Topic: damn, DPA makes some fine stealth equipment>

[grider]

last night I ran my DAP4061 miniature mics into the DPA mma6000 preamp, for the first time, into my D8 and did not use the high pass filter, and I must say I pulled a damn fine recording, which is far better than I expected; placed the mics in the front-panel mesh portion of a baseball cap, brim facing to the rear, mics spaced about three inches apart, and this rig and configuration produced very clean and clear highs, decent bass presence (but that was due to the low bass low in the mix, but then again this show was all about the guitarist) and, despite the omnidirectional nature of the mics, picked up very little of the background noise generated by the people sitting all around me, and close I might add, and despite their clapping between songs; its really surprising that such tiny components can make such a high quality recording, admittedly AKG480's would have sounded much better, but this recording is damn fine as well, and after I had stealthed this show and was leaving the venue I saw another familar face who is also a taper, we exchanged knowing glances, chatted, and he then lent me his own stealth recording made with his Core Sound binaurals for comparison, and it sounds pretty crappy compared to mine, which helped me understand the quality of my DPA gear, thanks DPA y'all rock; and I must also add that stealthing is so simple I can't believe I have not been doing it prior to now, the only thing I did differently last night taping that I would have done were I not taping was joining everyone else in clapping, that's it, so look for more stealth recordings from me from now on, and thanks to peeps like Moke, Plucks, and Bruce Myers of DPA, for the guidance and tech support in assembling my stealth rig

[setboy]

nice

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Congrats!  Now you just need to practice the 'no noise' taper clap.

I'm sitting close on saturday..  Were there any on-stage speakers/amps?  If so, for which performers?

[grider]

Congrats!  Now you just need to practice the 'no noise' taper clap.

I'm sitting close on saturday..  Were there any on-stage speakers/amps?  If so, for which performers?

you will have a good time, I did not know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised, there were a few numbers that were a little slow for me, and other fast numbers in the style of Scofield, it was an enjoyable night nonetheless; the band was mic'd up like crazy with monitors all over the stage, but they were just monitors for the musicians' own use and were situated around the perimeter of the band but facing the band, nothing was amplified out toward the audience, and from what I could tell everything was amplified through the venue's hidden and raised pa system, which was obscured by some ornamental lattice work; this arrangement may change from venue to venue; as I mentioned, the bass was very low in the mix so no real need for high pass filter, the sax is also pretty low in the mix, drums were prominent and tight (the percussion work for this band is incredibly complicated and subtle, at one point in the show the drummer was actually grinding the tip of his drum stick along a cymbal creating a screeching sound as Pat played soft notes); from left to right on the stage will be Pat, drums, sax, bass, the overall sound was exceptional and crystal clear, expect to pull a phat recording, oh and be on time the show last night was scheduled for 7:30 and Pat took the stage and began playing solo on the baritone guitar at 7:35 and once he begins you can't be seated until that number is finished, get there late and you will get burned

[KingReptile]

The MMA 6000 is a sweet piece..I dumped the SBM-1 ,I feel there is no need for it ..If you ever get a chance to use a M-1 or D-100 you will see that the A/D in its fine..

[grider]

The MMA 6000 is a sweet piece..I dumped the SBM-1 ,I feel there is no need for it ..If you ever get a chance to use a M-1 or D-100 you will see that the A/D in its fine..

thanks, that's actually my next move, replace the SBM1 and D8 with a new M1, then run 4061>mma6000>M1; it will be tiny and sound great, I can put this entire rig into a fanny pack and waltz right into most venues unnoticed, set up in the men's room and then find my seat and roll tape, which is what I did last night, no one gave me a second glance the entire night

[grider]

Good job Chris! Glad to hear that you liked the results of the effort. + to ya

now lets get those mics on either side of your head (as a baffle), and you'll be blown away!

[pjdavep]

The MMA 6000 is a sweet piece..I dumped the SBM-1 ,I feel there is no need for it ..If you ever get a chance to use a M-1 or D-100 you will see that the A/D in its fine..

I used to run my 4061s into a Sonosax SX-M2, but did some comparison recordings vs. and Oade linestage mod SBM-1 and I thought that the difference between the two was pretty amazing.  The 'sax definitely made the recording a little cleaner and tightened up the lower end, but using the Oade modSBM-1 created a much bigger soundstage and gave the recording way more depth.  I ended up ditching the sax because the SBM-1 made a bigger difference and I didn't want to stealth all that gear.

I'm gonna have to post those clips on my FTP server for some peeps to check out.

Later,
   pjdavep

[grider]

The MMA 6000 is a sweet piece..I dumped the SBM-1 ,I feel there is no need for it ..If you ever get a chance to use a M-1 or D-100 you will see that the A/D in its fine..

I used to run my 4061s into a Sonosax SX-M2, but did some comparison recordings vs. and Oade linestage mod SBM-1 and I thought that the difference between the two was pretty amazing.  The 'sax definitely made the recording a little cleaner and tightened up the lower end, but using the Oade modSBM-1 created a much bigger soundstage and gave the recording way more depth.  I ended up ditching the sax because the SBM-1 made a bigger difference and I didn't want to stealth all that gear.

I'm gonna have to post those clips on my FTP server for some peeps to check out.

Later,
   pjdavep

it had never occurred to me to run mics directly into an SBM1, and where does the phantom power come from with this combination? 

[pfife]

The MMA 6000 is a sweet piece..I dumped the SBM-1 ,I feel there is no need for it ..If you ever get a chance to use a M-1 or D-100 you will see that the A/D in its fine..

I used to run my 4061s into a Sonosax SX-M2, but did some comparison recordings vs. and Oade linestage mod SBM-1 and I thought that the difference between the two was pretty amazing.  The 'sax definitely made the recording a little cleaner and tightened up the lower end, but using the Oade modSBM-1 created a much bigger soundstage and gave the recording way more depth.  I ended up ditching the sax because the SBM-1 made a bigger difference and I didn't want to stealth all that gear.

I'm gonna have to post those clips on my FTP server for some peeps to check out.

Later,
   pjdavep

it had never occurred to me to run mics directly into an SBM1, and where does the phantom power come from with this combination? 

nah, you need a battery box at minimum to do that, I think.  I go 4061 -> BB-> SBM1 -> NJB3;

Glad you like the 4061s - they constantly put a smile on my face too!

[pjdavep]

it had never occurred to me to run mics directly into an SBM1, and where does the phantom power come from with this combination? 

It doesn't, with this configuration, you need to use a battery box of some sort before going into the SBM-1.  I made my own battery box inside a cell phone shell, with a mini plug output into a little customer custom adapter into the SBM-1 line-in.   That is an advantage of using the MMA-6000 since it provides power to the mics.  But don't not run an Oade-mod SBM-1 in front of it just because you think it won't make a difference in sound.  How's that for a double negative??  

Later,
   pjdavep

Edit - that would be 'custom adapter', not customer

[KingReptile]

seriously!

Run the mics up into the sweat band of the hat, and terminate them at about the area over your ears, at your temples.
HRTF, its the shit!

Get some frames no lenses if you dont wear glasses through croakies now your talkin..I have even made some nice recordings having the mics on top of my head connected to sunglasses also.

[itook2much]

I use glasses/croakies as well.  Just set the mics at your ears or temples.

Listen back with headphones, it's like being there again

[grider]

I will undoubtedly stick with the hat, its so easy with the mics up top, and more importantly they are above conversation level so I believe they are less likely to pick up background noise and chatter and conversations being up in the air a bit higher than eye level, it may be more of a pain in the ass to stick them in a hat and remain perfectly still but its logical to put them up there

[grider]

a giant healy tidybowl of swirliness

don't understand most of your message, Moke, but I do understand that the simple creation of the above description is deserving of a +T 

[Massive Dynamic]

A/B omni's (on top of your head), don't get that stuff very well. HRTF gets 100% of all of the stereo info offered.

Moke, I've used the DSM mics, and am familiar with the HRTF method Leonard has patented.  I always thought true HRTF, with mics at ear position, reproduces best with headphones, and quasi-HRTF, with mics closer to the eyes, reproduces better with loudspeakers.  Am I remembering this correctly?  I always had the mics glasses-mounted since I rarely listen through headphones.

[plucks]

glad you finally got your stealth rig up & running!! 
I know you want those 4022s now too

+T for DPA

[grider]

glad you finally got your stealth rig up & running!! 
I know you want those 4022s now too

+T for DPA

you are right, Phil, I'm definitely a flat mic guy, digging the 480s and the 4061s that produce that nice flat and uncolored sound, when I upgrade my big rig it probably will be with DPA caps and actives

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Hey, wait a minute!  Are you saying Spock ran DPAs???   He always did carry that 'Tri-corder'!

[Kyle]

when he would start turning the crowd into a giant healy tidybowl of swirliness.

I miss the swirl

[som]

I stealth a lot with AT943 cardioids, usually clipped to my glasses, but up towards the front of the glasses. Would pulling the mics back towards my temples create this baffling phenomenon, even with cards? Or is this an omni thang?

[seethreepo]

stealth rules.

+T and welcome to the darkside.

[audBall]

I stealth a lot with AT943 cardioids, usually clipped to my glasses, but up towards the front of the glasses. Would pulling the mics back towards my temples create this baffling phenomenon, even with cards? Or is this an omni thang?

I have the same mics....I would use the omnis and, yes, pull them back a little (I prefer right on top of my ears each with a slight angle).  Baffling rocks!  I've only stealthed a few occassions but was really surprised with the results.

[dklein]

the HRTF method Leonard has patented. 

huh?  please explain.

[jefflester]

the HRTF method Leonard has patented. 

huh?  please explain.

http://www.sonicstudios.com/patent.htm

[pfife]

A/B omni's (on top of your head), don't get that stuff very well. HRTF gets 100% of all of the stereo info offered.

Moke, I've used the DSM mics, and am familiar with the HRTF method Leonard has patented.  I always thought true HRTF, with mics at ear position, reproduces best with headphones, and quasi-HRTF, with mics closer to the eyes, reproduces better with loudspeakers.  Am I remembering this correctly?  I always had the mics glasses-mounted since I rarely listen through headphones.

HRTF is Head Reference/Related Transfer Function, and it is quasi-binaural, and not a true binaural recording. It reproduces fine to speakers, yet still retains all of the ambiet info of a binaural recording. Subtle, but real differences.
Yes, Leonard patented it after many others in the trenches actually perfected the technique (myself included)

I presume you don't engage in copyright enfringement, and pay royalties every time you configure mics in that pattern?  I know I do.   

[pfife]

royalties,...
This one really tweaked at me for a long time. Because of this patent, Sennheiser quit producing a great set of stealth mics that they'd created  (in metamorphic fashion), from around 1928 or 1930 or so, until the patent was filed. They eventually became the MKE2002 omni's set, and then the threat of lawsuits, yadda yadda,.... /production


I like baffled omnis better than anything, as the most fitting title, but hrtf is just so damn fast to type. Pretty much, anymore, hrtf is when its head worn, and j-disc if its not.

That sucks!  Thanks for pointing out my typo!   Kinda sounds like "Monster" copyrighting the word "Monster" - pretty lame.   Someday I'm going to start a company, and copyright the word "the".

[itook2much]

Someday I'm going to start a company, and copyright the word "the".

Too late.  I'll expect your royalty payment in the mail tomorrow.

[George]

royalties,...
This one really tweaked at me for a long time. Because of this patent, Sennheiser quit producing a great set of stealth mics that they'd created  (in metamorphic fashion), from around 1928 or 1930 or so, until the patent was filed. They eventually became the MKE2002 omni's set, and then the threat of lawsuits, yadda yadda,.... /production


I like baffled omnis better than anything, as the most fitting title, but hrtf is just so damn fast to type. Pretty much, anymore, hrtf is when its head worn, and j-disc if its not.

Thanks for all the info Moke.  This thread and a few others have raised my interested in the dpa's...i smell an upgrade early next year