ok, a little confused. Which is the Church Audio set up? I've looked online at the Edirol R-09, and although it's a bit more than i'm looking to spend, that might be the way to go. Am I understanding right that with the R-09 I can record on my own with the built-in mics, but also patch in to others if/when the opportunity arises? As for patching, then I'd have to hang out with all you taper geeks! 
I would probably like to patch at some shows, but i'd want the freedom of my own set up much of the time.
thanks again for all your generous help!
~stephen
Sorry for confusing you Stephen. I can see now how/why my response threw you off. BTW, I'm currently in Slovenia working on a job assignment, so I'm 6 hrs out of phase or more with most on this list...so I didn't read your followup question 'till this morning.
Anyway, yes I started discussing and was referring to the Church Audio unit that rowjimmytour had provided a link to early on in this thread. It's the same link that someone else provided one or two posts up from this one. The link to that moe show that I provided was made with the same gear, I think, with the exception of the recording device.
Some of the responses addressed several things that you've asked about, but maybe not directly, so I'll try.
You asked...
Am I understanding right that with the R-09 I can record on my own with the built-in mics, but also patch in to others if/when the opportunity arises?
My response...
Yes that's exactly correct. When you want to record with the internal mics, there is a setting in the R-09 menu for using the internal mics. If you want to use external mics, you change that setting to use 'Line In'. Then what you do is use your patch cables to connect between the output of someone elses rig (1/8 inch mini, TRS, stereo RCA, or stereo XLR connectors) to the Line In jack on the R-09 (which is a 1/8 inch mini). In my last response, I provided you with the various cable configurations that you will probably encounter in the field in order to be able to patch to the outputs of the various recorders that people use. Bring your own cables though because, for example, it's not gonna be very likely that I'll have anything to meet your needs on location since I've usually only equipped myself with cables that I need for my rig.
Regarding the quality of sound you'll get out of the internal mics of the R-09...I have no idea. I know that I recorded some fairly loud Phish from my stereo as a test when I had my R-09 and I was VERY surprised how good it sounded. I'm not gonna pretend though. I wouldn't go in expecting too much out of the internal mics of the R-09 in a live music setting...and I KNOW you'd get better results from a low price setup like the Church Audio gear that's already been linked. BUT like I said earlier...buy the R-09 first and check it out. Record a show or two and play around with the settings. See if it satisfies you (it won't) and go from there. Since you already have the R-09, you can build from there and contact Chris Church (of church audio) and have him sell you some mics and a preamp...or start watching the yard sale.
BTW, you mentioned that you'd looked at the R-09 on the web. Don't be confused...there is a new version of the R-09 which is called the R-09HR. Now, if it were ME, I'd buy the R-09HR. There are other forums here to explain why. However, since there are LOTS and LOTS of R-09 users on this list and many are making the switch to the R-09HR, all you need to do is stick around the Yard Sale for awhile and an R-09 will show up for $50 to $100 less than retail price.
Further, nobody sells shit on the Yard Sale because if they do, it would be the last time they'd ever sell anything on the Yard Sale. So, you can trust the TS.com yard sale. We're a pretty ruthless bunch when it comes to one member taking advantage of another!
You said...
As for patching, then I'd have to hang out with all you taper geeks!
My response...
Well, you have to suffer a little in order to get the goods. Ha! Actually, I'm biased, but we have a nice little community here and once you start to get to know people in your area that are also tapers, you'll start enjoying shows even more because you'll often show up at the same shows...so you don't necessarily always need to know that your friends are gonna be there because you can many times count on a taper bud being present! It's cool.
The thing I wanted to mention is that we all stick together. Once you have your patch setup, there's no reason you have to stand around babysitting your rig. Nobody's walking off with it as long as one or two tapers are hanging with the stuff. Even then, I don't think I've ever heard about stuff getting stolen. The biggest reason we hang with the stuff is to keep drunks from tripping over it and spilling drinks on our stuff.
Usually when I give out a patch to someone, I'll see them maybe twice during the show (even setbreaks) when they come back to their recorder to check levels.
You said...
I would probably like to patch at some shows, but i'd want the freedom of my own set up much of the time.
My response...
Naturally.
OTOH, tapers are generous in giving patches...all you have to do is ask and 99% of the time the answer is 'sure!'...so if you have the option of patching into someone's $6000 rig that has a set of DPA or schoeps microphones that are gonna give you near perfect fidelity sound with a HUGE soundstage, why would you want to record something that's duct taped to your hat, will be hard to listen to later because the sound won't be all that great, and that you'll hear the stereo image change every time you move your head??? (sorry about that, the taper snob in me just came out a little bit
)
Topic: Newbie - few questions (Read 4396 times)