Topic: Creating A Newbie Stealth Rig

[Benjamin]

I’m looking to create my first rig for taping concerts. The only shows I’m interested in taping are “no taping” or are at “no taping” venues, so I’m going to have to stealth. I’m 17, so money is an issue. I just want to get started and make enjoyable recordings. I can always upgrade later on. 

I think I’ve read through the forums well enough to understand the basics, I think.

Because I’m going to be stealthing, I don’t want to use the JB3. I think it’s going to be too big for me to smuggle. The Archos Gmini 220 looked like it was going to be great, but there’s digi noise every 19.3 seconds.  The iRiver H140 looked pretty cool, but it was a little expensive for something that has a 74 minute track limit, and no meters.

I think I want to record to a Hi-MD player. I know ATRAC3plus doesn’t offer as good a recording as the JB3. I THINK I read that it can record WAV at 16/44.1 for 90-100 minutes before a tape flip, and on 2 AA’s it should be able to last an entire show.

The other day I saw a new Sony Hi-MD MZNH600D for $149.99, which is a great price for me to start at.

For a battery box I’d like to use the SP-SPSB-6 ($49.00), because it is smaller than the SP-SPSB-1. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer Dual Slider Level Volume Control. Is the absence of the Volume Control going to be a big setback? Should I pay the extra for bass rolloff? It has the battery exposed, is this thing going to melt my jacket or set my clothes on fire, seriously, is it?

For the mic, I’m looking at the SP-TFB-2 ($69.99) because in the sounds samples it seems better than the SP-BMC-3 ($59.00).  I MAY decide to purchase a higher grade microphone if the board seems to think it’s a good idea. I want a mic I can hide easily, and I’m not sure this’ll fit in croakies (Im not sure I want to wear it in-ear all the time). Maybe something I could fit in a hat would be good. Im open to suggestions.

SP-TFB-2 > SP-SPSB-6 > Sony Hi-MD MZNH600D should run $289.00+S&H

As for programs, I have Sonic Foundry Acid Pro 4 and EAC. Is there something else I should download and learn?

That’s what Im thinking about. I would really appreciate some suggestions and feedback. Thanks.

[Humbug]

Heres a few random thoughts about your post:

-The Nomad JB3 is stealthable because at first glance it looks like a CD player. When you're searched, you can tell people its a 'personal stereo'. I've never had it taken off me. I dunno, maybe in the US security know what it is, but over here its not used so much for recording gigs.

-I personally don't get on with MD. For a start the quality isnt as good as DAT/Nomad, and to get the best out of it for transfers you need a standalone hi-fi unit at home with digi out to a CD recorder (or pc I guess). If you go analog out you're losing another bit of quality.

-I run the SPSPSB1 battery box and it does not get hot. I recommend some bass roll off for all gigs except quiet acoustic. I would go for this module over the SPSPSB6 simply because its sturdy. Its never let me down in 50+ stealth recordings. It gets worn unobtrusively on my belt.

-I personally prefer cardioid mics for stealth recordings. The SPCMC2 mics are a bit more expensive than your choice, but at least you can clip them to your clothing.

Look, I'm biased, and to be fair you will get different opinions from all the people that stealth tape on here.

What I can tell you is that I'm extremely happy with my setup and I've torrented a good number of my recordings on Sharingthegroove or bt.easytree.org. Doing it right now if you take a look..

[ShawnF]

I don't think the 600 has a mic in, IIRC, so getting a HI-MD unit you can record with will cost you a bit more, most likely.  Look at the specs available at minidisc.org to be sure.  There will also be no way to upload your recording digitally and use it as open WAV files, at least until the fall when Sony has promised a converter of some sort.  You could play it back through the USB in realtime and use Total Recorder to capture it in WAV, however.  And there aren't currently any HI-MD decks, and PCM recordings made on a HI-MD portable won't play on non-HI-MD decks, so no need to worry about those.  As for quality, we'll see.  I mean, it is advertised as 44.1/16, and is uncompressed (in this mode), so the potential is there to come close to DAT in terms of sound quality, and I don't know if the Nomad is 48k capable or not.  If not, then it ought to be more or less identical, at least on paper.  Still, I'm pretty confident Sony will have found yet another way to make all things MD less than what it should be.

Shawn

[Rand0mRoll77]

ok i am in a similar situation to you, being a 17 year old taper who has stealthed a few shows
i run AT853s> SP-SPSB-6 > NJB3

i think you really should get a nomad over a mini disk, it has level control on it and you will use it so much more than a mini disc

with a 40 gb hard drive it offers better recording options and you can put your entire cd collection on there and take it everywhere

i highly recomend one, and you can get the 20gig onces for cheap as fuck now

every time i sneak my gear into a show i put it in my cargo pocket, when they pat it down they usually dont ask what it is, if they do say it is your cd player and your car doors dont dont lock, it doesnt make music it plays music! , act real dumb, they wont give you trouble

these mics are one step down from the at853s at sound professionals and they sound great too, http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-CMC-2

120$ , make sure you get the shure rotating clips (even though theyre not worth 30$) if you want to stealth

if you want to hear what my mics soundlike you can stream my copy of o.a.r. @ new city ymca in chicago jul 10th here

this tape was not stealthed they were on a stand

http://www.archive.org/download/oar2004-07-10.flac16/oar2004-07-10.flac16_vbr.m3u

but yea i highly recomend a nomad over a md

get a job and save your money for a month or two, these items are easily affordable

[greenone]

If you're still considering the Gmini, I *think* the diginoise is only on the digi-in. If you go analog in, which you likely will on your budget, it shouldn't be a problem...

[Depechemode1993]

well all these guys know what there talkin about. but I know where you come from with no money. I am 16 years old... even though MD is not as good of quality as DAT or nomad my opinion I would start with an md. Sharps are good. or if you want to go into DAT a D8 is nice. but if you don't have 200-500 bucks laying around buy a Sony WMD3 or a D6. they are really cheap and nice but they are analouge but I am probably the only one who likes analouge. I think they are great. mics. for easy money a Sony ECM-717 mic is great. for 70 bucks its got 2 channels and such and its a cardiroid! so its a plus.

[Rand0mRoll77]

dish out the few extra dollars and get a nomad

you wont regret it

i never use cds anymore 

[greenone]

Seriously...not using media is a HUGE price gain. Not sure how much a box of MDs is, but it'll pay itself back in no time...

[Sean Gallemore]

cmc2 > spsb1/6 > jb3

[thierryhenry]

Well, I am another 18 year old stealth taper. I taped The Walkmen @ Beachland Ballroom last night, in Cleveland. I easily got my gear in and taped (the people there are really really cool about taping so it was easy). I run a nice little Stereo T Condenser Omni-Directional Mic I got from Ebay (some guy in Canada makes it) for about $65.00, and I currently bought a SP-SBSP-6 a few days ago with bass roll off, and I run it into a Sharp MD-MT99. After months of trying to figure out shit with gear and taping, I finally got a DECENT SOUNDING TAPE! This setup works great. If you get SP mics (SP-CMC-2's) and the 6 Battery Box (get the 1 if your MD or whatever can't adjust recording levels on the fly, if not you don't really need to waste the money). But Jb3 I've heard really good things about, the straight to WAV recording, and then the drag-drop process of getting the wavs to your computer, and I know they drop in price everyday. They seem bulky to me, but other than that, I'd get one if I didn't have the MD. The Sharp I have is a real nice MiniDisc, you can adjust recording levels, and it's perfect for what I use it for. It sounds like you got a good plan, don't need to spend much more than $300 for a completely good rig. Have fun taping.

[Benjamin]

Thanks much everyone.  I'm going to look into this whole deal again and take all your posts into consideration.  Rand0mRoll77, the tape sounds great!  When I settle on something, I'll let all of you know. Thanks again!

[Aaron734]

Look in the rig pics section for different ways to place your mics, theres lots of them in there.