Live Recordings of Classical Music

[Guest Anonymous]

Hello all,

Does anyone have advice as to which MD recorder to use for discriminating recordings of classical music?

Quality is the primary concern, although ease and variety of features is a plus. I currently have a good stereo mic with a frequency range of 20-20K.

I would prefer that the minidisc in question have both Mic (Plug in power) and Line-In (Optical) inputs.

All thoughts and voices-of-experience welcome.

Thanks,

Harmonic in NYC

[KJ_Palmer]

It's generally considered that Sony's ATRAC Type-R is the best at encoding, yet Sharp mic pre-amps are said to be superior to Sony's. I think this really only applies when large amounts of distortion are possible eg. at loud rock concerts. Classical should be fine with a Sony, except perhaps large symphonic works.

I personally prefer Sony's signature sound over Sharp for classical as it seems more flat and neutral. Ideally then (IMO), you should probably use a high-end Sony recorder (eg. MZ-N910), maybe with a good external mic pre-amp and go through line in.

Alternatively, the Sharp DR7 is thought to be (one of) the best live recorder in general (mostly for rock tapers I think), and might better the Sony for mic-in recording. As with all Sharps you can change levels easily "on the fly", though you'll possibly not need that feature.

[Guest Anonymous]

Don't get a Sony N1 or MZ-R900 because they whir periodically while recording. I think the MZ-N910 allows on-the-fly recording level setting.

I've been using older Sony models, like MZ-N707 and MZ-R700 (which has a little more motor noise), usually with attenuator cord (Radio Shack Headphone Volume Control) and both are fine, though I prefer the MZ-N707 because you can't accidentally switch the recording mode.

Make sure that you keep the mic some distance from the unit, and that it's not moving or rustling during the concert. If you can spread two mics apart 5-6" you'll get a nice binaural three-dimensionality. And watch out for creaky theater seats....

[Guest Anonymous]

Which are generally the most quiet of portable MD recorders?

[11210]

I haven't had any problems with recording on my N707. I'm coming from a 12 channel mixer to the line input. However when I "upload" (record) to my computer (in real time) I press play and for a second you can hear the motor start up and this will record onto the computer. Once it starts playing you don't hear the motor at all and it is easy to edit out the beginning.

Hope this helps.

[Guest Anonymous]

the lower end model sharp models offer better recording options, such as controlling volume during recording which some sony models can't do.

I recently bought e sharp dr420 and its wonderful.

[Ferenc]

I have MZ-R900 and Sound Professionals CMC-4 mics and recorded several classical concerts with good results. I would recomend it. Yes, whirring might indeed be a problem but if you keep the recorder in your bag or purse or under your pullover it will not disturb the recording. I use line in and battery box for loud music (orchestral / choral), and mic in in low sensitivity setting for softer music. I use automatic level control, which is comfortable but problems may occur which can partly be corrected. [bTW stealth issues are interesting in classical music. It is obvious that recording is explicitely prohibited in most rock shows but I never observed such announcements etc. in classical concerts. Also, artists are less concerned about taping, I think. Once I attended a festival where lots of people taped quite openly (with cassette dictaphones... :wink: ). For sure, I usually make my recordings discretely unless I know the performers and obtain permission. Getting your rig in is more easy to a classical concert but since the lights are usually not dimmed, hiding the rig during the performance is more difficult.]

[llall]

Sure is nice to see something about the problems of live recording of classical music.

I've pretty much burned out my 1999 Aiwa AM-F70 and I'm shopping for a new unit. I use mine for live opera recording. I have a fine set of Sound Prof. mics and when I come home, I pump everything into my Mac computer and edit it with Sound Studio software, then burn it to CDs.

So, all I'm using my recorder for is capturing a live, performance. The Net aspect of the new Sony's doesn't do me much good as most of the software is for Windows. I hate to pay for stuff I won't use, but I absolutely need GREAT SOUND. This music is all acoustical but we're talking from full orchestras to a lone piano in a recital Hall.

You need ALC because you can't sit there and adjust the recording levels in a dark opera house and I don't want it to top out. You can't fiddle with it once the house lights go down. It has to be quiet, and the backlight turned off. I'm looking for the new LP2 for those times when an act runs over 90mins and I don't want to go mono. God bless those new long battery, lives.

I've seen Sony N910, Sharp DR 420 and DR7 recommended here. Any others I should consider? Faithful capture of aucoustic sound is the main criteria.