Other Articles - The Live Taper's Survival Guide v1.0
© 1995 by Jeff Maggard. All Rights Reserved. Duplication
of this document permitted if and only if (1) this document is not used for
financial gain in any way, and (2) if this document is copied whole,
including this copyright notice.
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
This is a beginner's guide for taping live music.
First things first: Know your equipment. Know its strengths and its
weaknesses. Know where to set your levels. Know how long your batteries
will last, to the minute. Know how long your tapes will last, to the
second. Practice your tape flips (a good flip in a TCD-D5M can be done in
less than a second!).
Know the equipment you're likely to be patched into. Know if the operator
of that equipment is competent. Is the equipment reliable? Will its
batteries last through the set, the show? Does it pass a signal during the
flip?
Know the venue and the sound system. Know where and how to set up your
mics. Know whether or not FOB taping is allowed, and whether you'll get
tossed or have your tapes confiscated if you get caught anyway.
Know the people you're taping with.
THE TAPER'S CHECKLIST:
MICS:
mics (bodies and capsules)
mic stand
mic mounts
wind screens (outdoors)
umbrella (outdoors)
t-bar and adapter(s)
power supply
mic cables, longer mic cables
PS cables (PS <-> deck)
power supply batteries
extra power supply batteries
duct/electrical tape
DECK:
Deck
batteries
tapes
extra batteries
extra tapes
patch cords
patch cord adapters (1/4" mono, 1/4" stereo, 1/8" stereo, RCA, XLR)
splitters (patch in at the side of the chain vs. the end)
battery charger, 120VAC deck PS (use when touring)
more duct/electrical tape
ACCESSORIES:
flashlight + batteries
extra flashlight batteries
pocket knife
stopwatch
voltmeter
pen and paper (setlists/names/numbers)
plastic bags (outdoors)
towel
beer
food, chair, and blanket(s)
sunglasses and sunscreen
tickets - "Taper Tickets" are necessary at Phish/Dead shows!
Did I mention duct and electrical tape?
...and something to carry all this crap in!
Borrow (borrowing is free -- well, everyone appreciates a beer ;-) or rent
a battery powered pro portable analog deck like a Sony analog D5
('full-sized' = 2"x8"x10"), a Sony analog D6 (walkman sized), or one of the
pro Marantz models ('full-sized'). It might cost as much as $100 for a
week, or $50 for a weekend to rent, plus deposit. I don't know where to
get one though -- try your local pro music shop and/or the yellow pages or
the dealers listed in the Mic-FAQ.
If you're going to be patching, bring a selection of patch cables. RCA
plugs and 1/8" headphone jack plugs are the most common, but it can't hurt
to bring 1/4" plugs too. I use RCA 'Y' cables, so I can patch into a chain
from the side -- splitting the signal -- it's a lot easier to get higher up
in the chain this way.
Tips (before showtime):
- bone up on your flipping skills (especially in 'concert mental
state')!
- bone up on your setup and break-down skills (in 'concert metal
state')
- bring a flashlight.
- bring extra batteries for everything.
- bring extra tapes.
- bring a pen and paper for the setlist.
- get a taper's ticket (if going to a Dead or Phish show ;-).
- if you're going outside: bring RAIN gear, bring a blanket (claim
your space!) and a chair, etc...
- bring food, drinks, etc. (M&M's make friends, beer makes lasting
friends!) Caution: may require smuggling.
Tips (showtime):
- NO TALKING during the show!
- DO be polite. Everyone in front of you in the chain is your best
friend, and the guy with the mics is your very best friend!
- DON'T get in the way of people setting up their gear -- if you're
patching, you'll have comparatively little to deal with. This
often includes not asking 'dumb' questions -- no question is dumb,
but bothering people who are trying to work IS. Ask 'dumb'
questions during the setbreak.
- DON'T get in the way of people during the show who have to tend to
their gear, flip tapes, replace batteries, etc. This is more of a
problem indoors.
Appendix
OTHER RECORDING FORMATS
DAT
Many tape traders have made the switch from analogue cassettes to Digital
Audio Tape (DAT). One major advantage to the DAT trader is no signal
degradation through multiple generations. And to this die-hard analogue
fan, DAT does offer in many ways significant sonic advantages over
cassettes. The medium is still very expensive though. Blank tapes are now
very inexpensive, but a good machine is going to cost over $1000. Units
under $1000 are going to be unreliable and are not going to sound quite as
good as the better ones. All digital is not the same! Even the more
expensive machines need a certain amount of pampering and servicing as the
format in general can be very temperamental. At this point the life span
of DAT tapes does not look good either. 15-20 years is about all you can
expect at the most.
VHS
You can make very high quality audio recordings with a Hi-Fi VHS VCR even
at the slowest speed. The higher speeds are only necessary with video.
With this you can put 6 hours of music on one circa $3 VHS tape.
Theoretically a Hi-Fi VHS VCR should sound better than just about any
cassette deck, but my ears tend to tell me otherwise. I have not
experimented much though with it. Besides, you can't play VHS tapes in
your car or walkman. The timer function on VCRs can be very useful in
taping radio broadcasts like the Grateful Dead Hour.
Mini-Disc and DCC
Don't bother. The standard for these digital formats is too low for
acceptable sound quality. Generational loses are far worse than cassettes
but in a different way. Neither of these formats if very likely to last
very long anyway. Some tapers find the Mini-Disc easy to use in stealth
recording.
Reel-to-Reel
Good quality reel-to-reel decks will beat the pants off of just about any
cassette recorder. The machines are large, heavy and clunky and the tape
is very expensive compared to other formats. Even if you can get a machine
for cheap or even free, it is probably not worth messing with for purposes
of tape collecting or trading. Several old time traders do have many hours
of live music on reel-to-reel since it was a major format in the 1970s. It
is not unusual for someone to transfer his reels to DAT and then sell,
trade or give away his reels. Good reel-to-reel machines to look for used
include Teac, Revox and Ampex.
What About the Magazines and Specifications?
After the first edition of this Guide several people contacted me and said
Consumer Reports recommends cassette decks that are not mentioned in the
guide. What's up? Well, CR does a great job with most things. They do a
horrible disservice to audio. All they do is measure the equipment and add
up the features. They do not do any serious listening tests. This is also
true of other magazines such as Stereo Review. They also do not bother
with some of the more expensive equipment. Their general attitude is that
it all pretty much sounds the same.
Specifications really do not tell you very much about how a piece of audio
equipment will sound. They can also easily be reported in a way that is
deceiving. Trust your ears. You can probably hear more differences than
you think. Always try to listen thoroughly to a piece of equipment before
you buy it. Make sure it sounds good to you and feels comfortable to
operate.
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