1st Time Recorder Needs Advice

[emsp80]

I am going to an outdoor concert on 7/17 and plan to try and record the show. I have a Sony MD MZ-R37 Recorder, 2 Binaural mics and a battery box with bass roll-off. I need some tips on how to get the best recording possible. Also, this is a GA event so do I need to get as close as possible or just stay a few rows back? Also do i need to put the volume as high as possible or just around 20? Lastly, with this model MD recorder, is it possible to upload or get the stuff off the disc and onto my PC?

[dex Otaku]

I am going to an outdoor concert on 7/17 and plan to try and record the show. I have a Sony MD MZ-R37 Recorder, 2 Binaural mics and a battery box with bass roll-off. I need some tips on how to get the best recording possible.

Okay - my advice:

* mount the mics where they're not likely to be brushed against, to pick up clothing movement, &c.

* remember that the higher the mics are mounted [i'm assuming you'll be wearing them in some sense], the more direct sound you'll be picking up from all sources around you when in a crowd; i.e. if you put them low on your body, the press of bodies around you will be absorbing much of the high end - whereas mounted high, they'll be picking up more of them directly from all sources around you, including both the PA and the crowd

* the closest sources are the loudest; microphones can't filter sound the way your brain does, so that guy standing beside you whistling will definitely be more noticeable than the sound from the stage [unless you're at a Pink Floyd concert, in which case the PA is likely so loud that you can't hear your neighbour screaming directly into your ear]. The closer you are to the source you -want- to hear in the recording, the more it will dominate the overall balance

* since you have a battbox, try going mic->battbox->line in first and setting levels manually [see below for more about that]; if you have to crank the levels really high to get any signal on the meters, try plugging into the mic in instead and turning levels down [make sure the mic preamp is set for "low sensitivity" which, IIRC, is a switch on the bottom of your R37. Chances are, if it's an amped event, line-in from the battbox will be loud enough.

Also, this is a GA event so do I need to get as close as possible or just stay a few rows back?

What is GA?

If you mean amplified, I'd walk around [if possible] and listen for the spot where things sound the way you want them to, paying close attention to balance between the PA and the crowd.

It's good to think in terms of the angle between the mics and speakers, too. The farther back your are at a loud performance, the more coherent the sound will be on your recording. The closer you are [with the speakers angled farther out at your sides], the less coherent things will be. Front row will never sound as good as anywhere close to the Front Of House booth [where the mixing is done], for instance, but then - the crowd noise near the FOH might detract from the music. It depends on how loud the PA and the crowd are. The only way to judge this is with your ears [unless you happen to carry an SPL meter].

The vast majority of live performances I've either attended or engineered FOH at don't even use stereo sound, but big touring acts usually will. Keep that in mind if you're thinking of standing in front of one of the speaker stacks; you might be missing the other channel by letting that one dominate.

If you mean it's an acoustic or lightly-amped venue, then get as close to the instruments as possible. When I say close, keep in mind this example: I've recorded acoustic shows with the crowd around me, within 3 feet of the main performer, and gotten good results. I've also moved back to 10' away, and noted how lost the recording is in crowd noise, even very quiet crowd noise.

Again, the simplest rule of thumb is that the closer you are to your desired source, the more it will dominate the overall balance.

Also do i need to put the volume as high as possible or just around 20?

There's no fixed answer to this. It depends on the gain ratio of your preamp, the sensitivity of your mics, how loud the source is, and your distance from the source, among other things.

I'd say - use manual levels, and adjust them so that "average peaks" [i.e. where the levels sit most of the time] are around the middle dot [-12dBfs] on your meters. If things tend to get very much louder than that [i.e. pegging the meters occasionally] back off even farther with the levels. The idea is to record so that the peaks are not clipping [again, pegging the meters] and the average is not way too quiet.

For most amped events you can set the levels once at their beginning of the performance [sound check is a good time to do this, or during the opening act if there is one] and left for the rest.

Remember: your MD recorder has a much higher dynamic range than cassette tape, so don't worry excessively about things getting lost in the noisefloor of the equipment. It's better to back off and avoid clipping distortion than to try and keep things loud in your original recording. That's what moderate use of compression [and subsequent dither of course] in post-production are for.

Lastly, with this model MD recorder, is it possible to upload or get the stuff off the disc and onto my PC?

No. No existing consumer MD or MDLP portables can upload.

The R37 has no data output ports of any kind, for one thing.

For another, MD and MDLP recordings can't be uploaded with -any- consumer portables [including HiMD recorders]. You can copy your discs digitally using a home or pro MD deck with an optical output and another recording device [computer or not] with an optical input, but generally speaking, the only method you can use for copying your discs is by using the portable's line-out going into the line-in of something else [like your sound card].

Hope that wasn't more confusing than helpful.

Cheers.

[A440]

Dex, you have to get out more. GA = General Admission.

And Dex is right: don't cram yourself up too close. Think about hearing, not seeing. If you can, during the opening act, try a few spots and close your eyes and see how it sounds. The best way to get a good recording is to stand where it sounds good.

The other most important thing is to use Manual Volume and not AutoGainControl, and then look at the level meter. With a battery box, you probably don't have to worry about it overloading through line in .

[dex Otaku]

Dex, you have to get out more. GA = General Admission.

←

I've never seen this abbreviation before - aside from which, no one here ever uses the term "general admission".

I don't know if I've ever heard of a show referred to as general admission, to be honest.

The term is still completely meaningless to me.

[Christopher]

General Admission in the sense that there aren't any defined seating/standing arrangements or areas for tickets to the event, a free-for-all viewing if you will..

[dex Otaku]

Ah. Yeah, I've never heard the term used here. That doesn't mean it's not, of course - it just means it's never mattered enough for me to notice.

[g8rken]

here's my advice

it's going to take some practice to get a really good recording. i try to stand in the middle near the mixing table if possible since those guys are supoosedly hearing the sound the best so they can make adjustments. otherwise, you will usually find me in the middle somewhere.

i wear my mics on my shoulders. that's gets them pretty high and usually prevents inadvertent brushing (noise). what i did was go to wal mart or some other dept store and bought an overly large shirt with tiny holes in it ... kinda like a football jersey, but lighter. this happens to be a starter (sport) shirt, black in color. then i get a black tshirt and cut two holes in the top of the shoulders. of course i wear the tshirt under the sport shirt.

i have my md player in my pocket (used to carry it in a waste bag but i hated using that thing) with my battery box. of course the mics are plugged into the battery box, my oversized shirt hangs down over my pockets and the mics run up under the black undershirt up through the holes on my shoulders and hang down. they are covered by my overshirt and the holes in the overshirt let the sound through.

my recordings come out pretty good.

it has taken practice though. it seems i learned something new the first 15 shows i did.

don't turn the recording volume up too high or it will distort the heck out of it.

good luck,

g8rken