Topic: Newbie Gear Question

[matsinzen]

I want to begin taping my own shows and I was wondering what type of gear I should buy. About 75% of the shows that I would be taping would need to be stealth. By checking the source of the shows I have, I have learned that two popular methods of recording are by DAT and MD. I would like to know the pros and cons of recording with DAT and MD. Also, do I need a microphone no matter which option I choose? Is the Danish Pro Audio 4061 (DPA 4061) a good microphone? What are some other good microphones? Also, I have seen a lot of customized battery boxes in the source what are these and how do I make them? Thank you and I look forward to your reply.

[Ed.]

dpa 4061's are about the best mini mic for stealthing you can buy.

dat is better than md cuz dat doesn't encode to atrac like md does.

check out the archive for comparisons between dat/md/njb3

[matsinzen]

Thank you, and I am sorry, but where is the archive?

[matsinzen]

Thank you, and sorry but where is the archive? Also how is the Sony TCD D8.

[Ed.]

http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?board=14.0  <-- that should help you a lot.

d8 is pretty solid, as long as it was well taken care of.

[matsinzen]

Thank you very much, I will look over the archive, and hopefully I can figure out what I am looking for. I just have one more question for now, when stealthing how do you get oyur gear in? I only ask because in most places they pat you down.

[Ed.]

crotch it.  actually, i haven't been pat down in quite sometime, in fact, i haven't even stealthed in awhile.  i've been getting lucky with the bands i've been going to see.

[matsinzen]

I was reading the What kind of recorder should I buy? (DAT, MD, Hi-MD, JB3) thread and it says that tapes for DAT are usually 2-3 hours, so does this mean that one side is either 1 or 1.5 hours, if so the tape would need to be flipped and this would cause a gap in the recording, correct? Right now I am planning on getting the D8 or the JB3.

[Ed.]

thats 2-3 hours of solid recording time, you don't flip dat tapes, they're similar to mini dv tapes for example.

[Tim]

Thank you very much, I will look over the archive, and hopefully I can figure out what I am looking for. I just have one more question for now, when stealthing how do you get oyur gear in? I only ask because in most places they pat you down.

there's a thread on sneaking in gear in archive as well...