Topic: Ok i've done my research.....

[h4nk3f4n]

And i'm hoping I'm posting this in the right area to get my questions answered.  If not mods just move it to where it needs to go.  Anyway here goes......


A:  I have the need to do both stealth and open taping.  I am going to be taping mostly at the Cains Ballroom in
Tulsa.  I will be taping bands ranging from Hank III to Lucinda Williams and Gov't Mule.  Mostly loud bands I know
but I'm also not opposed to taping some bluegrass and string bands it just seems like they never come around much. 
B:  I have about $850 to spend right now.  Think I can pull it off?  I think I can.
C:  I looked at both the new HIMD models from Sony and the Edirol R-09 and mic and preamp options from both Sound Professionals and Church Audio.
D:  I have been to bt.etree, dime and Sound Professionals and listened to samples from most all of my options.
E:  I am leaning toward the R-09 and the Church Audio STC 9000 preamp and mic bundle.
F:  Now the fun part, you guys ready for some questions?

   1: Aside from the weak battery hatch I have yet to find much negative feedback about the R-09 what can you guys provide me.  I mean I'm stepping up from a Sony MZ N707 so, well you know, no more disk swaps no more Atrac, sounds really good to me.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?item=ED-R-09

   2: I am leaning toward the Church Audio mic and preamp option mainly because Church audio has awesome
reviews, they sound good and he seems to be around here to answer questions and help out.  Not to mention you can't beat the price.  One question I have though is can I get some kind of cable extension for the mics that won't degrade the sound quality too much because if I am going to open tape at the Cains my mics are going to need to be up on a mic stand and they only have 5ft leads on them.  I mean I think I could just attach the preamp to the mic stand but then, if god forbid my mic stand gets knocked over my pre is going to be at risk, anyway I would really like to have all but the mics on the floor in the case for safe keeping you dig?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/STEREO-PREAMP-MICS-4-MINDISC-DAT-EDIROL-R09-MICRO-BR_W0QQitemZ260072905972QQihZ016QQcategoryZ3281QQcmdZViewItem

   3: Sound professionals offers this LiOn battery option that supposedly gives 12hrs run time through the USB
port on the bottom of the R-09 and I am seriously considering it for open taping situations.  Do any of you guys
have any experience with this?  Are the claims true, 12 hrs really?

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/LEN-PPU1700B
 
   4: Sound Professionals also offers a mic stand that I am leaning towards plus a 6" t-mount for separation.  Should I worry about a shock mount?  I'm thinking that option can wait until next time.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-PMS-1

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-GNA-3

   5: The last and final piece will be a bag to haul all this shit around in.  I'm thinking it will be better to get all my stuff in and then go bag shopping so I can get exactly what I need.

G:  Ok So far I'm at about $825 without a bag, maybe I can find something between $25-$50. Anyway guys I guess thats all I have.  As soon as I get some feedback from you all about what I have done wrong and possibly even missed I will pull the trigger on this deal.  And hopefully we will see you at the show!!!

Later

H4nk3f4n

[dorrcoq]

Can't go wrong with the Church Audio stuff.  I'm sure if you ask, Chris will give you longer mic cables.

As for the Edirol R-09, I've never had a problem with the battery door.  It's a bit tricky, but not that difficult to figure out.  The only bad thing about the Edirol is the possibility of the input jack coming loose, but if you are buying a new unit now that should not be a problem.

[drewloo]

IMO spending $ on a battery pack for the r09 is a waste of $.  It'll record for at least 6 hours on a pair of AA's.  Unless you have an Ipod or something else that will benefit from it I'd pass on it.  You could use alkalines for now and then get a nice NiMh charger/batteries down the line if money is really tight.  It'll cost roughly the same as the battery pack and you could use it for other devices that use AA's as well.

[Humbug]

2: I am leaning toward the Church Audio mic and preamp option mainly because Church audio has awesome
reviews, they sound good and he seems to be around here to answer questions and help out.  Not to mention you can't beat the price.  One question I have though is can I get some kind of cable extension for the mics that won't degrade the sound quality too much because if I am going to open tape at the Cains my mics are going to need to be up on a mic stand and they only have 5ft leads on them.  I mean I think I could just attach the preamp to the mic stand but then, if god forbid my mic stand gets knocked over my pre is going to be at risk, anyway I would really like to have all but the mics on the floor in the case for safe keeping you dig?

Have you asked Chris if he could make you some mics with longer leads? Otherwise see pic below (apologies to those who have seen it before):



This answers your point below, as a much cheaper way of mounting small mics, also that allows you to change the separation and angle of the mics to your hearts content. The flexible plastic T-bar (a piece of scrap)  provides some shock mounting.

Since the picture was taken, I have modified spacing to DIN, and use black cable ties to hold the cable to the stand. Much neater.

4: Sound Professionals also offers a mic stand that I am leaning towards plus a 6" t-mount for separation.  Should I worry about a shock mount?  I'm thinking that option can wait until next time.

[Todd R]

I think you're on the right track, but I'd change a few things around.

As stated, skip the external battery.  Go to www.thomas-distributing.com and get a Maha battery charger + battery combo deal.  You should be able to get 4x 2700ma-hr NiMH rechargeable AAs and a nice charger for $40.  Each AA pair will give you something like 6-8 hours of record time.  Plenty of record time, and smaller/more reliable than an external pack.

Skip the soundpro t-bar, too much $ spent there and easy to make your own with some aluminum bar from home depot.  Check this thread and pm atxwolfattack for details:  http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,80942.0.html

Also ask him about his stand, and check around ts.com for leads.  There is a seller on ebay that has much better stands than the one you linked, probably for less money.  Do a search on "amvona" on ebay and you'll find the seller, then search their store for "light stand".  Or just do a search on "dynatran light stand" on ebay and you'll find some.  Should get a really nice stand for about $40 shipped, maybe less.

Chris Church sells his mics to ts.com and gives a discount to ts.com members.  He also is having a "no shipping charges" sale going on this week.  Check the retail section for details.  I'd also step up and get his ST-9100 preamp, not the STC-9000, as it is a much nicer preamp.  Buy directly with him thru ts.com and with his no shipping sale, you can get the upgraded package for the same price as the lower tier product he sells that you linked from ebay.

Also, check with Chris, but if you don't want longer mic cables to deal with when stealthing, a simple 3.5mm extension cable should work fine when you want to open stand tape.  Something like this:  http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2459821&cp

Finally, don't forget you'll need SD flash card(s) to use with the R-09.  Check www.newegg.com who generally have good prices on flash memory.  You can probably get 2x 4gb SD flash cards for about $100 total.  Check around in the R09 threads to see what brands work well with the R09.

Also, check around on ts.com (R09 FAQ?), but you might be able to get better deals on an R09.

Good luck!

[atxwolfattack]

Man, all i can say is, the Church Audio STC-9000 cardiod mics and preamp bundle is such a good deal. I love the mics and i love the preamp, they work and sound great to me. I am a fairly new taper, and i have had some great results so far with this mic and preamp setup (my recorder is an iRiver ihp-120)

I noticed Todd already posted it, but check out this post i made a few days ago, this is a new stand setup i made for less than about 25 bucks...

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,80942.0.html

This is the stand i bought, the dude has like 50 of them for sale...

http://cgi.ebay.com/7-ft-Light-Stand-Brand-New_W0QQitemZ120097144905QQcategoryZ30080QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[h4nk3f4n]

Guys,

Thanks for all the replies.

dorrcoq, I'm glad you put my mind at ease about the battery cover.  I think I will ask church if he can just make me a couple of extensions out of that good wire he uses.  All he can do is say is no right?

drewloo, I think you're right about the external battery.  I guess I could always get one at a later date if I would happen to go to a big festival or something. Got my batts ordered from that site you linked! Thanks for the heads up!

Humbug,  I dig the home-made stuff and thats right up my alley!  Thanks for the heads up man!

Todd R, i think you are onto something i just found post by a guy who got the edirol from BPM for $339 and Newegg has the 4g cards for roughly $38.  I appreciate the tips man!

atxwolfattack, you did a helluva job on that stand!  i will check that ebay link you posted and see whats up but i was sure hoping to get at least an 8ft stand..... Guess what i found an 8.5' got it for about $35.

thanks again guys!

h4nk3f4n

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

Go to www.thomas-distributing.com and get a Maha battery charger + battery combo deal.  You should be able to get 4x 2700ma-hr NiMH rechargeable AAs and a nice charger for $40.  Each AA pair will give you something like 6-8 hours of record time.

Great post!!!

I just bought a wall charger and 4x 2100 mAh "AA" batteries from radio shack for $30 last week.  If 2700mAh will run you 6 hours, 2100mAh will run you 4.5 hours, or thereabouts...

(2700 mAh/6hours = 450mA ~ 2100mAh/450mA = 4.666 hours)

Terry