mgdimo

I would welcome any recommendations or insight as to your personal experiences with a BattBox or PreAmp. I assume these are both the same device? Although my Radio Shack Volume Attenuator is serving its purpose well, I know my recording needs are going to soon exceed its limitations. Two very informed community members comment on that here: http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=7106 I will very soon be aiming for pristine quality recordings of my not-so-quiet progressive rock band....perhaps even worthy of a live album. Stealth is not necessarily a concern although I don't want my rig to get too bulky or awkward. Who knows, I may want to make a stealth recording some day anyway. Top quality sound, no distortion, no hiss, no clipping, etc are what I'm after. Good battery life too, I suppose. What experiences have any of you had with any of these: http://www.minidisco.com/mic-preamps-and-b...ry-modules.html ...or anything comparable? Many thanks. GREG

How about this: Since I'll be almost exclusively doing live recording, couldn't I just "play" my MD in realtime onto say, a Pro Tools or Digital Performer? Not that I actually have either of these.... But consider the scenario. Realtime transfer doesn't seem to be that big a deal to me. Hit play and record and come back in an hour and a half. Are the only advantages of SS for live recording the faster than realtime download, organization, and... I dunno... compatibility? It just seems bizarre that sony would make such a fine product in the NH900 and bundle it with such a disconcerting software package. Like many in this community, I just wanna record stuff, maybe tweak it a little, and burn CDs of it. Thanks for holding my hand through all of this, as I am new to it and I don't have much technological insight.

I read Dex's suggestions. But I still haven't downloaded yet. Anyone else have a pro or con story? Also, what's your success rate with real time downloading vs. faster-than-real time. Pardon my dumb questions. I'm still quite new to this medium. GREG

Newbie/slacker(not fully reading the manual) question in subject line. What's the best or most recommended recording mode for say a 1 1/2 to a 3 hour set of live music on my NH900? Thanks.

I carry my little rig in a small bag/case with a shoulder strap that's actually made to hold a CD player and a few CDs. I hang the bag over the top of a cymbal stand or a mic stand and clip the mics right to the strap. That gets them about 6 inches apart....No jecklin disc yet. Let us know if your idea works. Also, please report on your battery box v. no bat box results. Are you familiar with the Radio Shack volume attenuator that A440 speaks highly of? It might work well for you in your jazz setting. GREG

I suggest you take a moment (or several!!) and do some homework. There is a wealth of information that will be very helpful to you just within this "Live Recording" forum alone. Just start with this first page. I learned the most just by reading others' scenarios. Good luck. This THE place to be, very helpful crowd. I've found the "...Crickets..." thread to be very informative. :wink: GREG

OK, I have almost one full Gb of my band, my kids, jam sessions, etc and I know I have to put it on the computer SOMETIME! But I hesitate. Frankly, I'm nervous. I don't wanna lose my recordings! I've read some unfortunate stories on these forums regarding SS. So could you all chime in on your comfort level with Sonic Stage? Structure it how you'd like...scale of 1 - 10, recommendations, v2.0, 2.1, 2.2, download, upload, whatever. I'm looking for the consensus of this MD community. Thanks so much. I hope others will benefit from this too. [Mac users need not respond. That pisses me off, sony!!]

Hey Shermy, Sounds like I'm only a couple of months ahead of you. I am no expert, but I've been experimenting with my equipment since Sept or so. I also play jazz (drums) and that figured into the equipment I purchased. I got the Auris st. mics and with the nh900 and have been very impressed. Someone here suggested this to me. Google: jecklin disc. It's pretty damn cool if you're looking for authentic stereo separation. I suppose if you place your mics six inches apart, like A440 suggests, this jecklin disc acts as a baffle, as your head would. Pretty cool! I've yet to construct a makeshift one. Also, it seems to me that the surefire (yet expensive) method of recording live (potentially loud) music is to go with the battery box. Mind you, I don't have one yet and I'm still happy. But I know it can be better, if not even pristine. The suggestions given to me in this thread may be helpful to you if you haven't already read them: http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=5908 Read past the crickets! :smile: Be sure and post your findings. Best to Dex Otaku, however he needs it. GREG

Nice... Listening right now. I hope to capture my own band some day with my equipment (listed below) like you got Umphrey's McGee. Any suggestions for me? In your opinion, mrsoul, does your recording accurately capture the dynamic range of the setting as if you are still there? I dunno, what I'm listening to doesn't strike me as sounding as "raw" as if I were there. I wonder if the highs are as crackling as they may have been live. Quite possibly, it's my crappy desktop speakers. So no offense. But your thoughts anyway... No distortion here for sure. Thank you for the track mark suggestion when uploading to Sonic Stage. Have you always had good luck with your NH900 and SS? I've been reading some horror stories around here, and I'm hesitant to upload my first Gb disc. But that's a topic for another forum I suppose. Finally, I'm really digging Umphrey's McGee. I can identify with a lot of what I'm hearing so far. So now, I shamelessly plug my own progressive rock band, IZZ. Link to website in my sig. Thanks for the info, and nice job. GREG

I'm always interested in who does what on these internet/international forums. So I'll play along... 33. Elementary school music teacher Professional drummer/percussionist and private teacher Father of 3 yr old twin girls and a 1 yr old boy (at time of posting) Makes me wonder how the fook I even have time to even type a WORD on this thing!! First time I ever operated any MD equipment (listed below) was August, 2004. I've only done live recording so far. Thoroughly impressed! One of two drummers in the Progressive Rock band, IZZ. Check out www.izznet.com to see what's in my CD player, if you care. Long time passion: Brazilian Samba music. More recent passion: BeBop. Plenty more to tell, but do you REALLY care?...... That's OK GREG

I've had my NH900 for 5 months now, with no such problem to report. Sorry. Does this only happen upon playback? Have you done any mic recording? Are you making full use of the batteries? Maybe you just got a bad unit. Still have your receipt?

OK obsideo, you've flushed me out of the woodwork!! As it turns out, I lost a detailed multi paragraph follow up post about maybe two months ago, shortly after my 9/11/04 gig. I don't know what happened but I lost the whole post. BUMMER!! I have to say, I was a little trigger shy after that. But, whatever. We move forward. Here is a paraphrase of how it went: So I stopped in Syracuse on my way to Rochester, NY and bought a volume attenuator from Radio Shack. Brilliant last minute purchase. Made my whole recording worth while. I join obsideo in thanking you for the tip, A440. The equipment I used is listed below my signature. I clipped my mics to a friend's tripod in the front row. Mind you, this was an outdoor bowl-type amphitheater on a beautiful late summer afternoon. From the back (upstage) wall to the audience, it's set up like this: very tall (20 -30 ft.) semicircular cement wall, cement stage, large cement orchestra pit (at the back of which was the sound board), then the large grassy area that slopes toward the stage. So my rig was at the front of the grass area. Yes, there was considerable bounce off all that concrete, especially the wall. But that ended up having a cool natural reverb effect, especially on the drums and cymbals. I am one of two drummers in my band. Anyway, for my first real attempt a MD recording, having no previous MD experience, I was BLOWN AWAY by the results. Every time I listen back, I feel like I'm in that first row. I don't remember exactly, but I think I used the 'loud music' setting on 'sens high.' I THINK. One of my favorite moments has nothing to do with the music. Someone (seated near my mics) digs into a cooler of ice water for a beer. With headphones on, the sound of someone's hand going into that ice water makes me feel as if the cooler is being emptied on my neck!! It's a spectacular reproduction. MY QUESTIONS: I can detect that the recorder at times will compensate (compression?) for a loud bass drum or snare drum hit, especially after moments of soft music. Will a battery box cure this? Is there a way I can remedy a problem like this without a b box? Like still using A440's volume attenuator and not having to switch to loud music, LOW sens? I really want to capture all the highs and all the lows. FINAL COMMENT: Again, having no prior MD experience, I am still BLOWN AWAY by the 1 gig capacity of the nh900. I am now going on months of my band, my kids, rehearsals, etc all on one disc! Can't imagine what it was like before. I just bought five 80 min discs, so now I can organize better. So, obsideo, what's your "live recording" situation? GREG

I've never operated a MDR before. I've been browsing my NH900 manual. I've purchased mics and I'm awaiting their arrival. I'm excited to start recording/trial and error, etc. Thanks, as always, to you folks on this forum for your valuable advice. Fnformation, here's what I've done so far... RECEIVED: Sony MZ-NH900 $278 (after shipping + tax) from... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...&Q=RootPage.jsp PURCHASED, AWAITING DELIVERY: Reactive Auris Stereo mics $131 (after shipping) from... http://www.reactivesounds.com (Gerry, I guess it * $pays$ * to be so helpful here. Sincerely, thanks for the advice. I'm sure they will more than suit my needs!) :wink: I'll probably take my rig and a few percussion instruments up to the park near me where there's a gaezebo with KILLER natural acoustics. We'll see what comes of that. My next area of focus will be battery boxes (which ones?) and this "otter box" device. Since I'll definitely be recording my band and my drumming WAY more than crickets and frogs (although I'm intrigued). I'm almost positive one of these things will help me. But WHICH one? Lastly, does the forum mind if I promote my own band for a moment? I hope not. Let me know if it's frowned upon. My progressive rock band, IZZ, will be playing an outdoor Progressive Rock festival on Saturday, Sept. 11 (I know, I know) in Rochester, NY. We play original music that is inspired by the bands of the 1970's: Yes, Genesis, Floyd, etc. If you are in the area and interested... http://www.izznet.com Come to think of it, how should I bootleg my own gig? Set someone up w/ my mic rig, or go line in off the sound board? Your thoughts appreciated. GREG

Thanks for the informative replies. Keep 'em coming! Datavis lists the NH900 as "out of stock." I did go ahead and purchase one from B&H for $249, not $269 as I initially listed. With tax and shipping I'm in for $278. That seemed to be the best price for a new machine from a reliable source. Next area of focus- mics. I don't know how important stereo separation will be to me. Say I record my band with the MD placed in the 5th row of the audience. For argument's sake, guitar is stage left, and drums are st. right. With stereo omni binaurals [most highly recommended to me, I think?] will I hear the guitar primarily through the right headphone, and the drums moreso through the left upon playback? That's what is meant by stereo separation? Where do I place the mics if they're not clipped to my shirt? Is there a 'mic placement' thread on this forum? Reactive: the cricket recording is AWESOME. I was thinking I'd like to experiment with placing the mic(s) outside close to one crick, so I'd have its chirp in the foreground and the rest of the cricket conversation in the background. We have dense cricket chatter this time of year. Anyway, this would just be curious experimentation. My main reason for even purchasing a MD is to get the best possible ambient recordings of myself playing drums in many different settings and to record my adorable children's voices. Thanks for entertaining my questions! GREG

Kaotic, Thanks for the tip on Datavis. I'll investigate. What do you think about mics for my recording situations? Needless to say, the extra money will go there. Sorry!! GREG

Greetings! Newbie GREG, glad to be here. Seems like a very nice, civil community. Lucky me, I have $300 to spend. I've browsed around this forum and learned a bit. Please tell me what you think about the setup I envision: Ready to buy a Sony NH900. [$269 from B&H Photo (online) in NY] Not sure about a mic yet, but I'm checking the Sound Professionals' offerings. I will most likely purchase the extra power source to enhance mic recording. MY NEEDS: I plan to record crickets at night, thunder, myself practicing drums, live drum circles, my 3 kids under 3 yrs old, my own (LOUD!!) progressive rock band (line in from the sound board AND ambient room mic), etc. You get the idea. MY QUESTIONS: Omnidirectional, uni, single point, cardioid....? What does this all mean to me for my purposes? Anybody have experience with Sound Pros' "T" mics, SPSM-1? Or the goose neck-like ones, SPSM-4? dex- You (among others!!) seem to be well versed and forthcoming in this forum. I'd value your opinion. A440- Would the Radio Shack device you recommend be useful to me in my setup? Thanks all for being so helpful. GREG