newbie recording damo this week-need help

[sliptogrey]

hi there,

i need help. i just got my mics and mic pre-amp
today and i want to tape damo on wed. and thurs.
this week. all you tapers out there, this is what i have:
Sound Professionals Miniature Binaural Microphone
SP-BMC3

Sound Professionals Slimline Battery Module
SP-SPSB1

please give me some advice.
what should i set the battery module at?
how close should i be to the speakers?
do i have to stealth it?
or now, since damo has a taping policy is it ok for
me to record and not hide anything?

so, tapers, please post some advice here or drop
me an email. thank you, i appreciate it.

peace | chris
cph143@hotmail.com

http://db.etree.org/sliptogrey/damo

[cnpubwear]

first of all, you've gotta practise as much as you can, I realise you're taping soon so go out try and record any music you can find in clubs and even go to movies and try. working in the dark isnt easy and damien rice shows have very little light as i learned this week, so be very comfortable with where the buttons are on your player, adjust your levels during the openning if you're unsure of what you're doing. I'm new to this too but thats what I can offer, in terms of the taping policy, I dont know if the venues are aware of this so I hid my stuff best i could and had no problems.

[Chrysler]

best is to stand right next to a speaker because you get the best sound there and you wont be hearing stupid people talking all the time. Watch your levels - damien starts probably rather calmly but the shows will get very loud. So try to get an adequate recording level at the beginning and dont try to adjust the recording level durging the show (only if you have to). You'll get an impression on how to set your equipment after wednesdays show - so you can do it all right on thursday. And dont forgot to spread your copy here ;-)

[coreybyrnes]

i'm no expert, but i would recommend setting your bass roll-off on the battery box at 107hz... thanks for becoming a taper... every taper counts cause you never know when you're gonna be the only one... definitely get to know the settings on your recording device (whatever that may be)... i've heard that if they see you taping they'll ask you to stop... stealth is the way to go... good luck... hope it comes out well...

[sml42]

Whoa, you may be cutting things fine a little there!

I'd recommend heading over to www.taperssection.com, there is literally loads of great advice there for newbie tapers (of which, I am one ) ). You need to register, but it's not a big deal.

I personally would go in stealth mode. For the mics, you have several options: wear a shirt with collar, and mount them under the collar (if you have an old shirt you don't mind hacking, you can completely conceal the wires this way); if you wear spectacles, you can mount them on the arms (the wires can be disguised as a spectacle retainer as often worn by joggers); if you wear a baseball cap you can mount them under the lip of the cap; you can mount them under your shirt on your shoulders (with suitably sticky medical tape); you can actually mount them in your ears (if they are small enough to fit). If you have the time, experiment with all the above diffrent placements.

For getting gear into a venue - the recommended method is "crotching", wear baggy jeans/trousers, put your equipment in a small bag and hang it from your belt. In case you get wanded, be sure you have a big shiny buckle on your belt (blame the metal detector on the belt). And don't give up the belt because "my trousers will fall down, dude".

You don't say what recording device you have (minidisc / dat / nomad jukebox 3). I myself own a jb3, and I can offer the following advice: be sure to upgrade the firmware to the latest (www.nomadworld.com); be sure to select "record as wav", go for 44.1kHz unless you're confident you know how to post-edit and downsample to 44.1kHz. And finally, once you've started recording, tap the power button (do NOT press and hold) - that will pull up the 'lock button' menu (hey now, we don't wanna accidentally hit the stop button... like i did ).

best regards,
stephen

[cnpubwear]

my first time i accidently pulled out the mic jack from the mdplayer so you wannna be carefull with that too

[Angela]

Originally Posted by sml42

In case you get wanded, be sure you have a big shiny buckle on your belt (blame the metal detector on the belt). And don't give up the belt because "my trousers will fall down, dude".

It's only now that I fully understand the sacrifices tapers make [img]smileys/smiley36.gif[/img]

[edpaffjr]

So even with a taping policy somewhat in place, most tapers are still having to stealth the shows???


Myself and another taper from Kansas City were hoping to go to the show tomorrow in Lawrence, and run our full rigs. Has anyone had any luck with taping non stealth?Edited by: edpaffjr

[Chrysler]

taping with mic on body or mic in your hand is allowed - thats the Damien Policy at the moment.

[cnpubwear]

what does stealth mean, i pinned my mics to my shirt and that worked out fine

[edpaffjr]

I guess I shouldn't use the term stealth, since it usually implies that taping isn't allowed. Stealth meaning undetected, just like the planes, etc. But recording with your mics pinned to yourperson is using the same technique as a stealth taper. Many tapers will use stands to mount their microphones when taping a band that is completely open and supportive or the taping and trading scene.


I guess that is why a friend of ours was told his equipment was too professional. The stand was probably what they were referring to...


I guess we will not be taping unless the venue isn't aware of the policy. [img]smileys/smiley36.gif[/img]Edited by: edpaffjr

[sml42]

Originally Posted by edpaffjr

So even with a taping policy somewhat in place, most tapers are still having to stealth the shows???


Myself and another taper from Kansas City were hoping to go to the show tomorrow in Lawrence, and run our full rigs.* Has anyone had any luck with taping non stealth?

It's one thing for a BAND to be pro-taping; it's another thing entirely for the VENUE to allow taping. Or, more accurately, it is another thing entirely to convince venue security...

It depends entirely on the venue; your mileage may vary. I personally take the opinion, it is better to stealth gear into the venue, and keep a low profile.

best regards,
stephen

[sliptogrey]

wow.

lots of comments on here. thanks everyone.

i have a sony minidisc, mz-r700. i went out and
bought some alligator (roach) clips and plan to
connect the mics to my collar or button up portion of
the shirt. both venues should be great for standing
in front of the speakers too.

hopefully everything will work out and i'll get some
good stuff.

as for the venues allowing taping, i know liberty hall
(wednesday) happily allows it. i'm not sure about the
pageant (thursday).

peace | chris
cph143@hotmail.com

[edpaffjr]

You are correct in that a venue may not allow taping either, but both of the venues in question have no problem with taping. I personally have recorded at Liberty Hall multiple times, and I know my buddy Joe Shambro has recorded at The Pageant a bunch...


Stealthing is just not for me. I don't like to stand still in one spot for an entire show. I don't want to get kicked out (if it is against the bands policy). And I would rather have a much higher quality recording of the show...