Hella Solutions blog: "Document. Share. Inspire."

Here is another sample of one of my first live concert recordings I did earlier this year. I used one of my inexpensive eBay purchased mics (the Y-Stereo) for this recording of the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s presentation of “Godfellas.” Great show, funny cut from the gig, okay recording. It was tough to record because 1) I had forgotten to bring headphones so I couldn’t hear the sound as it was recording and 2) the show was outside. On top of that the SFMT’s sound system would wash in-and-out at times and get overdriven when they yelled (this was fine for the show but the subsequent recording suffers a bit…but then, it gives it that true bootleg sound). Further, I was seated about 150 yards from the speakers and crowd noise creeps in a bit. So remember ‘kiddies’, always bring your headphones and getting good placement is key! Anyway, give it a listen. It’s a really funny piece and only a 5 meg. download.

http://rapidshare.de/files/35420584/SFMT06_MC_Constantine.zip

I am starting to get my equipment together for my trip to South Africa. At the heart of my rig is my mini-disc recorder, a Sony HI-MD MZ-M100 and my Sony MDR-V700DJ headphones. This is my first audio setup and so far it has come through strong.

The MZ-M100 was a short-lived model release by Sony that has its plusses and minuses. The cons are: the display is difficult to read in strong light, the buttons are very small, the surface scratches easily, and recording settings reset each time the unit turns off. The pros: the battery life is quite good (with a rechargeable Sony NG-14WM “gum stick” style nickel-metal hydride battery; an extra battery attachment comes with it so you can also run a AA battery in conjunction – which is awesome! I use a Sony AA Ni-MH 2500Ah rechargeable and have never run out of juice during an interview or recording session…but I carry plenty of fully charged backups just in case), the recording quality is very nice (obviously this depends a lot on how well you use it but it carries a high caliber of ability), it’s quite slick looking and the display is gorgeous in dark settings, the size makes it easy to carry anywhere and its presence is very unobtrusive.

As far as mics go, I don’t own any quality interview mics. I do have a few “pen” mics that I ordered from eBay and they are awesome for what they are (basically a Panasonic Electret Condenser Capsule placed in a pen cap)…they’re just not what you call field mics. They are great for sneaking into shows and recording concerts and such. Those and the Y-Stereo mic that are offered are very affordable and I recommend them for anyone who might have a need for such things…or just wants to have some fun. Anyway, I’ll be borrowing “bigger” mics from school – I’m fixing to get a boom mic and a couple of different interview style mics (I’ll post more on those once I get them). The guy’s eBay store is: http://stores.ebay.com/MICROSOUND-INC .