Topic: Arena Rock Show - To close to record?

[bravoland]

I'm going to an Arena Rock show in a few weeks. Ended up with 3rd Row (slightly stage left) tickets.  Is this to close to pull off a decent recording?
I have SP Cards with Tascam DR2D and CA Battery Box

[Shawn]

that's pretty close.

protip: get to the show early. go to your seat. wait for people to arrive. Find someone with tickets in the sweet spot. go up and ask them if they'd like to trade you their seats for seats in the third row.

[Belexes]

I'd opt to be further back from that, especially with cards.  Like the previous post stated, try and switch out with someone or find an open seat further back.

[acidjack]

....or try to acquire some omnis. 

[kfrinkle]

Fuck it man, its a rock show.  Suck it up and tape from the third row.

[toaster]

Fuck it man, its a rock show.  Suck it up and tape from the third row.

seriously. I stack taped a bunch of Tool shows about a decade ago and they came out killer. I was front row on the rail directly in front of the floor stack with CSB > TCD-D100. I didnt hear a better pull that tour

[kfrinkle]

Agreed.  For rock shows, you either do the equilateral triangle approach between you and the stacks, or you simply go hug a stack.  Thats it.

[Belexes]

Crowd noise can be a concern when you are that close (near the super-fans), but the cards are good for that. My concern would be that you'd be getting too much stage volume and not enough of the mix from either set of mains.

Acoustics in arenas are usually terrible, so I opt for cards in a big room. Omni's would be a good choice if you were very close to the mains.

[Chuck]

If there is an opening band, you will know right away if you are too close. If that's the case, find the sweet spot and trade with someone as others have suggested.

[bravoland]

thanks for all the replys i have some SP omni's as well . don't know why i didn't post that earlier.  i think i'll give it a shot. can't hurt for the experience.  omni's over cards i presume that close?

[Belexes]

Most here will say omni's, but just know that they will pickup everything around you.  You have to hope for a polite crowd.

[RyanJ]

I would tape anyways. You might just be amazed with the outcome you get.

[Teen Age Riot]

I would recommend heading to one of the stacks (if you're not already close to one).

Since your seat is in 3rd row, it shouldn't be a problem to swap seats with someone who is in line with one of the stacks and maybe 2-3 rows further back or even in the same row. I've done this a few times.

This way, you won't record a lot of ambiance, which is usually a good thing in an arena, and it will be louder, which will help drowning out crowd noise.

If you can only bring one set of mics, I would probably choose cardioids, but omnis might sound better if you are extremely close. (Then again, I'm not familiar with those SP mics.)

[aleal5687]

Doesn't the dr2d record 4tracks? I say use both the cards and omnis and see which one sounds better.

[ArchivalAudio]

that's pretty close.

protip: get to the show early. go to your seat. wait for people to arrive. Find someone with tickets in the sweet spot. go up and ask them if they'd like to trade you their seats for seats in the third row.

yep
got to like 10 or 12 row  or may be 15 center and seee if you can give them an upgrade!
you can usually find come one who will trade, then you are less likely to be  seen in the 3rd row and be in the sweet spot.
DO IT!
--Ian