Gear / Technical Help > Ask The Tapers
1990s taper finally upgrading gear - a few questions about mics, power, stealth
chiefscribe:
Thank you all for the helpful info. VERY much appreciated. A few more questions below .
--- Quote --->>>> the recorder you use is irrelevant. Anything small with decent battery life is fine. All it does is store 1s and 0s, and we call them bit boxes. >>>>
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Right, the 1s and 0s are the same, but some of the bit buckets have phantom power, and some have blindingly bright LED displays, and some fit down my pants more easily. I like that the R-05 is the size of a deck of cards and doesn't scream "PROFESSIONAL AUDIO EQUIPMENT!" at first glance, but if a different recorder with XLR inputs and phantom power would allow me not to have to have cables re-terminated etc., I could keep the R-05 for situations where more stealth is needed and get something with XLR and phantom power for when I can get better gear into the venue.
--- Quote --->>> Check in with Schoepsnbox he can build you actives for Microtech Gefell, Schoeps, Neumann, or AKG caps. You would save some cash over buying a set of ccm4's. If you only stealth tape you might want to look into an Nbox or baby Nbox. >>>>
--- End quote ---
Oh, are Nbox inline devices still available? I keep seeing that they are discontinued, and so are littleboxes and tinyboxes and PFAs from Naiant, so I was at a loss as to whether anyone is still making active cables or inline devices. Hope so. Yes, I pretty much only do stealth recording, even when open taping is an option, because I tend to go to shows with non-tapers who don't want their whole concert experience to revolve around me and my gear. If schoepsnbox and/or Naiant are still making solutions that would let me use Schoeps caps with my recorder, that would be fantastic.
--- Quote --->>>>> I'd go Schoeps mk22/4/41 > CMC 1 L or CMC 1 K - Gives you the modularity of the CMC series with almost the size of the CCM (a mm or 2 longer) - plenty of people here use Schoeps Stealth and alot prefer the 4v or 41v (vertical capsule alignment) in these situations as well as the mics can conform better to the shape of the head (as you direction of the mic is side addressed). So you could go mk4v > CMC 1 K and be pretty low profile.
>>>>
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This is what I was leaning toward - Schoeps MK4 or MK41 with the new CMC1. https://schoeps.de/en/products/colette/microphone-amplifiers/cmc-1-l.html Wasn't sure about the cable options - is there any advantage to having the cable permanently affixed (K) vs. separate (L)? In general I'd rather keep the flexibility of separate components unless it saves a lot of space, but I welcome advice if I'm missing something important.
--- Quote --->>>>
There are many options for pre's/AD's and all in one's that the schoeps CMC's could plug right into. For example:
https://www.sonosax.ch/product/sx-m2d2/
>>>>
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Good to know there are options. Any others to consider besides Sonosax?
--- Quote --->>>>
If you went with CMC 1-L (Lemo) - you could get custom Lemo > mini 3pin XLR's cables made to make that setup small
>>>>
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This is what I most need advice on, the in-between stuff between the mics and the recorder. Best space-efficient/stealth-able power and cables is what is most puzzling me. I keep finding recommendations on custom cables and inline devices... and then later seeing a post that they are discontinued or the vendor has retired or something. So I am puzzled about what actually is available now. Are there reliable sources of active cables, custom-terminated cables, and inline devices who are in the biz now? Hope so.
--- Quote --->>> The newer DPA's are modular as well but they do not have side addresses caps. >>>
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Forgive my cluelessness but I don't know what "side addresses caps" / "sdc side-address" means - ?
Based on your advice and other things I've read, this is what I am considering right now - please tell me if I'm making any huge mistakes.
Plan A, quality rig to use when security is less tight
* Schoeps Colette capsules MK4 or MK41, probably MK4 >
* CMC 1 amp (L with LEMO connector? or K with integrated cable?) >
* some kind of preamp (Sonosax M2D2 or is there a better option? will all of this gear fit in my pants?) >
* recorder (do I need to upgrade to one with XLR and phantom power? I saw a used Tascam DR-100mkIII and am wondering if I should get it. The R-05 just has stereo mini inputs.)?? Any special cables needed for these?
Special backup batteries?
Do I have to wear a fanny pack?
Other accessories I'm not thinking of?
Anyone care to send a PM with tips on stealth-facilitating clothing for a short guy? I would look like a jackass in a Kangol but am not tall enough to put mics on shoulders and get good sound. Baseball caps I can pull off OK.
Plan B, tiniest possible stealth rig
* DPA 4060s>
* d:vice >
* iOS device [or if there is a way to use the R-05 I'd love to be able to set track markers etc. and use the features of the R-05]
?? Any special cables or batteries or needed for this?
Software for the iOS device?
Other accessories I'm not thinking of that I would realize are necessary three hours before the show?
Tips on not checking what time it is on your phone while recording?
If I can afford both plan A and plan B setups I think it would be best to have a more streamlined version as a backup, and the higher-quality gear for when it's feasible. That might be a little bit over budget, though.
Thanks again for talking me through this.
P.S. Regarding my plea for PMs about hat methods etc., if anyone is worried that I am a spy from venue security because I haven't posted much here... 1) I'm not. Look for my account name on dimeadozen and some of my old Sonic Studios DAT recordings may still be circulating there, though I haven't been actively torrenting in a while. I believe I have mutual friends with daspyknows (Hodon's list) and know many many Deadhead tapers for decades - but most of them like me haven't kept up on all the new tech developments. 2) I have had an account here since ~2014 IIRC but have never gotten my list of questions written down until now. Shows would come around and I would not have time to decide on gear, and then after I missed taping those shows properly the pressure would be off and I would forget about it, and then more shows would come up, same deal, etc. etc. etc., but missing a year and a half of shows due to the pandemic has motivated me to make a decision finally. I really want to tape shows on Labor Day weekend with something better than the built-in mics on the R-05.
morst:
--- Quote from: chiefscribe on August 10, 2021, 02:04:24 AM ---Tips on not checking what time it is on your phone while recording?
--- End quote ---
wrist watch?
rocksuitcase:
kindms and I have spoken about using the D:vice for our DPA 4061sk's omnis.
IMO, you would/should use a dedicated phone for recording. IOW, NOT one which is your primary phone.
--- Quote ---Plan B, tiniest possible stealth rig
DPA 4060s>
d:vice >
iOS device [or if there is a way to use the R-05 I'd love to be able to set track markers etc. and use the features of the R-05]
?? Any special cables or batteries or needed for this?
Software for the iOS device?
Other accessories I'm not thinking of that I would realize are necessary three hours before the show?
Tips on not checking what time it is on your phone while recording?
--- End quote ---
chiefscribe:
--- Quote ---IMO, you would/should use a dedicated phone for recording. IOW, NOT one which is your primary phone.
--- End quote ---
because it will be unavailable for use as a phone, or are there other practical reasons?
Also wondering if getting files off the phone is a challenge.
moondust.and.solitude:
--- Quote ---Also wondering if getting files off the phone is a challenge.
--- End quote ---
For me it's not a challenge, as once I am on a wifi I upload the files to my DropBox account. From there I can do whatever I want with it.
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