Topic: Advice for someone just staring out.

[morningdew]

Hello,

Newbie here.

I think I’m getting ready to make the leap into taping.  I’ve read all the FAQs on this site, searched these forums on the questions I'm about to ask, cruised a few other forums and have done a fair amount of research.  I’m looking for direction on how to get started.  I’ll give you a list of my goals, budget and some areas that I’m still confused on.  If you’re an experienced taper and could take some time to read this post and give some feedback, I’d appreciated it.

Starting Budget: ~ $1000

What and where will I tape (to begin with):
1.   Primarily small live bands. 
2.   Venues will mostly be bars, small theaters and small outdoor lawn concerts and also some county fairs.
3.   I will also be able to practice stealthing on small middle/high school indoor band concerts.

Goals:
1.   Stealth is must to begin with.
2.   Recordings in the mid to high level of quality.
3.   Equipment that can easily handle both stealth and be able to progress into open taping situations.
4.   Eventually make mid to high quality tapes of live concerts in an open situation.

Here is what I’m considering:
1.   Advanced concert mod from Oade on a PMD660. ~ $750 (I think?)
2.   Decent stealth mic(s) for ~ $300 (If this is possible).  Could you please make some suggestions for stealth mics in this price range?  I’m assuming cardoid?

Here are my concerns and/or uneducated thoughts:

1.   Is this all I need to get taping stealthly?  If I understand it right the PMD660 will record in phantom power mode for the length of most concerts on a good set of batteries.  So this means I wouldn’t need a power supply for the mic(s), correct?

2.   With the Adv. Concert Mod. PMD660 I have read some posts where people give this unit a frown because it has no digital in.  What exactly do I give up by not having a digital in?  I realize a digital signal  .  But when do most tapers find the need for a digital input on there machine?

3.   I give up 24-bit with this unit.  My goal is to eventually progress to doing some open stuff and maybe a bigger table recorder that can handle 24-bit but this would be quite some time down the road.  Is this a huge thing?  I personally don’t need pristine quality listening for myself (seeing that I grew up on taped cassettes of taped cassettes) but I would hate to find myself in a situation where absolutely no one would be interested in sharing shows I taped because they were done in 16-bit.

4.   Would this modified unit (because the mod removes the line in) ever accept a pre-amp in front of it? And would I see a big boost in sound quality if I did go that route in the future?

5.   Finally, I’m confused about board patches.  I believe with the Advanced concert Mod. That I will still be able to make a quality board patch but I will have to run the board into the XLR mic connections.  Am I understanding this right?

Finally, my next purchase would be something like the Studio Projects C4 mic kit so I could make some open recordings.  Is that heading in the correct direction?

Thanks in advance for some feedback.

[greenone]

Welcome aboard! Kudos for reading through all of our garbage to get to the good stuff...so many don't even get that far.

1.   Is this all I need to get taping stealthly?  If I understand it right the PMD660 will record in phantom power mode for the length of most concerts on a good set of batteries.  So this means I wouldn’t need a power supply for the mic(s), correct?

It should be all you need, yup. I see that the specs call for a four-hour run time but it's not clear to me if that's with the phantom power on or off. It might depend on which mics you choose and what their current draw is - some mics are hungrier than others!

2.   With the Adv. Concert Mod. PMD660 I have read some posts where people give this unit a frown because it has no digital in.  What exactly do I give up by not having a digital in?  I realize a digital signal  .  But when do most tapers find the need for a digital input on there machine?

The A/D convertor in most portable decks is subpar since preference is given to the deck's form factor and portability. If there's no digital in, then there's no possibility of upgrading to a full-blown rig down the road with an outboard A/D, unless you buy another deck. BUT...if the recordings sound fine to you without the external A/D, why worry?

3.   I give up 24-bit with this unit.  My goal is to eventually progress to doing some open stuff and maybe a bigger table recorder that can handle 24-bit but this would be quite some time down the road.  Is this a huge thing?  I personally don’t need pristine quality listening for myself (seeing that I grew up on taped cassettes of taped cassettes) but I would hate to find myself in a situation where absolutely no one would be interested in sharing shows I taped because they were done in 16-bit.

I don't see 16-bit going away anytime soon. Hell, there are still a good number of people taping to cassette despite digital recording being around for 20+ years!

4.   Would this modified unit (because the mod removes the line in) ever accept a pre-amp in front of it? And would I see a big boost in sound quality if I did go that route in the future?

Nope...no line in = no outboard pre-amp down the road. As for sound quality...everyone's ears are different. Might want to try to hunt down some recordings made with the advanced mod as well as just the normal deck with a pre-amp for comparison and see what your ears tell you.

5.   Finally, I’m confused about board patches.  I believe with the Advanced concert Mod. That I will still be able to make a quality board patch but I will have to run the board into the XLR mic connections.  Am I understanding this right?

Nope - if you go from board>mic in, you will NOT be happy. Mic inputs are WAY more sensitive than line inputs, which you won't have for the advanced mod deck. Board patches have to go line in.

Finally, my next purchase would be something like the Studio Projects C4 mic kit so I could make some open recordings.  Is that heading in the correct direction?

Yup, lots of folks going the C4 route. A good start!

--Dave

[OFOTD]

I believe that EVERYONE who tapes and is buying new gear should always have a recorder with a digital-in.