Topic: Stealth Tips for Binaural Mics....?

[aberg]

Ok, for the longest time I've just been taping in bars and clubs with open taping policies, but next thursday, I'm going to stealth my new JB3 along with some SP binaurals mounted in my hat, and a SP batt box... I'm seeing Dream Theater at Massey Hall in Toronto, which apparently has really good acoustics cuz it's like a fine arts/opera house... designed to have good sound. We're sitting in the first balcony, practically right above the stage, 4th row in that balcony... so I'll be fairly close. Can anyone with a lot of stealth experience, and especially using binaurals (omnis), which I know aren't ideal, give me some advice on how to pull a high quality recording? I'm curious about what roll-off setting to use when going analog line in to the JB3... I've heard that the roll-off setting doesn't make a difference when you go line in... anyways, if somebody can give me some general tips, that would be great... thanks... and again, here's the lineage for my cheapo stealth rig...

SP-BMC-1 > SP-SPSB-2 > JB3

Thanks..

[aberg]

Oh, one more thing... I haven't purchased a second battery for the JB3... unless I get something figured out by Thursday, I will only have the one battery... is that going to be enough to tape the show? Dream Theater can easily play for 3 hours.... I have a feeling I won't be able to get an extra battery shipped to me in time.. what other stealthable solutions are there out there?

[Sean Gallemore]

i'd try to make mics equally spaced on either side of my head, as close to the ears as possible.  This way your head acts as a baffle to give some stereo seperation in the recording.

for the roll-off setting, I agree that it doesn't matter if you aren't using a pre, but set it to 95-107 htz just in case.

other solutions?  MD, or DAT (m1, d100, d8 etc.)

[aberg]

Oh, I didn't mean solutions in terms of gear... I meant, powering solutions, sorry. I think I've figured something out though. Going to Radio Shack now...

[firmdragon]

Ok, for the longest time I've just been taping in bars and clubs with open taping policies, but next thursday, I'm going to stealth my new JB3 along with some SP binaurals mounted in my hat, and a SP batt box... I'm seeing Dream Theater at Massey Hall in Toronto, which apparently has really good acoustics cuz it's like a fine arts/opera house... designed to have good sound. We're sitting in the first balcony, practically right above the stage, 4th row in that balcony... so I'll be fairly close. Can anyone with a lot of stealth experience, and especially using binaurals (omnis), which I know aren't ideal, give me some advice on how to pull a high quality recording? I'm curious about what roll-off setting to use when going analog line in to the JB3... I've heard that the roll-off setting doesn't make a difference when you go line in... anyways, if somebody can give me some general tips, that would be great... thanks... and again, here's the lineage for my cheapo stealth rig...

SP-BMC-1 > SP-SPSB-2 > JB3

Thanks..

who says omni's aren't ideal?  as for how-tos on making a high quality recording, well sorry buddy you're pretty well limited to what you have.  i believe all DT shows are seated so moving close to a stack (or sweet spot which i don't recommend with your mics) won't be an option.  tips on what you can do:  a) set your battery/bass roll correctly.  b) mount those mics as high as possible.  from your description, it sounds like you're mounting them at head/ear level, so that sounds fine.  you really can't do much else.

as for the timing situation. DT is playing a varied setlist.  so your milage will vary, for what it's worth here's my DT report that i posted on dat-heads a while ago:

the pdx show ran a little over 3 hours.  
about 2hr 40mins i guess if you don't count the 2 songs that were played on
tape.  first set ran about 90 mins (includes 2 songs on tape) and then a 15
min intermison.  there was a (~5min) break before the encore.
show started a little after 8:20 and ended about 11:30 from what i remember.
have fun.

[jhirte]

Hey Steve,  how're yr legs from the "human totem pole" marathon for that one eh ? heh
-Jim

[aberg]

Ok, I think I'll be fine... I just made my own external battery pack for the jukebox... 4 AA NiMH 2100 mAh 1.2 V rechargeables... by my rough calculations, given that the jukebox on average pulls 600 mA (factoring in spikes during disk writing and start up), I figure the pack will give me (2100/600) = 3.5 hours. What I will probably do is run the jukebox off the external pack up until the intermission at appx. 90 min mark, and then pull it out and run off the full internal batt for the last half of the show. Hopefully I can pass the jukebox off as a portable cd player with headphones so I dont' have to crotch it...

[oldfan]

crotch stuff for a Massey Hall gig, lol
I just got back from the Sting show, I think there was 6 security in total.

[aberg]

Oh yeah? Hmmm, although Sting will draw a slightly different crowd than Dream Theater.. If they won't even be patting me down, then I won't bother crotching anything. What do you think?

[zhianosatch]

I think you're using omnis. "Binaurals" do not exist.

[aberg]

Is that an inside joke or something? I'm confused....

[zhianosatch]

Unfortunately, I guess it kinda is...
"Binaural" is a technique. "Omni" is a pickup pattern. Retailers who market "binaural" mics are wrong!

[page]

I'd recomend a roll off of arround 95hz. I used to do it a little higher then that and wasnt happy with the weaker bass.

As for stealthing. I'd recomend getting a pair of glasses if you dont wear them to start with. Even without prescriptions. This way you can have something to put your mics on for stereo seperation. Also, this gives you a reason for the visible mic cords. Also, pick up a lanyard type thingy for glasses, and place little hooks at the middle (or bottom where it will hang in your neck), and at the tops. This allows you to conceal the wires from people sitting arround you (who *will* report you sometimes... man that sucks hardcore, stupid "citizens arrest" type people). Also, this helps if you get stuck sitting next to security (I have), you can still get away with it. Last, buy a nylon windbreaker which is a similar color to your mics/cords and thats how you can get them in. Clip them to the neck of the jacket, and roll it outwards, like you weren't careful putting it on, and minus metal detectors, i've never been caught. I've never had to deal with metal detectors, but at the same time, i've never been caught either. ^_- There are some other things, but thats a good start.

If you'd like examples of all of this, let me know and I'll take pictures and post them. I once wrote a guide on how to do stealth taping as I've done a *lot* in situations where it was extremely hard to get in and stay hidden, such as crowds of 40 or less where there were 3 or more security people... (or what I call "critical" situations as it is critical that you be careful in order to not be caught, not so much that the tape your making is critical).

[aberg]

Actually, I have a hat with elastic bands sewn into the sweatband to hold my mics above either ear... that provides the baffle and stereo separation I need. I can crotch pretty much all my gear except the jb3, but I'll just keep it in my jacket pocket with some headphones and tell him it's my discman if they ask... I probably won't have much trouble since I've heard Massey Hall is usually relaxed about security.

[Sean Gallemore]

sounds good, just wear your hat backwards and wear something with a hood if you can.  Bunch up the hood under the brim of the hat so no one can see the cords comign down