Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: Crimson on February 24, 2004, 11:19:03 AM
-
Alright SO
I hit Valentines bar in Albany last night (gotta represent the home town!) to tape the Dresden Dolls. Know the band and the soundguy already but didn't bring the right cables for a patch (dope that I am).
SO, excuse the use of MD, but knowing my levels, my recorders, the DD sound, venue sound, etc, I tape a set of stealth mics to each set of speakers and just hit record before they come on so I can focus on working my video recorder up close (Dynamic Audio Binaurals > Sony MD on one speaker, Sonic Studios DSM-6S/L > Sharp MD on the other).
Now, the video came out great. But by the time there set was over, under 80 min, both my MDs had stopped recording on their own at various times. The Sharp (had the same problem with this two nights ago) stopped recording 5 minutes in before the band came on, but saved the data?! While the Sony recorded about 60 minutes of the show but cut out portions of the set here and there at no sensible order (not according to volume or anything, loud and quiet parts of songs missing, etc).
SO, I HOPE this HAS to be either a problem with batteries (which seems impossible...if they were shorting out why would the data save itself...and even keep recording with the sony?...and Ive used these same rechargables on my 6-show trek to see A Perfect Circle with no problems at all) or the MDs themselves (HAS TO be that the bunch I picked up from BestBuy are fucking defective)...
I don't think its the mics/bb's etc since it happened with DSMs, DABs, and also when I patched out of AKGs the other night with my Sharp MD. Is there some Magical setting that I am missing after a year's worth of taping? Comments appreciated...hope its just faulty md's and this doesn't happen again or I'll probably be frustrated enough to quit taping altogether.
Peace and Love not in the hippy-way
Keith
-
as a MD user, my first guess would be the recorders as the problem. what models, how old, and where did you get them?
-
Sharp MT877, been using it a year, new, without incident before Sat/Mon
Sony MF610, new, only used a few times
-
interferrence in the venue?
-
nope, had an eye on both rigs resting on the speakers, they weren't touched
-
i mean long like radio/cell phone interferrence...... Or just blame it on the MD, sell both of them and go DAT :)
-
no interference like that, that i noticed anyway. not Mon, not Sat either.
if i didnt care about stealthing-with-ease-and-not-getting-caught, i might go dat. even then, prolly not.
punk
-
they were setting on the PA speakers? there's a lot of electricity and magnets in there and also lots of vibrations. Could that be your problem?
-
they were setting on the PA speakers? there's a lot of electricity and magnets in there and also lots of vibrations. Could that be your problem?
Tim,
This is a very good point. The magnetic field can be pretty strong in those PA speakers. In Physics the high school's are being taught this as we speak. hehe :crazy:
-
that couldnt be it
the speakers were...lets see...triangular..speakers in the middle encased by wood that was going diagnally out /-\, my mics were taped to the wood casing pointing inward all night...taped securely, nothing moved...and there wasn't much vibration (during soundcheck, which was louder than the show)
...also wouldnt explain why the same thing happened Sat night with my Sharp MD snuggled securely next to someones expensive-ass rig in the back of a low-sound basement.
I'm pretty sure its the MDs...listened through what did record and there aren't just gaps now, but skips too...Fuck Sony for defective md's!...however...all praise to the Sony 610 over the Sharp 877 for not just quitting out altogether.
fuckers.
-
they were setting on the PA speakers? there's a lot of electricity and magnets in there and also lots of vibrations. Could that be your problem?
absolutely...
crimson don't be misled...if you put your md on top of a speaker cabinet don't expect to get decent recordings or even have your deck function properly. for one you say you got skips in the recording...maybe caused by the vibration of a large speaker cabinet pumping out tunes for a roomfull of people??? md's do skip you know...
plus you taped the mics directly to the speakers, not the best way to record a show...you wouldn't put your ear up to a speaker for a whole show, would you?
-
actually i do put my ears to the speakers for a whole show! :)
like i said there wasnt much/if any vibration...these aren't big arena or even small venue speakers...just a tiny barstool pa...hell my home speakers are just as powerful. That being said, Im gonna go buy some different brands of minidiscs and batteries and get to the bottom of this shit...
and have an eggsalad sandwhich too
i suggest green olives in it
thanks thanks
k
-
keith, first of all, you know my stance on "stack" taping. ;)
my gut reaction was it's the discs. that's the first thing ya blame if you have to blame anything...
a
-
not a big fan of the eggsalad sandwich...
-
oOo and btw...taping mics to the speakers rocks, if you ask me
Imagine this: a band playing on a combined stage/room that is no bigger than a medium-sized living room. No sbd, no pa, just 3-4 abused-looking on speakers on the stage and enough drunken college students cram-packed together to create hostility. The ceiling is 10 ft. high and looks like it will collapse under the weight of a nyc subway rat.
Taping scenario: hell.
Taping mics to speakers and sitting on the floor in front of the stage curled up in a little ball to conserve room in the venue next to skimpy goth-dressed freshman college girls you hope will grope you: priceless, with a damn fine tape to boot.
-
well armen
i mean
toolishness aside
you have no taste in music, anyway :)
no egg salad?...how about pesto/moooooozeralla/tomato on fresh italian bread?...mmm...vegetarian heaven
-
I bet the dropouts was vibration from the speakers! I've seen this before, even with MDs not on the speakers but being on a hard surface. The vibrations done't need to be "big" but it seems the right frequency seems to cause this.
I've also seens issues with cheap Maxell and Minidisco Robot MD blanks. Maybe you experienced both problems?
Skip the DAT and get a JB3 (if you don't mind using a PC)!
-
that sounds much tastier...i'm not a veggie but i can dig the cuisine more often than not.
eggplant parm is a personal fav.
-
PC is the devil...wish my ipod could record :(
-
fwiw...
I used to run md. When I had a Sony MZ-R70, I had drop outs with any slight movement of the recorder. It really wasn't very good for taping. I moved to a Sharp MT-77 (Japanese version of MT-877) and found little to no problems with "normal" movement. The ONLY time I had drop outs using the Sharp....when I re-used a minidisc.
I have had the recorder stop without any explanation. Check through your manual and see if you find any possible explanations. Have you visited any of the md boards? While they seem to be mostly full of bad advice...there may be someone who has more experience with your particular units and could offer a solution.
-
one of my friends knows your pain. he once taped aud and sbd and both cut because he taped too much of the soundcheck.
out of curiousity why tape both stacks? i'm guessing you're trying to go for that dual source/one in each ear super-duper stereo effect, but wouldn't it sound funny with 2 different type of mics, (there's also no garuantee of a stereo mix from the board)? should have just plugged the sonics into the cam.
-
oOo and btw...taping mics to the speakers rocks, if you ask me
Imagine this: a band playing on a combined stage/room that is no bigger than a medium-sized living room. No sbd, no pa, just 3-4 abused-looking on speakers on the stage and enough drunken college students cram-packed together to create hostility. The ceiling is 10 ft. high and looks like it will collapse under the weight of a nyc subway rat.
Taping scenario: hell.
Taping mics to speakers and sitting on the floor in front of the stage curled up in a little ball to conserve room in the venue next to skimpy goth-dressed freshman college girls you hope will grope you: priceless, with a damn fine tape to boot.
if there is no pa what speakers are you micing, individual amps? also, if the place is that small do they even mic all the instruments, seems like they'd just mic the drums and the vox and if your mics are connected to the pa speakers thats all you'd hear pretty much.
i dunno, i guess i'm confused.
-
(yah speshuled, there are only 2 members in the band)
Merci Bill...hitting up some experienced md tapers as well.
Firmdragon...I was taping both stacks to try and prevent the same thing that happened to my one recorder on Sat. night, sonics into the cam wouldnt have worked (them badboys need a mic-in shimmy-shimmy unless the venue is a loudness I have yet to encounter)
-
SO
New Sony MDs and New non-rechargable batteries didnt give me any problems when i BLASTED music this morning with the md's and mics both resting on the speakers, tried it with the subwoofer too (both pretty much matching the tiny bar I was in Mon night).
I'm hopeful and confident it was either the md's or the batteries
...I did get a noise complaint at 9am though :):):)
-
hahaha, +t on the noise complaint, thanks for clearing up the thing about the stacks...i know around here they just mic the drums and the vocals and i was thinking if you did a stack tape of that it woulda sounded like butt.
-
IF the mic's were taped to the speakers, and the MD set close to the speakers, you'd get vibration, and hence, the MD deck will skip, the lense will skip, and the recordings stops automatically because the MD cant handle it. It's weak sauce like that =P
Like someone said earlier. Shoulda just hooked the mics to the cam
-
I've heard one decent sounding DSM/6s recording, and it was recorded to a cassette deck!
-
did someone finally convince this kid that putting his md on the PA speakers is not a good idea?
-
I ran into similar problems running my MD deck for a friend's band. I was recording out of a mixer that was sitting pretty close to the bass cabinet. It shut off 2 or 3 times during the show...had to keep checking on it.
-
did someone finally convince this kid that putting his md on the PA speakers is not a good idea?
he's a Tool taping omni user. That's just what all of them do. :-P
-
what did you say?!?! :angry2:
-
except you, you respect yourself ;)
-
thanks ;D
-
did someone just call me a kid up in this piece?
oOoOoOo more APC east coast dates coming...damn...on the one hand we have good NY shows (a rarity for an upstate boy), and on the other, graduating from college...hmm...tough calls tough calls...
-
look at the swirlly swirl oooOOOooooOOOooooOOOooooOOO