Topic: starting off right

[RedDawg]

Howdy folks.  I'm new to your forum and to taping.  I plan on buying a rig in the next few months and I'm needing some advice.  Here's what I look to do...
1.  Spend about $2,000
2.  Be able to record live music, mostly Jam Band like music.
3.  80% will be done from mics, 20% chance of tapping into the SB.
4.  Steath isn't needed at all for what I'm going to be doing.
5.  I'd like my gear to last for a few good years without upgrading, so I'm looking at going with better an avg equipment.

Any advice or direction would be great.  Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[Shawn]

you have a lot of options if you are willing to spend that kind of money, and you can put together a very nice rig.

Brian Skalinder puta nice thread together that helps here...
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=35004.0

[T.J.]

my advise would be to listen to as many shows as possible that were recorded with different rigs. when you here something you like then start comparing prices of both new and used gear. with a $2000 budget you have MANY options. ask yourself: what medium do i want to record onto? (DAT/minidisc/hard drive)

when i started taping this was my starting point. the funny thing is i rethought my decision.

if i were starting today i would want to record using a hard drive to record b/c it is easier to transfer to the cpu. hard drive recorders (i.e. nomad jukebox 3/iriver/edirol r4/tascam hd-p2/sound devices 722) allow you to transfer recordings via usb or firewire in a fraction of the time you would with DAT. DAT recorders seem to be a dying breed. i'm not very informed about some of the new HD minidiscs out there, but if you want a physical backup of your recording this could be a good option.

fwiw i spent the largest percentage of my budget on my mics because i feel this is most important element of the rig. mics shouldn't depreciate in value if you take care of them. YMMV

spend enough time searching this board and you'll get all the info you need.

+T and good luck.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

I personally would spend the most money on your mics and the least on your recorder.

Take your time. Listen to a lot of recordings to determine what mics you like the sound of.

My personal choice if I were to spend 2G's would be something like this:

Neumann KM184 ($800-ish used) > Grace V3 ($1200 used) > JB3 ($150 used). Just a hair over 2G's and that is a sick rig. After I did that, I would upgrade to a 24bit recorder (probably a MicroTrack, which would be less that $400 used with a 4GB CF Card).

But that's just my opinion. You'll get many more from other people here. None of them matter more than what your ears like.

Welcome to the club, and +T for asking good questions. It looks like you've done some reading up on the subject.

MIKE B

[tfs8271]

Don't forget to include all the accessories (mic stand, shock mounts, gear bag etc.). Buy used until you really know what you want.

Go simple. I would go with one new item in this suggestion.
used Neumann km184s>new Oade Brothers Marantz ACM PMD671, 4 or 8 GB CF card, Manfrotto stand, shock mounts, gear bag. Looking at $2500.
If you plan on festival recording include a portable card reader/harddrive.

[Nick Graham]

For $2,000, here's what I'd do:

MBHO 603/KA200 ($750 used)
Sound Devices MP2 ($500 used)
Edirol R09 ($400 new)
2 X 4 GB SD Cards ($130 new)
2 * Mic Cables ($75 used)
Bogen Stand ($75 new)
Audio Technica 8410 Shock Mounts ($50 used)
Shure Vert Bar ($50 used)
Gear Bag ($50 used)

That comes out to $2,030 - and covers pretty much everything you'd need.