Re: Re: Re: Re: Tech advice...recording equip?


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Posted by Daryl on February 16, 2003 at 23:59:25:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Tech advice...recording equip? posted by Kenneth Sloan on February 16, 2003 at 20:39:15:

If you wanted to put the money into it, you could have a lucrative side income recording recitals and audition tapes if you're in the right kind of area (ie. somewhere where there are lots of recitals and audition tapes being recorded).

For things other than personal archives of practice sessions - get yourself:
1) a few nice condenser mics - small diaphragm condensers will be less noisy than large because they pick up less sound. That sounds like a bad thing until you realize that most of the extra sound you'll get from a large diapragm condenser is stuff like foot noise, air conditioning systems, Aunt Millie sneezing in the 10th row, etc. You can do a respectable job with two or three and you can get a GREAT set from Rode microphones (NT5's, if memory serves) for under $200. Maybe pick up a couple of sets, one for the front of the stage and one for the piano?

2) a mixer with good preamps - make sure you have enough channels to do the job. Behringer makes really nice compact mixers at an unbeatable price point. I just got a Behringer with 4 phantom powered mic channels (needed for condenser mics), plus 4 stereo channels with an effects send for $100. In case the technical terms are meaningless (and they might reasonably be so), that's a GREAT deal. I've been using it for live work as a keyboard player, but the mic pres seem clean and relatively neutral. Grand total - $500 so far.

3) a recording medium - frankly, I have NO complaints about the Minidisc format. I had a DAT recorder for many years and was glad to unload it in favor of a Minidisc recorder. For 99.9% percent of the people you would be recording for, the sound quality is not going to concern them - there is a teeny bit of data compression, but most peoples' stereos can't even reproduce the frequencies that you lose. You do the math. If you have a minidisc already, no cost. If not, $200 for a good one. Total - $700.

If you market yourself well and live near an area that has a demand for recordings, you can make that back in a year EASILY. The great thing about recital and audition recording is that you don't need a load of gear to do a good job - it really isn't any more complicated that what I described. Hope I helped.

Daryl


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