Topic: n00b alert - Some Advice Please!

[jamroom]

Hi guys

After decades of gig-going, I have decided to try my hand at taping, therefore some advice would be greatly appreciated. I see that this forum is pretty well broken up into sections, but I'm hoping much of this can stay here as a general query.

I guess I would be likely to tape rock bands in the main, and stealth taping the most likely option (Glasgow venues). Budget? Well I saw the Edirol R09 (which is £200 - £250 UK pounds) and think that will be my max budget for a recorder. I am aware that external mics / pre / batt box may be required, so I would not hope to be paying anywhere near £500 total rig cost, as if I get serious about taping, I can always invest more then.

Questions: -

1) Given that I see the Edirol R09 as being a popular choice, is there much competition in it's price range.

2) Mics / Pre / Battery Box - what kind of options are there for me considering my budget / stealth taping / etc. Not so much brands, but exactly what I should be using? Do I need a pre if I have a battery box, etc. What will be suitable for an Edirol or alternative?

3) With regard to mics and equipment, I realise that this is a US based forum with many US suppliers. It would probably be easier if I could purchase in the UK. Is there anyone selling similar gear here in the UK? I do know though, that a lot of UK guys buy from the US - it's just that shipping tax and duty can put a premium on the face price.

I can ask specific questions in the other sections, but any and all advice is welcome.

Thanks!

Rod

[Belexes]

Buy the R-09 and then purchase from Canada and get a package of mics/pre from Church Audio in the Retail section of this forum.  That's the best advice I can give you that fits within your budget and you'll be pleased with the results.

[Humbug]

Rod, not as far as I know. All my gear either came from the US (Sound Professionals, Micsupply.com), and usually attracts import duty, plus handling charges, or second hand from the yard sale here.

Not a lot you can do, except deliver to a friend in the US, who agrees to repackage and ship back to the UK (not that this is strictly legal!)

Also look at AT831s (Sound Professional SP-CMC2s), or AT853s plus three wire battery box/resistor mod / Chris Church preamp, or Microphone Madness Sennheisers.

Contact "Evangeline" on Dime as a well known Scottish taper for venue advice.

[sailcat]

I've been very happy with the Zoom H2. It has better internal mics (4 of them) than the others for point and shoot recording, and the line-in, with a Church preamp and mics, is just as good as the R09, and the unit is about $100 cheaper. You need to treat any of these decks carefully because they are plastic and somewhat fragile. I have heard that sometimes people in the US or Canada buy gifts for their friends and family in the UK and send them in a plain box, and that this sometimes results in the import duties being overlooked by accident.

[jamroom]

Many thanks for the replies so far, hopefully more will chip in. I know this place is pretty much THE place to discusss taping, so I know I'm in good hands.

BTW, I'm not specifically trying to avoid duty, etc. It's just that when all the costs are added together, the initial sale price can go up quite a bit. A UK distributor would have been handy, but I have no problems ordering from the US / Canada.

[3-Fan]

The SP-CMC2 (AT 831) are pretty darn small.  I run them open and have been pretty happy with the results.  The nice thing about the AT831 is you can replace the caps with omni, sub cards, or hypers.  The AT853 caps screw right on (I've been told.)

I've run them with:
Sony MZ-N1>SP Battery Box>SP CMC-2
R-09>SP BB>SP CMC-2
R-09> Church 9000 pre>SP CMC-2

All have given me very good results considering  how little I have in the rigs.  I think I spent <$300 on the 1st combination.

[Humbug]

Rod, I think there just aren't enough of us (at a guess, maybe 100-200 active tapers in the UK, several of which hang out in this thread:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,58526.0.html     )

To make it worthwhile for a distributor to sell here. I did try a UK Audio Technica rep, but he was totally useless, and overpriced.

Whatcha planning on taping?

Any questions, go ahead (I'd say, pm me, but I don't think you can for a while).

Humbug

[dean]

Buy the R-09 and then purchase from Canada and get a package of mics/pre from Church Audio in the Retail section of this forum.  That's the best advice I can give you that fits within your budget and you'll be pleased with the results.

While I can't specifically comment on the R09 or its competitors, you cannot go wrong with Chris Church products, and his prices are incredibly fair and well within your range.  You WILL need a pre and external mics, and I really think Chris provides the best options at your price point.  The others mentioned are also very good (I use AT831's myself), but again, Church's prices and quality can't really be beat.

[jamroom]

Thanks to all of you, I really appreciate the advice. I will do a bit more research and have a think.

[jamroom]

Rod, I think there just aren't enough of us (at a guess, maybe 100-200 active tapers in the UK, several of which hang out in this thread:

To make it worthwhile for a distributor to sell here. I did try a UK Audio Technica rep, but he was totally useless, and overpriced.

Understandable, I guess (the prices, not the useless rep)

Whatcha planning on taping?

Depends on how my stealth bottle goes ;-)

I have recently got back into going to gigs reasonably regularly, following a bit of a drought. Recent Glasgow (and area) gigs attended - Dream Theater at Braehead / Firebird at the Cathouse (Supporting Alabama Thunderpussy) / Pumajaw (beautifully atmospheric psychedelic folk) at the Pollokshields Burgh Hall / Heaven and Hell at SECC.

Hoping to go and see Mono at Oran Mor on Friday and have a ticket for Porcupine Tree at the Barras. Would also like to get a ticket for Seasick Steve and Alter Bridge early next year.

[dorrcoq]

Buy the R-09 and then purchase from Canada and get a package of mics/pre from Church Audio in the Retail section of this forum.  That's the best advice I can give you that fits within your budget and you'll be pleased with the results.

Ditto

[dorrcoq]

Even if there was a UK distributor, wouldn't they have had to pay import duties when they bought from the manufacturer?  By the time they passed this on to you, it would be worse than importing it yourself.

[pontiacb]

As another UK taper (in the midlands), I agree with the previous comments and you'll be best off dealing with companies in the US and Canada for decent mics and battery boxes etc.

I (like many others here) can't recommend Chris Church's cardoid mics (STC-11s) highly enough which, with a battery box, should cost probably less than £150 even with shipping. 

I'm very happy with my iRiver iHP120 as a recorder which I picked up off ebay from a UK sellers for about £80, very easy to use in a stealth environment (I've got two, both cost about the same).  So for less than £250 I'm very happy with the results I'm getting, although I did waste a few £s on unsuitable/unsatisfactory mics before I cracked it with the Church audio mics.

Hope you get as much pleasure out of taping as I do. 

[jamroom]

Even if there was a UK distributor, wouldn't they have had to pay import duties when they bought from the manufacturer?  By the time they passed this on to you, it would be worse than importing it yourself.

Yeah, but at least it would be easier and cheaper to return if there was a problem. No worries though.

[Humbug]

The archive is a good place to check out how different mics sound.

Here's some I've taped:

http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/humbug66

Not all brilliant recordings (the RHD Mean Fiddler gig is pretty nice though).

How long you got till the first thing you want to tape?