Shooting shows where I can't count on the soundboard--- which stereo mic?

belleandlilsebastian

belleandlilsebastian

Active member
Hey all,

I'll be shooting a bunch of different live music performances in a few weeks with venue sizes ranging from "small basement" to "large outdoor stage". Normally, I try to get audio directly from the soundboard, but at least at the basement show this might not be posssible. At the same time, I also want a halfway decent audio file with my a-camera, so I can send initial samples to clients faster/ save audio editing for the end-- my NX1 has surprisingly decent pre-amps, so this should be doable. (For reference: my given setup as it stands is: Soundboard Mix + Tascam DR-60D with two NTG2's in the back, small recorder with shotgun mic near the drumset)

A stereo mic seems like the obvious solution-- the only contenders I see really are the Rode StereoMic/StereoMic Pro/StereoMic X, the Zoom h1/h4n routed into my camera, the tascam tm-2x, and the senal scs-98.

My gut is telling me the StereoMic pro is the way to go (I'd go for the X, but listening to samples, given the super-loud environment I'll be using it in the difference isn't worth $500), but.... the H1 and tascam are both way cheaper, and the StereoMic (non-pro) is available from adorama used for a mere $149. and again, given the inevitable limitations of dynamic range when I'm filming right by the amps in a small room, do you think the difference will be substantial? I will, at the end of the day, be editing this audio, and I *hopefully* will have a soundboard mix to work with-- but I just want a good base recording for the worst-case-scenario.

So-- is the difference between the SVM Pro and the SVM worth the extra $150? Or should i save my cash, and get a zoom h1/tascam tm-2x?
 
First, there is no reason that you need a "stereo mic" for this. Two similar mics can be set up to do this, usually in an X-Y pattern. There is a lot of info available on how to place them and that will depend on the location and size of the group and venue. I would probably use a pair of small cardioid condensers. Let your budget dictate the mic quality, but you could consider Oktavas, Audio-Technica, and on up. You didn't discuss the music type, SPL, or other issues, but the stereo pair is a place to start. Record to cam or any phantom powered recorder, or if you use a mixer, to both.

And regardless what you use, you will not want to have any of this mounted on the cam.

Grant
 
I've got the Senal. Was what...$185? I dig it for the money.
I didn't like any of the Rode offerings. I'm not that impressed with Rode mics in general. They're adequate, but for just a couple bucks more they can be beaten in just about every price range.
The only one of their I REALLY liked was the Video Mic 'X'...but NOT for that price.

But as MESSED UP as this sounds...I like the $90 Tascam DR-05 routed into a camera better.
When you hear the flat recordings it wont knock you out...but if it's music I can push the HELL out of those tracks and get fantastic results.

Check this track I recorded - the Drum Mix is about 85% just the DR-05 at chest level about 3-feet in front of the outer edge of the kick drum.
The overheads on this were AKG 414TL II's with the vintage capsules - The goddamn DR-05 sounded BETTER. I still am trying to understand how this could be...but once in a while this kind of thing happens with technology.
http://whitepaddy.bandcamp.com/track/girlfriend-frankenstein
 
Oh wow yeah, I was looking at that seperate capsule option, but it makes more sense to just pick up a DR-40-- I think I might go that route actually.

That said-- I did check the senal out too. But a flatter sound is definitely more appealing, because I'd be pushing it in any case. Thank you all so much for your help on this
 
DPStewart said:
I've got the Senal. Was what...$185? I dig it for the money.
I didn't like any of the Rode offerings. I'm not that impressed with Rode mics in general. They're adequate, but for just a couple bucks more they can be beaten in just about every price range.
The only one of their I REALLY liked was the Video Mic 'X'...but NOT for that price.

But as MESSED UP as this sounds...I like the $90 Tascam DR-05 routed into a camera better.
When you hear the flat recordings it wont knock you out...but if it's music I can push the HELL out of those tracks and get fantastic results.

Check this track I recorded - the Drum Mix is about 85% just the DR-05 at chest level about 3-feet in front of the outer edge of the kick drum.
The overheads on this were AKG 414TL II's with the vintage capsules - The goddamn DR-05 sounded BETTER. I still am trying to understand how this could be...but once in a while this kind of thing happens with technology.
http://whitepaddy.bandcamp.com/track/girlfriend-frankenstein
Click to expand...

Hm-- so I think im definitely going for some kind of tascam, but wondering whether I'm better off picking up one Dr-40, or two DR-05's-- the XLR option is nice (even though i already have a DR-60D) on the Dr-40, but with two dr-05's i might be able to stick one by the drum to get that lower end better during the show.

The other one that caught my eye was this tascam dr-22:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._dr_22wl_wi_fi_enabled_portable_recorder.html

not just the wifi (for future use with remote triggering/monitoring lavs for interviews), but the feature that automatically makes seperate tracks could be really handy. any experience with that?
 
belleandlilsebastian said:
Hm-- so I think im definitely going for some kind of tascam, but wondering whether I'm better off picking up one Dr-40, or two DR-05's-- the XLR option is nice (even though i already have a DR-60D) on the Dr-40, but with two dr-05's i might be able to stick one by the drum to get that lower end better during the show.

The other one that caught my eye was this tascam dr-22:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._dr_22wl_wi_fi_enabled_portable_recorder.html

not just the wifi (for future use with remote triggering/monitoring lavs for interviews), but the feature that automatically makes seperate tracks could be really handy. any experience with that?
Click to expand...

It comes down to which one got designed more recently.

When the DR-05 first came out lots of people were taken aback because it sounded A LOT better than the WAY more expensive DR-10 of that time (I think that was the other model, the DR-10..not completely sure. Maybe it was the older version of the DR-40, but whatever one it was, it was twice the price).

So when did the DR-22 first hit the market relative to the DR-05? That's what I would want to know.

Now the DR-05 may sound really great - but it is very bare-bones. I never would have guessed I'd be using it for the things that I do... so rigging it up can get a little....what's the word I'm looking for here?...."semi-pro"?

Well, I think you get it.

If you get a DR-05 and feel it's not enough...sell it to me. Mine hit the pavement three times on a job last week and I'm worried about how well it has survived. I mean like totally dropped. To it's credit it seems fine, but they're so affordable it's the kind of thing I'd just get another one of anyway.
 
I would use a DR-40 which would allow taking a direct feed from the house mixer AND room mic'd from it's internal mics and mixed in post. I wouldn't recommend only the direct board feed by itself.
 
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