I suck, and that's why you don't have a Wolf Trap upload right now

Not Right in the Head

Not Right in the Head

ಠ_ಠ
Alright, following the advice of previous threads, I attempted my first real bootlegging tonight at the Wolf Trap show. It should have been great--I was in the 9th row, the people all around me were rather subdued, and I had what I thought was decent equipment. But the result is horribly distorted, and I'm not going to embarass myself further by posting it. Can anyone help me troubleshoot this so that Baltimore goes better?

Equipment:

Sound Professionals in-ear binaural mikes, standard sensitivity
Sound Professionals micro battery module
XtremeMac MicroMemo recorder
iPod 30Gb

I did a couple of dry runs in motion picture houses, which of course are hardly like a concert environment, but the best that I could do. I found that if I didn't use the battery booster, I got no sound at all. With the booster, it sounded great.

What's the weak link? Should I have gotten the bass roll-off feature on the battery module? I don't think that the MicroMemo was the problem, although I expected it to be because many reviewers complained that it pauses for a few seconds every minute or two. Mine didn't have that problem. I had it set to high quality (CD-quality, AFAICT).
 
Sorry that fell through, but Wolf Trap's a great venue. I'd love to see Morrissey there.
 
It was my first time there, even though I live only a couple miles away and I've been here for 7 years. It really was great. I was worried that the attendance was so sparse in the seated sections, but by the time Moz came on, I'd say it was 85% full. The lawn was packed, but that's because coolers and lawn chairs take up so much damn room.
 
I've seen a lot of shows there, can't really imagine Morrissey there, actually. Nice place to be out on a blanket just listening to jazz or something.
 
sounds like you had fun, my recording also came out shitty being my first attempt, I will be trying another show coming up soon, hopefully this one will sound better :)
 
I would use a minidisk recorder. Actually been using them for a long time with great results and recorded many shows that were subsequently traded/uploaded all over the web. Sony still sells them.
 
I think the problem you had in your recording setup was the use of the iPod as the device. The mics are not the greatest but should work and give good results, but if your recording was overloaded I would look at the recorder receiving a hotter signal than it can handle. I tried taping a lecture with the iPod adapter and it just wouldn't work for anything the slightest bit loud. Afaik, you can't really adjust levels on the ipod, and the adapter probably only has a simple L/M/H mic setting.

I would recommend any of the digital recording devices on the market. I would steer clear of removable-media (DAT and MD) as they are being phased out if not gone completely. MD has issues with compression and recording time (usually 80 min only). I use the M-Audio microtrack 24/96 which has replaced my DAT decks. Cost $250 on eBay. Here's the manufacturer link:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MicroTrack2496-main.html

Besides the MicroTrack, there are also good recorders using internal HD or Compact Flash: Edirol R09, Zoom H-4 and the upcoming H-2, Creative Nomad Jukebox 3, and iRiver H-series are all great choices.

Hope this helps. Good luck with taping...it's usually easy once you get a good rig together!
 
Last edited:
robert said:
I think the problem you had in your recording setup was the use of the iPod as the device. The mics are not the greatest but should work and give good results, but if your recording was overloaded I would look at the recorder receiving a hotter signal than it can handle. I tried taping a lecture with the iPod adapter and it just wouldn't work for anything the slightest bit loud. Afaik, you can't really adjust levels on the ipod, and the adapter probably only has a simple L/M/H mic setting.

I would recommend any of the digital recording devices on the market. I would steer clear of removable-media (DAT and MD) as they are being phased out if not gone completely. MD has issues with compression and recording time (usually 80 min only). I use the M-Audio microtrack 24/96 which has replaced my DAT decks. Cost $250 on eBay. Here's the manufacturer link:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MicroTrack2496-main.html

Besides the MicroTrack, there are also good recorders using internal HD or Compact Flash: Edirol R09, Zoom H-4 and the upcoming H-2, Creative Nomad Jukebox 3, and iRiver H-series are all great choices.

Hope this helps. Good luck with taping...it's usually easy once you get a good rig together!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your input; I was hoping that you & others from that earlier thread would chime in. I didn't have the time or money to get an MD or MicroTrack recorder for those shows, but now that I'm a bit more familiar with the hows and whys, I'll consider getting a MicroTrack or Nomad Jukebox for upcoming shows. I wish that they'd hit a $100 price point, which is about my limit.
 
Glad to help out. Price is always an issue, unfortunately. How much to invest for something you might only do a couple times every other year is something to consider. Then again if this is a start of something, you can always upgrade the more you do it. I started with a cassette recorder w/ built-in mics, moved to DAT with a progressive upgrading of the mics. I'm on my 3rd variation of the Core-Sound binaurals and i'm loving the results.

If you're not afraid to get a recorder second-hand, the iRiver H320 (with Rockbox software) works great. Long battery life and almost limitless recording due to an internal HDD. I have a few friends using them and they get great recordings. Plus it's an mp3 player so it has some other uses. I've seen them < $100 on eBay.

I think the upcoming Zoom H2 might be the ticket for the $150-200 range. It looks great...records on SD cards, and supports 96 kHz/24 bit recording. Has built in mics for 5.1 stereo (!). The only downer I can see is that if you're using external mics, which I think are necessary for concert recording, the input jack is on the side.
 
If I may suggest to go to as many live events as possible. Record everything
and anything without preference. Around your 3rd or 4th attempt the process
becomes more clear and less stressful.

As many have already suggested...
Equipment is key as well. With the right combination of equipment the end result can be more than satisfying.

I myself switched from using DAT a while back and now own 2 Iriver H320's (w/Rockbox) and have been very happy with my recordings.

my setup:

HE Core Sound binaural>Iriver h320


a few rules I tend to follow.

1) Most if not all recording devices have ALC (automatic level controll).
TURN IT OFF!! And set it to MANUAL recording!!

2) Use the LINE IN and not the MIC IN

3) Use a Microphone that uses an external battery supply.

4) When you begin to record be sure to monitor the -dB levels and
set them accordingly so that you do not bleed or brickwall the
levels.
If at all possible try to get to the event early and run a dry test on the
soundcheck and or opening band.

5) If your not shackled to the venue's sets try to avoid loud screaming audience members.
Move away from them so that their loud shouting is not louder than the music you're recording.
This may be hard at certain events, but try your best to find a more quite space.

6) have fun! thats the most exciting part about this hobby! being able to capture your moment forever, and
the way you remember it. So enjoy!
 
Last edited:
spirit_walker said:
If I may suggest to go to as many live events as possible. Record everything
and anything without preference. Around your 3rd or 4th attempt the process
becomes more clear and less stressful.

As many have already suggested...
Equipment is key as well. With the right combination of equipment the end result can be more than satisfying.

I myself switched from using DAT a while back and now own 2 Iriver H320's (w/Rockbox) and have been very happy with my recordings.

my setup:

HE Core Sound binaural>Iriver h320


a few rules I tend to follow.

1) Most if not all recording devices have ALC (automatic level controll).
TURN IT OFF!! And set it to MANUAL recording!!

2) Use the LINE IN and not the MIC IN

3) Use a Microphone that uses an external battery supply.

4) When you begin to record be sure to monitor the -dB levels and
set them accordingly so that you do not bleed or brickwall the
levels.
If at all possible try to get to the event early and run a dry test on the
soundcheck and or opening band.

5) If your not shackled to the venue's sets try to avoid loud screaming audience members.
Move away from them so that their loud shouting is not louder than the music you're recording.
This may be hard at certain events, but try your best to find a more quite space.

6) have fun! thats the most exciting part about this hobby! being able to capture your moment forever, and
the way you remember it. So enjoy!
Click to expand...


Then just get hurled out by a big beefy minder.:D
 
spirit_walker said:
2) Use the LINE IN and not the MIC IN

3) Use a Microphone that uses an external battery supply.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your advice! But why LINE IN instead of MIC IN? I do have the 9-volt battery supply for the mikes, but that doesn't bring it up to line-level, does it? If so, then that's the culprit from my Wolf Trap session.

I've returned the $60 MicroMemo recorder, and may try using my Creative Zen Nano next time. The only prob with that is that its best quality is 160kbps MP3s. My cassette deck is too big to sneak in.
 
Not Right in the Head said:
Thanks a lot for your advice! But why LINE IN instead of MIC IN? I do have the 9-volt battery supply for the mikes, but that doesn't bring it up to line-level, does it? If so, then that's the culprit from my Wolf Trap session.

I've returned the $60 MicroMemo recorder, and may try using my Creative Zen Nano next time. The only prob with that is that its best quality is 160kbps MP3s. My cassette deck is too big to sneak in.
Click to expand...

Well there is no need to use the MIC IN, and most if not all tapers suggest not to. The reason is that the majority of recorders have a shitty pre-amp which can lead to more distortion.
If your Microphone has its own power via an external battery then there is no need for a pre-amp.

If I may suggest you NOT get the MicroMemo if it can only record 160kbps MP3.
You should stay away from recording live concerts via a compressed format.
If you record it to MP3, the end result will sound like an MP3.
Try to get something that Robert suggested earlier in this thread. There are many HD recorders out there for a cheap price.
Invest in something that will bring you quality over time, not quantity.

I see a few steals on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEAR-New-iRiver...QQihZ001QQcategoryZ114622QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/M-Audio-Microtr...ryZ15199QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hope this helps!
 
Last edited:
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