Taping/Recording
 

Yay, finally got my minidisc. Can't wait to record a show. First of all, where and what (mono or stereo, which make) mic I should buy. Do I need anything else? Where is best place to stand during the gig, while recording? In what format is recording with minidisc (.cda)? How do I convert it to . flac? I had more questions, but can't think of more right now.

thanks!

ok well i would invest in a good quality stereo mic. ebay is ok for them. as far as recording shows obviously the further to the music the better but you can pick up crowd noise that way which is annoying. i have seen a lot of people put mics up high around the mixing desk which seems to be a good place but experiment and find out what works for you then post the results here alright!

hope all is well with you man?

Hi John. Yeah, I'm grand. How are you man? Still in England? Yeah, I was thinking of ebay. The only secure thing when you would be buying mic (that mic is fully functional) of ebay is feedback of the seller, huh? So it should be small kinda thing and stereo?

I haven't recorded a lot, but all I did was always from the first row or front of the stage, the place I prefer to be during shows otherwise too. Maybe it's not the best place to be soundwise, but I've had good results mostly. Probably because I've only taped smaller gigs; I guess the bigger the venue, the more difficult it gets.
Most important thing for me is to not let the recording process take away my enjoyment of the show. I wouldn't stand somewhere at the back where I can see fuck all just because it's the best place soundwise; I'm not that dedicated.

I don't know enough about microphones etc do give you advice on what to buy, but this is a useful site
http://taperssection.com

The program that is with sony doesn't allow to put recordings onto your computer. I had the same thingy.

trasher, how is this possible? I mean, I hope you can always just plug the earphones output into your soundcard line in and record directly what you play on your minidisc...hopefull...or am i wrong? It takes more time but you avoid the "sony MD to pc" limitations, aaaight?

thanks for responces. thanks for that link pokkehherie - i'm going check that out, just didn't have a time lately.

you need to buy a stereo condenser mic. i bought mine at a sony store for about $150 canadian. you can get better, smaller mics but they are more expensive and you might have to order them. when recording the show you should have the mic as high as possible, above the heads of the crowd if possible. i put mine on top of my head underneath my hoody usually. Or i put it on my shoulder if recording isn't allowed. the best place to stand in my opinion is right in the middle, equal distance from each speaker, halfway back in the crowd. to transfer the show to your computer you need a usb cord. you can download this program for free from sony to put it on your computer. its called sonicstage 4.3. it inputs the show into your computer and converts it to a wav file.:

http://musicstore.connect.com/custom.../download.html

if you have any more questions just message me!

Zoom makes these little digi 4 track recorders with built in mics...gotta get one so I don't have to keep lugging around my 16 track to shows.

Yep, get a stereo condenser mic...make sure it's battery operated since I doubt your minidisc has phantom power.

I knew someone who had a minidisc with headphones that acutally recorded in stereo too.

Watch those recording levels too! I've attempted bootleging many times and when the sound overloads your recorder, it's gonna sound like shit.

I was walking around town yesterday with some spare cash and bought my first mic. it's not so small as I thought it is (from the pictures on amazon), don't call it my "stealth" mic, hehe. yeah it is battery operated, but nothing about recording levels nor on the mic neither on the minidisc ( it's sony). I'll see when I'll record gig, how it sounds actually. first gig I'll be recording should be Wolf Eyes in the end of the month. would you know what's their stance towards taping them? must (want to) check venue myself.

 

compressor?

Compressor?

Never heard of one. I have heard of a condenser mic before.

there are three types of micrpohone - dynamic, condenser and ribbon. There is no such thing as a compressor microphone. A compressor is a piece of outboard equipment or a plugin that is used for live and studio recording, minidisc players have built in compression to control the file size of the audio going to the disc.

sway please go easy on the misinformation