word to Big Sugar...

I just hope someone records a few of the next 7 shows this year....

Yo screw all these trading rules. You'll find on this forum, the more you share, the more you'll receive. If you're willing to give us this show, you'll find lots of users on this forum more then willing to help you find stuff you're looking for. I ain't bother with all this trading nonsense, I share what I got with people, and now I could ask for practically anything and someone on here will help me out. Seriously I don't know why people care so much what kind of cord was used to connect your MD to your PC or whatever lol.

Best recordings right now are made with DAT recorders. Most populars are done by Sony, such as the PCM-M1 or the TCD-Dx series (the good old D3, the D7, D8, D10 or D100). You can record at 32 khz (the so-called LP mode), 44.1 (standard) or the highest 48 khz. The bad new is that you have to transfer eveything into digital mode on your pc (44.1 WAV audio, or resample to 44.1 if you've recorded on 32 or 48 khz).

Right now, technology allow to record directly into WAV 44.1 digital mode, with the portable hard disks, such as the good Nomad JB3 by Creative (very popular nowadays, but a bit big) or some others (Edirol series, the Ipaq, etc). With an USB cable you can transfer what you've taped into you hard drive in a few minutes. Not as full as a DAT, but excellent quality, though.

The cheapest are the mini discs, but they are not as good as a DAT or a portable HD. They usually miss some music ranges, and turn out with a somewhat muddy sound. So it is important to place yourself to pretty good (taping location). Sharp and Sony made good mini discs. Purist traders don't accept mini-disc tapes, as they consider them "inferior quality".

However, the important thing here are the mics, external mics. A cheap but good series are the Sony ECM (extremely popular in the 80s, they still are a favourite out there), or the Core Sound (both binaurals or cardioids). Another good and cheap brand can be Audio Technica (cardioid and hypercardioid), or the Sonic Studios series (the DSM6s are really popular, mostly on the US). A little more expensive are the Soundman OKM series (both rock and classic, binaurals, with a really full sound). If you have enough money, DPA are amazing, probably the best for stealth taping, as small as matches. Some brands modify their mics using DPA capsules (for example, the Core Sound High End Binaurals or CS HEB). Finally, there are professional mics (the large mics we all know from TV) whose capture of the sound is awesome, such as Schoeps, Sennheiser, Nakamichi or Neumann. However, they are really expensive.

All in all, you've to think what kind of mics you are using (binaurals or cardioids), as probably the most important thing for taping is where the hell you are located, so the hot spot is different if you are using cardioids or binaurals. Reputated tapers say there are three rules for taping "1.- location; 2.- location, and 3.- location". I have amazing recordings on my trading collection with Schoeps or Neumann mics (expensive) and some others with Sonic Studios or Core Sound Binaurals that are as good as the first. So you can see that taping location is probably the most important thing if you have a competitive taping gear.

Hope it helps.