Topic: stealth taping w/ full size mics

[scb]

i stealthed with earthworks sr77s in my sleeves.  i was front row for a mingus big band show and had my arms folded in my lap in an ortf position with the mics peeking out of the sleeves. 

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

i saw a guy taping panic at the tower with his hat set up like that. was that you?

I saw that dude too.  I couldn't for the life of me figure out why he didn't just take clamp space on one of the stands that were all around him.

[NJFunk]

i saw a guy taping panic at the tower with his hat set up like that. was that you?

Yes, most likely (unless someone else was doing that too), although I was still working out bugs in the technique at that show.  At that show, I had the mics attached to my hat using a spare bungee cord I had lying around, but that proved to be both uncomfortable and difficult to keep the mics in the proper X-Y position.  I have since figured out how to use the rubber bands to better affix and align the mics on the hat.  The next (larger) show that I will be at with that set up will be the Meters/KDTU/MCPR night of the Clifford Brown jazz festival, where I will try to maneuver into the sweetest spot in the venue.

That Panic show for me was basically just an experiment since I knew there would be dozens of people taping (and therefore, I could get a great sounding copy of the show even if I f-ed up my recording), and I really just wanted to see if that setup would work.  My tape came out sounding OK, but my seat was a bit too far from the stage/PA for the C4s in that venue given the boominess.  I grabbed Jon Merin's Scheops copy off bt.etree, and it is much better.  Although I don't really expect my mics to ever compete with fob Scheops in that type of venue. 

[Chuck]

Hand holding mics is not impossible as some have pointed out. Doing sound work on movie and location TV shoots involves holding a boom up for long periods of time. I've done this and am glad I don't anymore. Definately a young persons job. 

Good luck, however you do it.

[George]

i am thinking of trying to run mg m210->m248->pcm-m1 for some shows i wanna stealth. has anyone ever held the mics in their hands and had good results? getting the stuff in is not a problem.  i am thinking three things:
1) hold a mic in each hand pointed at stacks

I've done this many times and it is a goddamn hassle.  My hand (typically right hand) hurts like hell and its so cramped up after the show it literally takes me five minutes of flexing my fingers to get all the feeling back   

But it's worth it!   

One of the best shows i taped where i held the mics in my hand was a faint show back in Oct 2004 and the recording sounds incredible. 

On the flip side its far less discreet so you gotta keep your eyes peeled for security walking in the crowd which has happened to me several times. 

[mmedley.]

I've handheld the mk4v's a few times. Nice and easy to hold them in one hand side by side in a XY config. It does start to get painful and cramped after a while though. I hate stealthing, but sometimes its worth it. I like to drink and that doesn't go over so well after an hour or so and 5-6 beers. The tapes I have made though have been awesome.

[coop]

as others have posted, this is not hard to do.  if it is a quiet show, you will need shockmounts and/or a foam handgrip for the t-bar as the quiet segments of the show will really make any handling noise very clear.  if the show has high spl's you won't hear the handling noise but it will still be there. i used to have a really nice foam handgrip made by location sound corp. in l.a. it had a 5/8-27 female thread on it and was perfect.  it is also important to hold the mics as high as you can to eliminate any comb filtering or phasing from people moving their heads around you.   when i taped gd shows handheld i would hold the pair on a tbar just below my eyes or in front of my forehead. this will also prevent any exhalations from your nostrils becoming an annoying rumble on the recording.  you also should try to hold the mics as motionless as possible, the monopod or stand is a good plan, as is a helper.  the best stealth tapes are always a 2 person operation, although it is very do-able by yourself.  just remember to have your dummy tape and don't be holding anything that would get you into real trouble if the police get involved.  best of luck and try not to look like you are up to no good.
       coop

[Electric Cowgirl]

I read a thread a while back about using a wire clothes hanger and some velcro to make it happen with out holding the mics. Went somthing like this 

1-Shape the hanger into whichever pattern you want to run.
2-Put lots of velcro on the back of the hanger and take the opposite side of the velcro (kind with sticky back) with you to the show.
3-Attach the mics to a pole.