Samantha D.

In addition to allmanbrothersbandDOTCOM here are a few links http://www.archive.org/details/etree http://www.archive.org/details/GratefulDead http://www.taperssection.com/ http://www.bootlegarchive.org/Forums.aspx Things have changed quite a bit since the old days when I'd carry the Panasonic RQ-J36, and Sony TCS-300 in my purse with batteries, and TDK SA and XLII c90's and batteries for the guys to tape with. Don't know anything about the last link, the bootleg archive, but I can say that ABB traders/trading circle is where you're gonna find the highest quality, classic rock /r&b/blues etc. ABB circle is strictly physical product on disc/tape sent old fashioned mail jiffy bag style. The Allmans do not condone making instant downloadable files to the masses, It must be Peer-to-Peer (essentially must be some work involved copying discs, packing envelope and mailing the physical product) just as it was in the old days. http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=274649 An excellent way I'm told is to GOOGLE microphone models and decks widely used over the years and sift through the google pages Example GOOGLE: Sony ECM-99 or GOOGLE: Realistic 33-1065

Great work. Now that the AT 822 has been discontinued (nos is still avail?), is the AT 8022 equal or ...? as it replaced the 822. Anyone have any experience or tech details. The physical size and the cost of the AT 822 & successor WILL BE an issue for those who "Tape" under cover of darkness from the audience seats. Maybe I'm naive, but I believe there are at least several smaller alternatives that are Up To The task! Recording from middle of an arena, etc presents its own set of challenges. I've seen alot of DIY stereo mic set ups and heard alot of great recordings. To quote Berry Gordy, "Its whats in the groove that counts!". Whether those recordings were EQ'd or whatever, who cares, a great recording is still a great recording in my opinion. Don't say that its impossible with Low-Buck Equipment, it just is much more difficult sometimes, as different components match up better to different equipment... You really never know until you try, but to say that all those fine producers of "stealth mics" don't know what they're doing or that their equipment is inferior to an AT 822 is a crock..., as there are some really good ones out there...recordings prove this. There are more ways than one. I'm certainly not saying the AT822 isn't great because it certainly is, I believe there are likely suitable alternatives...

Hi, maybe this is a bit of info overload, but I say its better to know slightly more, than less. DIY electret condenser mic, good explanation too http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?p=146677 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHjmCQBDhCo&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6WFhRSbp4M&feature=related http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.audio.pro/2008-05/msg01207.html http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6450_7-5020860-1.html Here is some really technical stuff for all of you Math Wizards: http://www.st.com/stonline/books/pdf/docs/8698.pdf http://www.rane.com/note148.html Lastly there is more at Taper Talk at : http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=XForum&file=index&gid=21 Those ABB fans that "tape" are most recognized as the finest live recorders on the planet today. Those Peachheads know a thing or two and really get into it. http://emptystapes.blogspot.com/2010/02/audiophile-live-concert-taping.html Remember what I suggested in my first post from earlier (above): THE SONY RCD-W500C standalone cd recorder is YOUR BEST FRIEND WHEN TRANSFERRING old MD to CD. ALWAYS USE SBM (super bit mapping). Pay close attention to the details mentioned. ONLY USE gold coloured Maxell digital audio Music 700mb 80min Cdrs with the SONY RCD-W500C. Happy Recording! - Samantha

More related links: Sharp vs Sony md machines http://members.tripod.com/civil_disobedient/r50vs701.html http://www.mail-archive.com/md-l@amulation.com/msg03393.html On Building DIY cheap elec condenser mics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmLxNhXIV6A https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/type/www/audio-reports/PanasonicWM-61A_OtherBinauralRigs/WM61A_Webpage_Caps_Mounts.html http://www.christianmusicweb.com/microphones/mic_project.html http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Stereo-Condenser-Microphone-with-Adjustable-To/ http://www.hobbyprojects.com/M/Microphone_circuits.html http://www.taperssection.com/ http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/06/technology/got-a-legal-concert-recording-pass-it-on.html?pagewanted=1 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090206110150AAvy812 http://jdfrey.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/equipment-to-record-a-loud-concert/ http://www.banzaimusic.com/Microphone-Parts/

Hi. Yes, do a bit of "taping" but these days just mostly just my group live. Back in the '70's , my friends & I would borrow as many cassette portable recorders, and test them, at concerts, trying to capture a decent one for our historical archives. Amazingly, given that we were using mono portable cassette with their built in mic, mostly---one of the best was an all metal case GE portable with a metal 4AA battery cartridge that slid into the machine like a cartridge of pistol. It had an electret condenser mic that had a sensitiv adj, it would allow the mic to slide approx 3/4 inch out of the metal housing. It picked up great clean low end and was clear and clean to 12k tops. It obviously was a higher end , newsman-reporter type model. Never knew the year model as it was bought in a pawn shop for $10 US in around '77, I'd guess it was from about 1974, also had ability to plug an aux mic and had a wheel knob that allowed playback to be sped up or slowed down and approx 2 1/2 speaker--it was auto level control, no rec level adj. My friends got some good tapes with that one, even using it as late as early '83, but replaced with Panasonic walkmans with two mics (stereo)(built in) that bulged out of the top like steel mesh covered 1/2 of a golf ball. .....make a long story, from gettin too long, still every now and then, the faithful ancient mt-821 sharp gets put into action by me, simple, but I get good results , as I use what I believe are great mics, uni-Panasonics, the microsound Y-stereo mic, and I transfer thru EQ from home md deck to standalone cd rec deck in actual time. Yeah, I know, I'm using ancient regular old MD and not Hi-MD. I have several friends that use Hi-Md quite often to record their performances as well as "tape" shows from the seats. To locate live recordings made by some of the world's finest "tapers", you certainly want to check http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/ Click FORUM where it reads Board Index forum Click Music and look at Taper Talk, Trades, + Vines. Lot of amazing stuff out there of a tremendous number of bands/artists made by some of the world's finest "tapers".

Hi again. A few more comments on this subject. In the never ending quest to capture your own band's great live performances, do not forget the most important thing: you want all those great shows to be heard , right? Stick them on your band's website for free downloads and such, put them on your myspace site, and place the quality video clips out there too if you wish + facebook and related sites. Here is one site you might wish to consider if your entire group is in agreement http://www.archive.org/details/etree Obviously you can't stick booted material of major acts that aren't allowing taping of shows. It might be a good place to let the world hear your group's stuff if you wish to let it out. Get those machines running and capturing your great shows. You need not spend a fortune to get quality recordings! Enlist your fans and spouses and girlfriends of bandmembers to capture the recordings and monitor the equipment/point the camcorder etc. Have fun. Some more on the topic of stereo mics for your MD machine: http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-145037-ME-51S-Stereo-Microphone/dp/B000BTAH62 http://www.fullcompass.com/product/314915.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_HKN00DGhs http://www.solorb.com/dat-heads/digests/V6.100/D160 http://support.nikontech.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16742/~/external-stereo-microphones-for-nikon-dslr's Here is a more modern solution , the SONY PCM-D50 http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-audio/resource.latest.bbsccms-assets-cat-audio-latest-pcmd50.shtml Olympus LS-11 http://www.startstop.com/ls11.asp Anyway, if you aren't capturing your stuff, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! A good recording is a good recording, whether, you lugged your 43 pound Akai X-200D open reel deck from 1971 and plugged in a quality electret Stereo Condenser microphone into it (or just two separate single electret Condenser mics into the two 1/4" mic jacks). If anyone is curious, those ol X-200D and other Akai's were great recorders and still are only if you have a professionally refurbished/calibrated machine and an fresh supply of new top quality Zonal reel tape from the UK (only people still producing quality tape and it isn't cheap----if you are just using ancient used tape and aged/non refurbished open reel, you'll most likely have problems with recordings and may just get garbage when you should have captured a great show. Leave the vintage stuff alone, unless you are willing to have everything done right to ensure quality operation and function as when it was new, 35-40 year old stuff, thats been sittin idle, is gonna have issues, no matter what. Well, if you do have something that is old and functions well, use it... Use what you've got and make the best of it. Capture your great performances, whether on MD, hi-md, digital recorders, open-reel, cassette deck, DAT, camcorder, or even iPod/iPhone with a stereo mic like Belkin/MikeyBlue. Happy Recording! - Samantha

Hi again and regarding camcorder type mics, Sony ECM-MSD1 may be useful http://www.microphonereviews.com/product-reviews/camcorder-microphones/sony-ecmmsd1.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/278280-REG/Sony_ECMMSD1_ECM_MSD1_Stereo_Gun_Zoom.html Here you can view the user manual, scroll to number 45 after linking http://www.usersmanualguide.com/sony/digital_imaging_accessories number 38 there is ECM-DS70p number 44 there is ECM-MS908C The 907 is said to be the virtual twin of the 908, only including a stand where the 908 is for camera mount http://www.microphonereviews.com/product-reviews/camcorder-microphones/sony-ecmms907.html More on AT Pro 24 http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Audio-Technica/PRO-24 If you wanna try building a homemade mic and try it out, here are a few sources for cheap condensor elements, no idea, how well it might work in actual recording quality, but its cheap... http://www.surplussales.com/Microphones-Audio/MicroAudio-4.html http://www.jlielectronics.com/spec.htm http://www.jlielectronics.com/prod3.htm http://www.jlielectronics.com/ecm.htm This Utub DS-70p link should give you plenty of MD related/Microphone-Rec related Utub links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdhcUwSGWdI&feature=related Hopefully this info is useful in furthering the discussion on possible Mics and to help you get decent live recordings. - Samantha

Recently, I've been told that the "cheap" DS70p mics that are being sold for about $4 to $5 are FAKE/COUNTERFEIT/KNOCKOFFS and ARE NOT GENUINE SONY. I didn't know that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfDuIFk5A8w Utube vid done by someone trying to explain the differences between FAKE & LEGITIMATE ones. Quality mics definitely make a difference in the outcome of your recording projects. The following links may also be useful for evaluating potential microphones for your MD machines. http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?t=20469 http://www.nady.com/manuals/microphones/cm4s.pdf http://www.jr.com/audio-technica/pe/AT_PRO24CM/ Generally, the high quality stereo mics that are marketed specifically for modern digital camcorders are good choices in most cases for MD recorders. Obviously, if you are booting concerts, you probably need something that isn't as noticeable, but if you are capturing your own band's live show, this type of stereo mic is great quality. Don't overlook the fact that many newer camcorders, record stereo audio in great quality with their built in mics or ext mic. You certainly can capture audio this way and just transfer the stereo audio track to CD, etc. - Samantha

Hi, Lastly there might be those of you wondering where in the world can I find out what features the models I see on ebay have? Or where can I get the owners manual Instruction book--Well nearly all of them are in one place on pdf files where you can view them, check out http://www.minidisc.org/part_Manuals.html takes you directly there, JUST CLICK on The MODEL you wanna see. An example, the SHARP MD-MT821 is http://www.minidisc.org/manuals/sharp/sharp_mdmt821_user_manual.pdf Here is another Live REC tip thats old http://www.musicgearreview.com/features/live-recording-1.htm Disregard all the pricing info as that was then, this stuff is on ebay now for next to nothing- around $10. Never spend much on old MD equipment, as there are better newer alternatives for the money, HOWEVER if you're LOW BUDGET and you don't mind going to the trouble of manually and in real time transferring/EQ'ing to CDR then MD will work for you. Remember low budget, don't spend much on MD stuff!!! A few links that might also be useful on ancient SHARPS http://www.japan-direct.com/mt821.htm http://www.streettech.com/archives_gadget/miniDiscMS702.html http://www.amazon.com/review/R3G1KHQSFYEIR Best of luck capturing those your great live performances. - Samantha

Another golden oldie with great info on building ya microphones http://webpages.charter.net/tidmarsh/binmic/ Also the ancient Realistic #33-1065 Stereo Mic was a long time favorite of DAT and proWalkman recorders for years and it is easily found on ebay at very very low cost.

This is a oldie but goodie ON HOW TO RECORD A LIVE CONCERT. http://www.beastiemania.com/qa/liverec.php Go to ebay click on STORES, search by store name MICROSOUND.INC their Stereo Y mic is excellent. Additionally RadShk part#42-2562 20ft ext cord is useful if you are using a makeshift stand to record your own group and elevate the mics.

Hopefully I won't bore you all with more basic info that every long time MD user already knows, but on the small chance some folks looking at MD as "Low Budget" sings The Kinks tune (Ray D + Kinks are one of the most underrated English groups of all time, definitely HALL OF FAMERS!) Sorry about the nut rant there. You can also build your own mic but seriously its only gonna be as good as the elements and their type and quality. Built some using #270-090 RadSHk omni elements, and it was disapointing, NO LOW ENd, faraway sound, no depth to drum sound. Actually hubby, Eli , soldered them up. Had better attempt scavenging a pair from an '80's ghetto blaster. I'm not a sound pro but based on my ears, thats my experience. Unidirectional gives you best when mic placement is dictated by circumstance in my opinion. Can't hurt to try building some, but you might spend more than you can buy a decent one. Uni's will give proximity effect if too close to bass player's cabinet. I'm not an expert so I've said too much and other topics cover it better. Here is the LINK FOR BUILDING YOUR OWN STEREO MIC for plug in power of any Sharp/Sony portable MD http://www.atempo.dk/mic/ Get a 20ft extension cord so you can elevate the mics Rad Shk part#42-2562 is great. J&R Music World sells MD's . Lastly never forget fresh batteries, plenty of blank(erased) MD's and A PENLIGHT. Don't forget you can capture youtube audio with your MD , just use a 1/8"male stereo to 1/8" male stereo cable from Laptop headphone jack TO md machine Line In. Great way to get those great audio from pro shot concert footage, tv, from all those Rolling Stones tours, Billy Preston live, Ike & Tina, Ten Years After, Tom Jones, Who, whomever you like its there. EQ it /Trnsfr to cd like a live recording. Never erase any of your MD's until you've transferred them or you are certain you don't want the recordings. Never ever try to edit or record any MD in any MD machine that is broken or known to have problems. IT CAN RUIN YOUR DISCS. Toss any MD's that are known to have issues, you don't wanna lose a great performance because you guessed it might work properly this time. If you think using MD recording equipment is too difficult or requires too much effort, than YOU REALLY SHOULD USE A MORE MODERN SOLUTION.

I've been using MD to record live since 1997. I was surprised to see this posted recently where this group explains exactly how they record with MD. http://www.muzicforums.com/promote-your-bands-myspace/26555-riley-williams-electric-voodoo.html I also use a SHARP portable and Sony home MD deck and run it through an EQ into the great SONY RCD-W500C. Here are a few tips and thoughts: You gotta use ONLY MAXELL gold color Music Digital Audio 80min 700mb CDRs with this deck. You can clone on any cheap cd discs using your computer. IMPORTANT: you've gotta manually punch the track breaks with Remote (RM-R52) is RCD-W500C's remote , SO SET REMOTE TO DECK B (flip switch) AND ALWAYS USE SBM (leave it switched ON always, no effect on playback). STOP APPROX 5 secs before MAXING OUT total time on cdr, cdr capacity is 79:57 so stop around 79:52 or IF YOU DON'T AND MAX OUT & THEN YOU TITLE DISC + SONGS, Programs like Sonic, Roxio, Easy Creator, etc WON'T bE able to Clone the Cd. It will read it as a 703mb OVERBURN. Just thought you'd like to know, I learned that the hard way back in 2005 when I first got the RCD-W500C. You can clone the CD, just more difficult and not with those programs! NOTHING MATCHES THE SONY RCD-W500C analog/digital conversion, No soundcard, no other cdr standalone deck. I had a Pioneer PDR-509 I bought in 2000 that lasted until 2005 when replaced with Sony RCD-W500C. Sony has better sound reproduction than any, better low end, more lifelike flat response. Pioneer and those earlier machines made slightly trebly recordings without as much low end. Anyway agree on SHARP portables being superior to SONY portables for adj on fly recording and better MIC IN. Sharps such as mt-16, mt-161 mt-20 sr-50 sr-60 sr-75 mt-821 are great and cheap on ebay. Sony's almost never break, but if you are gonna go SONY, step up to hi-md Sony. Sharp portables are better for recording with MD. Sharp 702 model is notorious for breaking, TOC error but if it functions properly it records as well as all of them, none are any better at recording quality. GET A QUALITY MIC, ebaymicrosound , Sony, sound pro, core, Audio Technica, etc. Microsound panas Y uni is a good one, cheap too at approx $20 new, guy that makes them, Paul is in Penn. USA. Sony DS-p70 is $4 or so online and isn't that bad, though SONY's other ones are better. Good luck capturing those great live recordings so you can enjoy them for years to come. --Samantha

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