Taping outside in the rain- is it worth trying?

[Hypnocracy]

This wasn't perfect the 3rd day, but that's another story.

Rained so hard the drops forced themselves thru the fabric of the umbrella...Last song before the Deluge...check out the Thunder clap at the end...

http://soundcloud.com/hypnocracy/mac-n-juice-plus-thunder-clap

[DigiGal]

This wasn't perfect the 3rd day, but that's another story.

Rained so hard the drops forced themselves thru the fabric of the umbrella...Last song before the Deluge...check out the Thunder clap at the end...

http://soundcloud.com/hypnocracy/mac-n-juice-plus-thunder-clap

Seriously, get some of this stuff

[daspyknows]

Depends on who I'm recording.  I still remember taping Pink Floyd in 1987 with rented Schoeps and my PCM F-1.  The mics were fine but the PCM shut down a few times after the dew warning came on. 

[hoppedup]

This wasn't perfect the 3rd day, but that's another story.

Rained so hard the drops forced themselves thru the fabric of the umbrella...Last song before the Deluge...check out the Thunder clap at the end...

http://soundcloud.com/hypnocracy/mac-n-juice-plus-thunder-clap

Didn't realize The Deluge played Big What? 

Perfect segue for a "Something In The Air" cover

[cashandkerouac]

once it starts raining, I wouldn't want to disconnect anything

really good point.  at Wanee this year i recorded about an hour of no music because of the rain.  all my equipment was well covered and safe from the rain, but if i would have tried to stop my recorder or disconnect my mics everything would have gotten soaked.     

[bryonsos]

This wasn't perfect the 3rd day, but that's another story.

Rained so hard the drops forced themselves thru the fabric of the umbrella...Last song before the Deluge...check out the Thunder clap at the end...

http://soundcloud.com/hypnocracy/mac-n-juice-plus-thunder-clap

Seriously, get some of this stuff

Trust me, that or an impervious plastic umbrella are on the shopping list! The (maybe not so) funny part is we went out to check on things during the storm, and the folks on stage were shouting at us to get under cover. Later we found out one of the sound guys got hit by lightning. Yowza! If we hadn't checked, we wouldn't have discovered the dripping though.

[T-90]

ive only shut down 1 time for rain, at wanee 2008 during del mccoury band....i had left the stand umbrella at my camp and didnt want to risk losing the mics which were getting pretty soaked...i was pretty bummed to have only recorded half of his set, but there were many others there recording and my gear lived on to record again later that evening....i almost always put the umbrella clamp on these days if im outside, clear sky or not....but then again i live in northeast fl and it rains almost each afternoon during the summer.

the irony is that we all got shut down by rain at wanee 2012 during the mule set....well to be more exact mule got shut down by rain, we kept on recording waiting for them to come back, but they never did...the entire fob crew was well prepared with plenty of plastic bags and umbrellas for all and no one left during a pretty heavy downpour .....at one point vwmule and i dropped our stand and covered our mics in a plastic bag, for extra protection, since we were not recording any music at the time.

[achalsey]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and OP for starting the thread.  Was normally overly cautious of rain, but after reading through this the past few days decided to say, "to hell with the 60% chance of thunderstorms, I'm going out."  First time running in the full on rain and everything turned out fine.  Had always put the bag a heavy duty garbage bag and brought the little umbrella with the chance of rain, but got to put it to the test last night.

Also, Myco's suggestion:

If it's raining hard, you can also just throw a small towel or some sort of loose fabric over the top of your umbrella so that you muffle the sound of the rain hitting your hit also. 

Definitely helped.  I draped an old pillow case over the umbrella and can barely hear the rain drops even thought the umbrella was as close to the mics as I could get it without touching the windscreens.

So, thanks all!  I will no longer cower in fear of rain.

[stevetoney]

So, thanks all!  I will no longer cower in fear of rain.

Moke seemed to get pissed at me earlier in this thread when I implied that real tapers prepare for and tape in the rain, but tell the truth now...don't you feel like you took it up a notch and feel a greater sense of accomplishment with that recording since now you know you can get a great recording (without one iota of damage to your gear) even if it rains on you?

[achalsey]

So, thanks all!  I will no longer cower in fear of rain.

Moke seemed to get pissed at me earlier in this thread when I implied that real tapers prepare for and tape in the rain, but tell the truth now...don't you feel like you took it up a notch and feel a greater sense of accomplishment with that recording since now you know you can get a great recording (without one iota of damage to your gear) even if it rains on you?

It was a definitely a fun time.  Warm night, the rain was actually kind of nice.  Very glad I followed the advice here.  Also got this fun tune out of it.  Haven't seen the show in probably 15 years so was not expecting a jammed out 90s cartoon show theme song.  Awesome.

http://soundcloud.com/achalsey/jeff-sipe-trio-inspector

[Myco]

So, thanks all!  I will no longer cower in fear of rain.

Moke seemed to get pissed at me earlier in this thread when I implied that real tapers prepare for and tape in the rain, but tell the truth now...don't you feel like you took it up a notch and feel a greater sense of accomplishment with that recording since now you know you can get a great recording (without one iota of damage to your gear) even if it rains on you?

I personally wouldn't feel that it's a badge of honor or something, this isn't a competition. If you do it and enjoy yourself, great, if you don't and pack it up and that makes you happy, great too. I find it difficult to believe that standing in a rain storm with electircal equipment that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars adds much to ones machismo. All except the most hardcore taper would look at that as a being a tool really. 

[DigiGal]

Taping in the rain certainly isn't any fun, although personally I'd rather be prepared for the elements than to pack it in.  To each their own though because it's definitely not a competition and not everyone will be up for it.  Now an electrical storm is entirely different matter but then the show would be shut down anyway, for safety reasons.


This Portabrace promotional photo helps demonstrate you don't need to be macho to tape in the rain.

[stevetoney]

So, thanks all!  I will no longer cower in fear of rain.

Moke seemed to get pissed at me earlier in this thread when I implied that real tapers prepare for and tape in the rain, but tell the truth now...don't you feel like you took it up a notch and feel a greater sense of accomplishment with that recording since now you know you can get a great recording (without one iota of damage to your gear) even if it rains on you?

I personally wouldn't feel that it's a badge of honor or something, this isn't a competition. If you do it and enjoy yourself, great, if you don't and pack it up and that makes you happy, great too. I find it difficult to believe that standing in a rain storm with electircal equipment that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars adds much to ones machismo. All except the most hardcore taper would look at that as a being a tool really. 

Myco, all I'm talking about is satisfaction at the success or failure in getting a recording, which has nothing to do with being macho.  To me, it's geek-ily satisfying to know that if I've prepared for rain and if it starts to rain, that I'll still come home with the goods anyway.  It's the silly notion of a goofy taper geek (which I am) that even rain won't keep me from getting my recording.

The analogy was when I played golf and still shot my handicap in the rain...I didn't feel like I was any better than anyone else for shooting my score, but I felt pretty dang good that, because I had prepared for it, a little rain didn't spoil my day.

That said, there's no way I'm standing out in a driving rainstorm to get a stupid recording (the preacher scene in Caddyshack comes to mind LOL), and there's REALLY no way I'm sticking around if lightning is in the air, even in the unlikely event the band keeps on playing.   

[bryonsos]

I taped 5 outdoor shows in the last month. I was rained on at 4 of them. Does that make me macho? Nope, just wet 

FWIW, I'm pretty sick of taping in the rain for awhile.

[acidjack]

I taped 5 outdoor shows in the last month. I was rained on at 4 of them. Does that make me macho? Nope, just wet 

FWIW, I'm pretty sick of taping in the rain for awhile.

Here's to the fall season