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Recording Live Comedy...

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Hey everyone. I recently started using my old MD again to record my comedy shows. I use an MD recorder with a line-in and I run right from the outputs of the clubs mixing board. This is getting good results.

Now, I'm in the market for a new MD recorder because the old one is acting up. I've purchased a MZ-NF610 off of ebay, just to have a cheap backup and to have something I don't have to worry too much about. It only has a line in. I was considering getting a HiMD with a mic in and a line in. But my issue is:

Is it worth it to get one with a mic in? Or should I just get one without a mic in and buy a small preamp?

I keep hearing people say that I could run into distortion problems when using a mic in because of the built in preamp. Most of the live recording I will do will be standup comedy so the only "noisy" part is audience laughter. My plan was to use the old MD to record off of the board and use another MD positioned facing the crowd to pick up audience sound, then mix them together on my comp. Most clubs won't let you add mics to there system, so that's where the other MD would come in. Any other suggestions from experienced live recorders would be great.

Long live MD

Edited by aoneproductions
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You bring up a very good question. I've been thinking about the same thing myself, recently. However, if you can afford it, opt for the Reactive Sounds Boost Box. I've read some really awesome things about this great little mic preamp, and you may consider using it with your mics rather than *ever* running your mics through mic-in again. I am definately going to purchase one of these preamps as soon as I get the money (college student, you know).

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Except for the NH600 (not the NH600D), which is hard to find in the US anyway, all the Hi-MD's have both mic-in and line-in.

I'd suggest mic-in for more flexibility anyway. You don't need a squeaky-clean preamp sound for audience recording. You could use the most basic binaural mic and get very realistic sound. The most hi-fi parts of my concert recordings are the applause and screams.

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What kind of results will I get if I buy a battery box and go mic to battery box to line in?  Will this produce decent results?

It will be slightly cleaner and much quieter. The battery box works to expand the microphone's dynamic range and make it possible to bypass the preamp for the loud or bassy sounds that overload it. For recording speech and ambience, you don't need it, and in fact it might muffle some of the quiet sounds that make a recording feel live. You can just go mic-in, or if your crowd is really screaming, then use an attenuator. Take a look at the pinned thread on attenuators at the top of Live Recording--at least one user thinks it has better results than a battery box.

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