Topic: Got a rig, not sure what to do with it....help a nervous newbie

[mjlauf]

So i finally saved up the dough to get my own lil taping rig...

SP-CMC-4 > SP-SPSB-6 (w/level control and bass rolloff) > JB3

All components have arrived within the past 24 hours. I've got 48 hours to figure out how to work it all before stealth-taping John Doe playing at an art gallery in Massachusetts.

I know enough to plug the mics into the hole in the battery box and plug the batter box into the Line In on the JB3.

After that...help!!

[Diggin]

how are you going to mount the mics?  hat? collar? etc
hit record and go...
pretty easy with that setup

[Brian Skalinder]

I know enough to plug the mics into the hole in the battery box and plug the batter box into the Line In on the JB3.

After that...help!!

[1]  Make sure your batt box / pre has a fresh battery
[2]  Make sure your JB3 batts are fully charged
[3]  Read the NJB3 Operating FAQ in the Archive | Recording Gear forum
[4]  Figure out how you're going to mount the mics
[5]  Mount 'em and do some test recording, then try different mount options to see if there's any difference in the results
[6]  Play around with the whole functional setup before hand to get familiar with it, e.g. how sensitive the sliders are on the preamp, and listen to the recordings to ensure it's all working properly

[mjlauf]

how are you going to mount the mics?  hat? collar? etc
hit record and go...
pretty easy with that setup

man, i'll take an advice i can get! baseball cap? eyeglasses?

[Diggin]

Do what Brian says after that practice in front of a mirror of what the setup will look like, then practice in front of your stereo or tv and take a listen to what sound the best to you

[Diamond_D]

make sure the JB3 firmware is updated so you can check levels on the recording screen. Check the rig pictures forum, I just posted pics of two types of stealth mic setups.

[mjlauf]

make sure the JB3 firmware is updated so you can check levels on the recording screen. Check the rig pictures forum, I just posted pics of two types of stealth mic setups.

nice work.
i guess in my ignorance i thought that stealth mics were gonna be smaller than they actually turned out to be, that you'd just stick them on your cap and no one would notice.

[Chapper]

Did you get the clips with your mics?   I've simply clipped them onto the brim of a baseball hat before...not the lowest profile setup, but for John Doe, it'll work.   Try to point each mic to it's respective stack, don't mess with them once you start recording as it will be audible on your recording.   I would clip mine to each side of the brim and angle them out a bit. 
With these mics, try to be as close to the stacks as you can, without being in the middle of a chatty group of people.   
Don't talk while you are recording, it'll be audible.   Don't turn your head, it'll be audible.   Set your levels then forget them, it'll be audible if you are looking down at them.   Be careful not to run too hot, you can always increase the gain later.   
Glad to see you're taping John.....his shows are always great.  He'll be in Denver soon, I'll be there!
Chapper

[Humbug]

-Get a mini flashlight unless you're recording in a well lit place (sounds like you might be?).
-Turn down the volume on the Nomad (this is the headphone volume, and is useless for recording)

Settings on the Nomad:
-EAX off
-backlight off (sucks juice)
-IR remote off

and practise so you're not caught off guard. Should take you 1-2 minutes max to wire yourself up, and 30 seconds to get the Nomad recording from fully switched off..

[mjlauf]

the venue is an art gallery that also has a weekly show. won't be more than a hundred people there. i'm sure they'll be using a small PA system, no stacks.

Do I need to use the bass roll off?

Do I need to keep the foam caps on the mics?

thanks for all your help!!

[sml42]

the venue is an art gallery that also has a weekly show. won't be more than a hundred people there. i'm sure they'll be using a small PA system, no stacks.

Do I need to use the bass roll off?

I'd expect not - for small crowds, small PA and this sort of venue, I'd be very surprised if they ran the bass excessively loud.

Do I need to keep the foam caps on the mics?

For an indoor venue, generally not... unless you're standing directly under the a/c vents, in which case maybe.

thanks for all your help!!

As Diamond_D said, make sure you the jb3 firmware is up-to-date. Also take a few minutes to read the jb3 FAQ, I think it's under the 'archive' forum on here. Just one other piece of advice from me - the very first recording I made, I was not aware of the "lock" feature of the jb3 (when recording, hit the power button briefly to pull up the "lock buttons?" menu). Needless to say I somehow managed to hit stop when I clipped the jb3 to my belt... d'oh!

best regards,
stephen

[divamum]

From another newbie:

Mistakes I've made in my first few JB3 tapes:

- unless you're going to be tracking things as you go, set to "continuous" recording so it'll go over the 3hr mark if necessary.  Better to have it and not need it than the other way around.

- careful if you do stop and then start a "new recording" with the existing settings via the scroll wheel. The choices for "Start new recording"  and  "delete recording" (ie the previous track) are right next to each other.   One of the first times I used it I tried to start a new track that way, my finger must've slipped and turned the wheel as I pressed it in to select and, well... you can imagine. Thankfully it wasn't something too important but I was still well annoyed (and learned my lesson to do EVERYTHING with the JB3 very, very methodically...)

- freshly charged batteries

- as I'm learning (oh, the learning curve for a n00b is steep!) really practice with your levels beforehand and/or make sure you test and listen back when you're there. In the situations I record I CAN'T check levels but am having to learn by trial and error what works with my rig, meaning I am sacrificing a lot of recordings for mistakes, usually to do with levels (cf yesterdya's brickwalling meltdown).  It sucks!  But if you have the option of checking levels in situ, DO IT (and then do it again just for good measure).  This is the single biggest frustration for me. I think I'm starting to figure out how to do what I need to but I've lost a few potentially good recordings due to duff levels which is really annoying. Oh well...

Good luck!

[mjlauf]

OK, eight hours to go and i'm getting the hang of it. thanks for all your advice!

from what i can gather from the jb3 threads, is should use line-in rather than mic-in.

do i need to adjust the gain on my jb3??

[Ray76]

OK, eight hours to go and i'm getting the hang of it. thanks for all your advice!

from what i can gather from the jb3 threads, is should use line-in rather than mic-in.

do i need to adjust the gain on my jb3??

I used this setup for Wilco and yes, I had to adjust the settings on the jb3.+T man

Ray

[Ray76]

the venue is an art gallery that also has a weekly show. won't be more than a hundred people there. i'm sure they'll be using a small PA system, no stacks.

Do I need to use the bass roll off?

I'd expect not - for small crowds, small PA and this sort of venue, I'd be very surprised if they ran the bass excessively loud.

Do I need to keep the foam caps on the mics?

For an indoor venue, generally not... unless you're standing directly under the a/c vents, in which case maybe.

thanks for all your help!!

As Diamond_D said, make sure you the jb3 firmware is up-to-date. Also take a few minutes to read the jb3 FAQ, I think it's under the 'archive' forum on here. Just one other piece of advice from me - the very first recording I made, I was not aware of the "lock" feature of the jb3 (when recording, hit the power button briefly to pull up the "lock buttons?" menu). Needless to say I somehow managed to hit stop when I clipped the jb3 to my belt... d'oh!

best regards,
stephen

Speaking of firmware, the "software auto detect" program on the creative website (go to creative, go to support, select your country, and then you will see the "softwarte auto detect") works really well.
With that, you are assured you have everything updated.

Ray