybody for the advice!
I wasn´t just asking for the brand, but also for the TYPE of mic I need.
Those tiny ones are like these, right?
http://www.thomann.de/de/lavalier-mikrofone.html

(hope the link works - its all german language though)

cuz if I understand correctly those are mics for speakers or fitnesstrainers and stuff like this. Will those be sufficient for a rock-concert?!
Depends I guess, huh?
But then again most of them do have different plugs. The Recorder has a "klinke" plug and the mics have XLR or L-plugs. So I thought they might not work with the recorder anyways.

[weroflu]

anyone know what capsules are in the okm II?

[pillowman]

anyone know what capsules are in the okm II?

today - some sennheiser
in the past - some beyerdynamic

[Popmarter]

For long time I had very good results on both loud (rock) and soft music with the OKM II Rock Studio (OKMII RS).

http://www.thomann.de/gb/soundman_okm_ii_rockstudio_a3.htm

Stick them in your ears (hat or anywhere) and off you go. They will result in good, stable recordings with a unique OKM sound. Difference between the Rock version and the Rock Studio versions is the amount of hiss (groundnoise?) when recording a higher levels (as you do with softer music). The Rocks have more hiss than the Rock Studio's. Don't let money make the difference here.

OKM's are good for starters as they are small, easy and work good in all environments. Excellent for stealthing. When you have some more expirience you might go a step higher. However I know some who stick to this type as the results are good to excellent each time. You will find recordings on Dimeadozen.org (search: "OKMII")

The Edirol will do, Sony M10 could well do, aswell as small Tascams. They are small and probably fit your budget.

[Fried Chicken Boy]

Soundman's site seems to be down (for me anyway) at the moment. They also sell on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/soundman_ek/m.html

Everything else being somewhat equal, the prices they have for Soundman mics on eBay are a bit pricey.  If you have the time for shipping, you might want to consider the Church Audio and Sound Professionals gear.  Even with the duties and taxes those might be less expensive.

If you know somebody with electronics knowledge and is handy with a soldering iron, you might want to consider a pair of those DPA 4061's listed on the Thomann site and getting them terminated into a single 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo plug.  They are excellent microphones that can be powered by a 9v battery box.

[Napo]

How about the DSM http://www.sonicstudios.com/dsm.htm ?  Bernard is based in US though.

[gauloisesblondes123]

Hi everybody,
thanks again for the advice. I browsed through a few tapings I downloaded and found out, that I kinda liked the sound from Sony-ECM 719s and even preferred it over the OKMs (Pop and Rock) recordings. Of course I know, that this is also dependent on other settings, location from the taper etc. A nice helpful user here told me that Sony´s aren´t to bad for that price and I thought I will try them out. I don´t even know, if I will like my new hobby or if I´d end up wasting hundreds of euros for a mic... I can still update to a better mic afterwards (x-mas coming soon, right? ;-))
The stuff should arrive mid-week, I might bug you all with a few more questions afterwards. I have some friends who play in a rock/punk band. I will tape their rehearsals before I will try and tape my first "test-concert"

thanks again,
greets,
Kris