Hi, I'm new here, and also new to all this world of tapers! the taping that made me find this forum is one from an Omar Rodriguez Lopez gig in new York, i listen to it A LOT and still can't believe how great quality it has, so I NEEDED to find out how this magics works. You can find the recording here: http://forum.thecomatorium.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=121016&st=0
The equipment used was SP-CMC-8 > CA-9100 > TEAC VR-10 (@16bit / 44.1) so it would be great to know if it's a nice equip or maybe it was just a great taper (maybe both), and also what are the names of other similar recorders that can be used to tape in a similar way to this taped gig!
1. This might be a very ridiculous question but, when you are at a gig with a recorder, maybe a preamp, and the external mics attached to your clothes, do you need to keep your mouth shut during all the gig? do you ruin the recording if you do some healthy headbanging?
2. As I am so new to all this world, I just realized that you use more than just one thing to make your recordings and I always thought you were always only using a recorder with really good built in mics in it. Is there anyone who tapes ONLy with a really good recorder that can achieve same quality as a "3-5 piece" equipment?
3. What would be the best recorder if I only wanted to use it for taping my band rehearsals? would be also great if in a future it could be also useful to tape gigs with more added equip
Thanks a lot, I'm learning a lot from this forum
Hello, Pablo, welcome to this friendly board and to the taping world too
You'll find yourself obsessed with this hobby/lifestyle in no time!
I've been a serious taper since only 13 months ago, so I feel capable to answer your questions in quite a more "newbie" way than most experienced tapers around here haha.. Of course their answers will be more valuable from a tech point of view, but I've been where you are very few time ago
First of all - I'm not a conventional taper in a sense that I mostly tape bands for which I'm passionate about, so I purchase my tickets, do my fan long-queues before gates open and I enjoy every show as it was my last. Then again, it goes along with your character and the kind of shows you see; if you're a fan of live rock music, you'll know that Latin countries and zones (like Italy, South America, Spain, etc) have strongly passionate audiences. I always enjoy each one of the shows I attend, and I
additionally happen to tape some of them (and not like the opposite). Of course, I try to find some compromise between hard-die enjoying it and getting a decent tape of the show. I headbang along to those songs suitable to headbanging, I jump along with the music (moderately) and I sing along (sometimes louder than others). And I manage to pull out decent shows.
This is a sample from The Kooks, an indie rock band from UK, which performed here last September. I didn't stop jumping and singing along during any of their 17 songs. And it's one of the best tapes I've pulled! Lineage was a pair of tiny MM-HSLO mics, mounted on a cap I was wearing, and directly plugged into a Roland R-05, I was at first row; outdoor venue. Sample (The Kooks covering Foster The People's
Pumped Up Kicks and featuring Mark Foster):
http://www.goear.com/listen/7e301b2/pumped-up-kicks-the-kooks-feat-mark-fosterAs others have said, omnidirectional mics are of course more forgiving with your movements (body&head). You'll find a bit more problem with cardiod microphones as they're directional and they'll response to your head movements (assuming you mount them on your head); I taped one of my first serious shows with a pair of cardioid CA-14 microphones and you can definitely notice the difference. I was at the sweet spot, back against the sound desk, at an indoor, 17.000 people venue, and couldn't stop dancing and jumping either. You'll notice excellent stereo separation (more easy to achieve with cardioid microphones), specially at the guitar-only part at 02:25, but you'll notice a slight lack of clarity and the sound becomes muffled every now and then (eg. when the microphones stopped being perfectly aimed to the stacks due to my movements). Sample (Arctic Monkeys performing one of their first&best singles,
The View From The Afternoon):
http://www.goear.com/listen/389fce5/the-view-from-the-afternoon-live-in-madrid-2012-arctic-monkeysRegarding using just a recorded with its built-in microphones, I'm not that radical to discourage you as most members here, but you'll definitely notice a lack of sound quality when compared to a 2-3 piece gear (recorder + [power supply] + external microphones)
unless your situation is ideal (a.k.a. you are or know the owner of the venue and you can mount the recorder high above the crowd and ideally placed regarding to the stacks), virtually any combination of microphones+power supply+unexpensive recorder will give far better results than using a expensive recorder's internal mics. I have taped rock shows with my Zoom Q3HD internal mics and the result was surprisingly good, BUT that's when I couldn't carry (or didn't have with me yet) a pair of external microphones. The Zoom H2 is regarded as having an excellent pair of internal microphones, but its build quality lacks the same greatness. Other really expensive recorders like Sony PCM-50, PCD-D1 or Olympus LS-100, which could arguably achieve a similar quality fue to better build quality and good internal mics, will cost more than an unexpensive recorder (like the TEAC VR-10 which achieved your adored Omar Rodríguez López recording) + an unexpensive power supply + an unexpensive (used) pair of external microphones. If you go this route, there are several options, like the CMC-8 you suggested, but also some made by Church Audio and Microphone Madness. You could get a recorder for $80, a power supply for $50 and a pair of mics for $120 and still be on a lower budget than a monster handheld recorder like those suggested
And regarding your band practice... Well, I tape my band with the same setup than I use to tape shows