bigbeefdog

Look in the "Legal Notices" section of the official site; often the band's position is in there. Also, if you get to the show and find there's a dedicated "Taper's Section" near the sound board (as there was at the Gov't Mule show from which I uploaded a track to the Gallery), that's a pretty clear sign.

That would likely work, but I think you'd get better results going in the other direction..... use your regular (mono) instrument cable, and adapt it down with a mono adapter like this one: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=274%2D885 I'd go to the line in, not the mic, and set your input gain so your recording is clean. As a bonus (something I do fairly frequently), you could use a Y-adapter similar to this one: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=274%2D879 ... plug your axe (with adapter) into one side of the Y, and plug a source (such as a walkman-type CD player) into the other.... balance the levels with the volume knob of your git and the volume output of the source.... and you can record yourself playing along with the music....

Depends on a number of factors, not the least of which are the bass player's gear (a 4x10 cab will give a lot less "boom" than a 2x15, for example), the sound man's preferences, mic placement, et al..... But as I said in another thread, I play bass in clubs (classic rock / blues band) and record our gigs... and I get the best results setting the rolloff to 95 or 107 Hz. That is, however, with the MD setup within a few feet of my bass rig. YMMV.

Yes. The higher the number, the higher the frequency at which the attenuation begins. But keep in mind that it is a roll-off below that freq, not a hard cutoff. As an example, the lowest E note on a four-string bass is 41 Hz. If you set the battery box rolloff to 69 Hz, there will be some tapering down of everything below 69 Hz, including the 41 Hz signal when the low E is played, but it will still be plenty loud on the recording. If you set the roll-off frequency to 95 Hz, the attenuation will begin there, and there will be a bit MORE roll-off at 41 Hz (that's a little over an octave from 95 down to 41, so if it's a 12 dB/octave taper, the lowest bass will be cut by a little more than 12 dB). Set it at 107 Hz, and there will be even more cut at 41 Hz - but it will almost certainly still be "in the mix". Much of it depends on the "boominess" of the venue, of the settings used by the sound man, whether your mics happen to be in a corner (where bass frequencies can be stronger) etc. If the venue is very large, and the bass seems normal-to-weak, you might get away with the 69 Hz. But as a bass player myself, one who records my own band's practices and gigs on a regular basis, I have the best results starting the taper at 95 or 107 Hz. And if you have access to an equalizer, it's usually possible to boost weak lows after the show. It's NOT possible to repair a brickwalled, bass-distorted recording. Good luck; let us know how it works out.

Depending on the venue, the acoustics, how close you happen to be to the stage, and how bass-heavy the sound guys have it set up.... I'd be thinking 95 or 107 Hz (the options available on the battery box I use)....

Showing my age here, I know..... but this used to be quite common with magnetic-cartridge turntables that didn't have a good ground connection. Virtually all of the older receivers (back in the day when vinyl was king) had a "Ground" post on the back, and all of the turntables had, in addition to the RCA line outs, an extra wire with a horseshoe-shaped lug for the ground connection. If the ground connection wasn't made, and made well, the hum was unbearable. I don't think it was your receiver.

Just in case anyone is interested: http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/main...l&item=CES10621 Got one yesterday. Yeah, there's a little degradation, but it's surprisingly good. Sounds like a better (less-compressed) FM station. And as I write this, it's still $9.99 with free shipping.

Surely good advice from an audio perspective, A440. But frankly, when it comes to recording live gigs, you have to think more along the lines of, "where can I put this minidisc/battery box/mics equipment so that it doesn't get a beer bath from some wasted audience member......."

ewakko, I play bass also, and thought exactly the same as you when I started doing MD recordings of our live stuff. Bass rolloff? Sacrilege! I didn't want to roll MYSELF off! I soon found out that I *had* to. If I didn't, it was all too easy to brickwall the recording, even with phantom power to the mics and only a 4-string bass. God forbid if I did a thumb slap on either the E or A strings. I'm now using a battery box set to 12 dB/octave below 107 Hz, and the bass lines are still quite strong on the recordings. Just remember, you're not rolling off to turn yourself down - you're rolling off to prevent the deepest notes from your bass from overpowering the recording equipment. I put some samples over in the "Live Recording Samples" thread a while back if you're curious; that's my Lakland/Ampeg/Schroeder setup recorded through the mics and battery/rolloff box, and the deepest notes are still there in full bloom. BBD

Greetings from a converted lurker. Added, in the inbox, a link to my Yahoo briefcase which contains some rock stuff recorded on MD. All copyright- and restriction-free (it's my band, so the copyright is mine to enforce or waive - consider it waived. Won't tell 'ya which instrument I'm playing, tho.... ). Enjoy. Any suggestions on how to improve, I'm all ears. BBD