Topic: thinking about taping again. gear question.

[drumrboy22]

so i haven't taped a show since college 5 years ago.  i've been thinking about getting back into it again, but not sure what people are using these days.  i have a sony pcm-m1 portable dat recorder and a fostex d5 home deck.  i've been to a few shows recently and have seen laptops and all sorts of other gear that wasn't used to record 5 years ago. 
   just curious what's new out there and what is working well for taping shows these days.  also, if i were to upgrade from my dat deck, what would be the next step or two up?  what would i need to get going and is it worth it?  any help would be appreciated.  thanks for reading,
   mark

[creekfreak]

whats your budget? and put most of your money towards mics

[drumrboy22]

i'm pretty open to ideas.  if i need to get a laptop, i'd could use it for other things, so that's not too limiting of a factor.  i doubt i'm going to get anything right away, but i'd be willing to save up if it's worth it.

[firmdragon]

what's wrong with using your dat?   

[Tye]

Do yourself a favor and get a JB3 it's small , you can run optical and no more media!!! Trust me you don't have to lug a laptop around unless you want to run 24bit. I got one and have not looked back since. Check out ebay for Nomad Jukebox 3 refurbished from the factory you can find them for $150+.
 Do a search for JB3 here there is a plethora of info on them here.
 Here is a link http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?board=14;action=display;threadid=16338

[MSTaper]

So everyone seems to be cool with the refurbished JBs? The prices seem good for them, since they seem to be hard to find new. Would you guys feel safe with a refurbished unit? Thanx, rWc

[Tony B]

I have had absolutely no problems with my refurbed JB 3(s) that weren't caused by me. The thing is easy to use, doesn't require media, and takes a solid optical signal...there's really not much to dislike about the thing, so long as you don't care about 24 bit and aren't stealthing (some have a problem with its size for stealthing).

Get one before they're gone.....there's a reason they're so popular around here!

TB

[charles]

My suggestion would be mics > digimod ua-5 > jb3

As far as the mics go, I just recently bought some Nak cm100's pretty cheap. From what I understand they're not so easy to find. There are other inexpensive starting options as cheap as the Superlux's w/ all accesories for $150.'ve never used them but everyone seems very happy with them. Of course, if you're talking about getting a laptop being no problem, you may not be that interested in saving a lot of money. If that be the case, ignore everything I just wrote about the mics. I would however, suggest listening to shows on the live music archive and deciding which mics sound best to you. That's just the advice everyone gave me, and it helped a lot. Also, with no limited budget you may want to consider one of the oade modified ua-5's. Opinions seem to vary as to the difference in sound b/w the stock ua-5 and the mods. The majority of people seem to think the mod is definetly worth it. As far as the laptop, IMO stick with the dat. W/ the laptop you have to be more carefull at shows and you'll also need to purchase software. Plus, since you're familiar w/ the dat, why change it to start back at taping. Maybe make the change later if you want. There are threads on everything I've just mentioned...I know because they're all from my questions. If you can't find them let me know and I'll point you in the right direction. Anyhting else I can do to help just let me know.

[sexymexi]

no folks, he said he'd buy a laptop, why don't ya get an FR-2?

[Tall Adam]

you'll also need to purchase software.

not really...

in anycase, as a noob with a few shows under my belt now, ive only gone laptop and i highly recommend. yes they can be finnicky and do weird shit and lose shows, but if you get a good 24-bit tape the difference over 16 bit is night and day. also, i truely believe thats where the future of taping (and all high end audio for that matter) is. so why not be ready with some 24 bit audio ready to go when your CDs are obsolete . i dont have the greatest playback system in the world but i LOVE my echo indigo 24bit output card and through my AKG k240s you can really hear the difference between 24 and 16 bit. i dunno, if your thinkin laptop anyway, dont let all the jb3 fluffers bring you down, lappys can be great (no offense to jb3 peeps here, sometimes i wish i had one of those puppies.) anyway, +t for stoppin by, good luck in getting back in the game
-adam

[thoman8r]

what's wrong with using your dat?   

Seriously, the jb3 is great but the m1 is also a great piece of equipment.  Plus, its adc is pretty solid so you could save some money there that you could put into better mics.

[marc0789]

c'mon, why would he want to ditch the m1? topnotch deck, kickass transport, deals well with 90m, unlike the jb3 has a sweet analog in if you opt to go preamp>1/8. I'd suggest a pair of SP Cards, a pair of inexpensive xlr>xlr mic cables, a used 7 pin from someone around here, and the digimod ua-5. That's what, 600-700 bucks total? Those SP's are really nice for the $$$, pretty impressed.