Topic: Newbie seeking equipment.

[digital-havok]

Hey all!  First time to the board here and was curious if any of you folks could take a few min. of your time to help me out.  I've always wanted to get into recording shows.  I go to a lot of them and now i'm finally serious about doing it.

I have about $400.00 to spend on equipment.  I work for an audio company but we do something slightly different.  I already have endless access to cases and cables, I just need recording equipment.

Any help would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks so much for hoting such a really cool forum!

regards,

jmr









 

[sexymexi]

look around the yardsale.  Read up on different equipment to see what its pro's and cons are.  If you wanna go DAT, JB3, MD, or analog tape.  Its up to you, there are plenty of options.  For 400 u are probably looking at either patching at shows, or running a MD rig with soundpro mics.  

IMO i'd patch if your going to shows where there will be other tapers as it would be the easiest, but i'd recomend looking at http://www.soundprofessionals.com/  good luck.. peace.

matt

[Chanher]

first, check this out:

http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?board=14;action=display;threadid=4237

now many tapers including myself are choosing not go the DAT route and use a creative nomad jukebox 3, or jb3. you can get refurbished jb3's from creative through ebay for $179. fantastic deal.

if you choose jb3, that leaves you ~210 left for everything else. one option that I am biased about because it's the route I chose, is getting mini mics and a batt box from www.soundprofessionals.com  as mentioned above. you could get those for ~200.

also check out these similiar threads, it's worth it to read through everything:

http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?board=23;action=display;threadid=15781

http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?board=23;action=display;threadid=16876

[tradja]

JMR --

Welcome to taping!   This is a great board with lots of great folks, and the links above will get you to lots of good basics.  I've also gotten into taping in the past year and have been piecing together a budget rig as best I can.  It's easy to spend a grand++ on a rig, and it'll sound great, but here are a few ways I've found to get enjoyable recordings for less.

Like many noobs, I started with MD ("Those DAT dudes are just gearhead snobs.  MD will be great!").  Hmmm...a used MD for $50 and a few patch cables might be a good way to start, but then you're stuck with a MD (not necessarily a bad thing - great for skiing & stealth) if you'd like to upgrade later.  FWIW, I've been reasonably pleased with MD, making recordings of shows for personal enjoyment.  However, the compressed format, 80 minute discs and real-time transfers to PC are a moderate hassle, so I just got a JB3 for $165 shipped (there's a current coupon code here:  http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?board=22;action=display;threadid=16703).

I still do mostly SBD patches or patch from other tapers with sick mics (if I'm not the only taper at a show, as is frequently the case)  

But a budget mic setup is possible too.  Like Chris says, check out soundprofessionals.com for small mics (GET A BATT BOX!).  I found a 10' mic stand on ebay for $17 (seller: amvona.com has lots of cheap stands), a couple of cheap XLR cables, a $100 Samson Mixpad on this board (decent budget mic preamp, phantom power supply, and matrix mixer, thanks silentmark!), and a pair of old mics (Shure 588's(!)) for $9 shipped on ebay.  No, they're not fantastic, but they have an even, natural sound, they're a huge step up from my $89 Core Cound Low-Cost Binaural stealth mics, and they were, after all, NINE BUCKS.

I built a mic bar at the hardware store, JPG attached (sorry I can't figure out how to imbed pics).

Anyway, have fun! It's easy to catch upgrade fever, even before you've bought your first rig.  Listen to some shows, talk to other tapers at setbreaks or after shows (but don't pester - I have to be conscious of my tendency to enthusiastically ask too many questions).

Like it says, Go See Live Music, and Tape It!