Topic: New to open taping - Nak 300 help please!

[hobbes4444]

OK, long time stealth taper here.  Thought it would be nice to have an open rig set up for those couple of friendly bands I see.   So I decided to grab a pair of Nak 300s off ebay.  $225, seems OK.  The set comes with CP1 and CP2 caps, the mesh wind/pop screens, but no clips.

My first show is a front row mezz show at the Orpheum.  So I'm going to clamp to the rail.  I will likely run:
CM300>Denecke AD-20>M1  and also
DPA4061>Edirol R-09 taped to the rail, spread as much as possible.

In researching here, for the rail set up, looks like I'm going to go with:

Bogen 2900 SuperClamp with standard stud (B&H, $28)  -- will this work ok on a seat armrest?
Shure A27M  - probably run X-Y (B&H, $60)

and for the mics

Canare Star Quad cables female straight, male right angle for the AD-20 (probably order from Sharon on eBay or KindKables) -- i'll proably also get a female XLR > stereo mini adaptor to use directly into the R-09 when I don't feel like running DAT.  micsupply.com has a Hosa adaptor for $19.
Excell 1611 batteries

possibly: Giottos MH-1004 Mini Ballhead  (B&H, $10, seems to be a good "just in case" as suggested by fozzy, then the Bogen 2918 Standard Stud with 3/8" Screw - to attach to the Super Clamp, I think -- or would I need 1/4-20 to 5/8 adaptor to attach it. . .?? )

So, aside from the above I still need clamps to attach the CM300s to the Shure A27M.  Since I'm not going to be doing open taping all that often, are there generic clips that will work OK?  Not lkg to spend a fortune on shock mounts, etc.

Also, would a T-Bar be a better option than the ShureA27M?  Something like the ST2
SABRA T MOUNT?

Anything else that I'm forgetting before I start placing orders?  

Thanks as always for the advice.
Dave

[china_rider]

The super clamp should work fine on an armrest.  I've used it several times that way.  Depending on where you are at you may want to consider a bogen heavy duty flex arm.  It could raise the mics up a few feet or get them in front of you a bit so you don't have to worry about bumping them as much.  Also, if you ever get a chance to clamp to a balcony it works great to get the mics a few feet in front of the rail.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&Q=&is=REG&O=productlist&sku=74314

The arm works fine with the clamp and the heavy duty version is more than strong enough to hold your mics and the shure bar.

Also.. I really like my A27.  I use Sabra shock mounts with mine.  If you are just looking for a standard set of clamps you can probably just run to your local guitar center or the like and find a cheep pari.

Dana

[Roving Sign]

I like the Sabra - but I sort of stripped out my Sabra bar a little too easily - and there are too many little parts and screws to deal with (in some environments.)

I've found NOS to be the most consistient pattern with these mics - and the Sabra gets just a tad short to get the 90 degree angle without the cords bumping - maybe right angle plugs would help...(I like my NOS to be in the same horizantal plane - not sure thats a big deal - not an issue with the A27 I guess...)

I'd think any of the cheap flexible clips that come with many cheap "pencil" condensers would work fine with the NAKs

[hobbes4444]

The super clamp should work fine on an armrest.  I've used it several times that way.  Depending on where you are at you may want to consider a bogen heavy duty flex arm.  It could raise the mics up a few feet or get them in front of you a bit so you don't have to worry about bumping them as much.  Also, if you ever get a chance to clamp to a balcony it works great to get the mics a few feet in front of the rail.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&Q=&is=REG&O=productlist&sku=74314

The arm works fine with the clamp and the heavy duty version is more than strong enough to hold your mics and the shure bar.

Also.. I really like my A27.  I use Sabra shock mounts with mine.  If you are just looking for a standard set of clamps you can probably just run to your local guitar center or the like and find a cheep pari.

Dana

Hey Dana -- thanks for the tip on the heavy duty arm.  I was thinking of the bogen extension or some kind of gooseneck.  this seems like a good option.  do you think it is sturdy enough to hold the CM300 + CP4 shotguns, if i get a set???

thanks again, wish i could give +T's    soon i guess. . .

[hobbes4444]

One other Q:  I was thinking of running these X-Y from the mezz rail dead center.  One TS'er suggested NOS instead.  Any other thoughts, comments from experience??

[stirinthesauce]

From experience running the nak 300's with cp-1's, DIN or NOS will give much better results than XY.

YMMV but to my ears, I would never run these mics in XY.

[china_rider]

The arm is really strong... It should have no problems with the guns.  With my Naks I almost always ran Din or Nos but XY sounded good too.

[stirinthesauce]

YMMV but to my ears, I would never run these mics in XY.

is there a small diaphram mic that does sounds better XY, when compared to an open config?  (din,dina,ortf, etc)

Not the biggest fan of xy but do run it on occasion with my Peluso's and have liked the results.  I believe xy has it's place and I utilize it in situations that warrant it.  Onstage sometimes outdoors in a bass heavy situation if I want to attenuate the bass a bit without rolloff or when trying to take out a little "room boom" in a shitty sounding room/warehouse/dungeon like atmosphere.  However I never was really pleased running xy with my old pair of naks though I am a fan of the nak sound.  I just found naks to need a more open configuration in most all situations. 

OF course I'm no engineer or expert so I'm just relaying what my personal experiences to my ears have been.  Your ears/experiences very well could be different.

[Patrick]

To each his own, but I agree with Jon here-- the cm300's were never meant to run in the XY config.  They just don't sound good. 

But of course, trust your ears!

+T to a fellow Team Nak user, hobbes!

[PG]

One other Q:  I was thinking of running these X-Y from the mezz rail dead center.  One TS'er suggested NOS instead.  Any other thoughts, comments from experience??

Ive run DIN from the Orpheum Mezz with good results.

[Nick Graham]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but 99% of the time I'd recommend the Shure A27 Vert Bar over the Sabra (or any t-bar for that matter).

There's literally no config that can't be run with the Shure (see http://www.oade.com/Tapers_Section/micsetup.html for examples), and the thing is indestructible.

[china_rider]

Hey nick.. I agree... Love my shure bar.  Would recommend it to anyone.  The only issue I have is when switching to my LD mics.  The dual figure 8 is hard to run unless I do it horizontal XY.