Whether to upgrade mics it depends on what you want to improve and what you like. I am recording very little, but I see that my assessment of recordings is changing. I perceive slowly more and more aspects that I was not aware of before. I think the best is to record, listen to other recordings and compare (there are many recordings on LMA). After, it is easy to decide whether you want to upgrade or not.
Schoeps actives is dream setup. Dpa are also great mics. If you are taping occasional you can try cheaper gear too. Sometimes it may also be better to learn with cheaper rig how to handle it. Any mistake doesn't hurt so much. A lot of people including me are using Chris Church's mics or Audio technica electrets as starter. When you decide to upgrade your iphone rig you also need to get a preamp and recorder (or recorder and battery box). You can find a lot of information about mics, preamps and recorders here in the taperssection.
Thanks, agreed this is a great post. All roads seem to be leading to Schoeps. I am just an occasional taper, disproportionate to the number of shows I actually attend. My #1 concern when I'm taping is that the process doesn't distract from my own enjoyment of the show in the moment. Other criteria would include - is the show likely to be recorded by somebody else with better gear, is recording this show really gonna add to the pantheon of recorded live music in some way, will I be able to set up in a decent spot to get the most out of my modest rig, etc.
I've been an active listener of unofficial live recordings for a pretty long time. I remember fondly certain audience recordings - some from Tom Waits's 2004/5 European tour, some Dylan recordings over the last 15 years. Throughout that time, despite having some audience recordings that I basically treat like children, I still thought of an audience recording as a sort of poor man's soundboard. That began to change after discovering the Living Stereo classical music series, some amazing recordings there for those unfamiliar, and it changed dramatically when I made my first audience recording about a year ago. It's so much more than a line out from the soundboard - the sound of the room, the crowd for better or worse, the challenge, the responsibility to document something important that would otherwise be lost to the ether.
Anyway, back to the topic, if I can aim the MV88 right at one of the stacks within close range and get my levels right, it's astounding what it can do for the money. In the recording up at the top of the thread, I was in the back recording the room rather than pointing at stacks (it was more of a general purpose PA, not really stacks), kind of making my own 3 channel Living Stereo inspired recording. In a perfect world I'd be able to do that but with a much lower noise floor so that I still have the ability to make certain moves like adding compression or gain. I tend to record acoustic shows where isn't any bass, but being able to capture good bass is something I imagine I'd want in a versatile rig.
It looks like a Schoeps-based rig will take some doing to make it ultra stealth. I've been thinking about creative ways to mask stealth rigs in acoustically transparent everyday objects or maybe even 3D printing my own apparatus.
Topic: Pick Apart My Mastering (Read 13865 times)