Topic: Setup suggestion for amplified indie pop band in smallish student pub

[indietaperwloo]

I'm pretty new to the taping game but I'm also a seasoned audio engineer and run a restoration and mastering studio out of my apartment.  I don't have any gear of my own yet but I made friends with a local taper who's trying to cut back on the amount of gigs he goes to so he's going to lend me some of his gear to tape the band.
The instrumentation is 2 electric guitars (Fender Telecaster and a Gretsch hollowbody), a trumpet (miked), an electric piano (Hohner Pianet), a bass guitar (Ibanez SRX400) and miked drums and the room is capable of holding anywhere from 30-60 people and is basically a converted farmhouse on the second floor.  (http://www.gsa.uwaterloo.ca/house/)
The taper friend is going to lend me a pair of his Sennheiser KE4-210-2 HRTF binaural mics and an Edirol R-09 to start with but he has other gear including a pair of Beyerdynamic MC930's and a Fostex FR-2LE.  The thing I like about the Fostex is the ability to monitor the recording on headphones while it's recording - I doubt you'll be able to do that with the binaurals.  Plus, the Fostex is capable of 24/96 which I don't think the R-09 is.  I already have written permission from the band to record their set so stealthiness isn't an issue.
Bottom line: Which rig will yield better results?
Sennheiser KE4-210-2 HRTF > Edirol R-09 @ 24/44.1
OR
Beyerdynamic MC930 stereo pair X-Y > Fostex FR-2LE @ 24/44.1

[boojum]

The binaural mics will give you a binaural recording which is most suitable for earphone play.  It will not have a good stereo sound on speakers.

[bugg100]

Welcome to your new addiction/obsession!

Just stick your feet in and see how the water feels.... Meaning, How are you gonna mount the mics, mic position, stand or clamp, etc, etc.  i would just borrow what is simple and easy for my first outing. Good luck!  Report back afterwards.

Joe
p.s. Try to enjoy the show, also...

[indietaperwloo]

Found out I won't have access to the Beyerdynamics but I might rent a R0DE NT4 and go direct into the borrowed Edirol R09 through the supplied 5-pin XLR female to 3.5mm stereo TRS male and mount it on a standard mic stand near the back of the room.  Those mics operate best when you're around 15 ft away from the source or PA system.  I'm typically used to recording 100 member youth choirs with this mic and I've always had good results (the director once complained it sounded too "warm" and I also read the NT4 has a fairly "dark" sound to it - nothing a little 12 khz shelf EQ won't fix when mastering).  The gig is less than 2 weeks away so I'm fairly excited about my first time taping.  I'll let y'all know how it goes

[darkfunk]

I checked out pics of the venue and I would definitely set up in front, not in the back... especially if there are no vocals (but even with vocals, the PA speaker on the right looks recessed enough that you would get adequate vox up front). 

when i started taping in small rooms i set up too high and too far back because of large venue experiences, but these days I almost always set up between the audience and the performers (or on stage) and w/ mics between 3-4 feet.  crowd noise can be a major problem in small rooms if you are in back.

my $0.02