Hey guys,
I hope this is ok that I post this. I am going to Pittsburgh and Buffalo and I would like to see if I can get a recording of the shows. I was going to try to do this last year for New Jersey but I thought about it too late and couldn’t get the equipment in time.

Can anyone with experience give me some guidance on equipment and how to do this correctly? You can post here (if it is allowed) or email me privately.

Again I apologize if this subject is off limits.

Thanks!
-Craig

This, and all, tactics and methods should be done privately. That said, you do realize the cost of the gear involved?

I suppose all you need is one of the things Jagger wears on his belt plus the recorder of your choice. Having said that I do like the boots better that put you right in the audience

Like daspy said. A single receiver will cost about 800 dollars plus thur recorder. You'll have to find the right frequency and pick a good feed (ending up with only a backup singer feed is not good). Even then, there's no single feed that is fully mixed.

If you do decide to buy some wireless gear then I recommend doing some shows for practice first.

Just taping one feed doesn't make much sense. You need several different feeds with different mixes to get a usable recording. This alone makes your effort difficult.
Beside that you don't know the frequencies and have to find them, which you can only manage if you miss the beginning of the show to search or have a soundcheck
to try. Or you have connection to the japanese people and the people from XAVEL to tell you the frequencies, hoping that they use the same frequencies worldwide.

I tried to tape IEM some years ago and instantly gave up.
I would rather try to tape ordinary AUD and focus on getting good equipment for that.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2020-02-21 11:17 by falo01.

Falo said it best. Even then to do it right be prepared to spend some coin on gear, learn how to navigate getting recording gear made of metal past metal detectors and seats in the right location to make really good recordings. Also takes some practice.

Kudos for wanting to tape but understand that making a good one takes a little bit more effort. Sort of like a professional sound engineer remixing a source versus some joker with a computer and some software doing a smiley face remaster of a recording.

Don't just expect to make an excellent recording your first try out. Do try a few shows before the one that matters.

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falo01
Just taping one feed doesn't make much sense. You need several different feeds with different mixes to get a usable recording. This alone makes your effort difficult.
Beside that you don't know the frequencies and have to find them, which you can only manage if you miss the beginning of the show to search or have a soundcheck
to try. Or you have connection to the japanese people and the people from XAVEL to tell you the frequencies, hoping that they use the same frequencies worldwide.

I tried to tape IEM some years ago and instantly gave up.
I would rather try to tape ordinary AUD and focus on getting good equipment for that.

I'll agree with most of what falo01 said, except the part about Xavel. Xavel is just a bootleg label, they buy from a couple of Japanese tapers, some of which travel overseas. I'm pretty sure I spotted at least one of them at the U2 Tokyo shows a few months ago. They do not use a very complicated rig, generally topping out at two stereo feeds.

Anyways, [steps up on the soapbox] I've been taping IEM recordings for almost 20 years at this point. Seen a lot of people come and go from this hobby. It's expensive, difficult, and very very easy to completely strike out at a show. Many folks have started with high ambition and then scrubbed out within a year or two. The folks who succeed are people who tape a lot of different acts, keep organized, and don't give up. Or there are people who specialize in just one band, but then they often rely on other folks who "keep up" in the hobby. I have several U2 friends that I basically coach through on updated gear and techniques when they decide to wake up from hibernation.

If you just looking to do a pair of shows, and never do it again, you can certainly try. It probably won't come out very well (but you could have beginners' luck) and you'll be stressed during the show. Even more so if this is your first attempt at taping in general. Honestly you'd probably be better off hiring an experienced taper to record it for you (I'm not volunteering, mind you).

I love wireless taping. I think it has a very high ceiling, and can produce amazing recordings. My 8 IEM feed pull plus Daspy's schoeps of Santa Clara made a great sounding recording, likely the best of the tour. But it is very challenging to do consistently at a high level, and requires a high investment of time and money. I'm not even getting into the mixing piece of it too...

Or you could just steal someone's recording, remaster it with some hack computer program and call it your own.

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U2Stonesfan
Or you could just steal someone's recording, remaster it with some hack computer program and call it your own.

Don't we call that rskinnoing a recording?

I like that his name has become a verb for butchering via remaster.

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U2Stonesfan
Or you could just steal someone's recording, remaster it with some hack computer program and call it your own.

embarrassing ...

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senecastj
I like that his name has become a verb for butchering via remaster.

embarrassing ...

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daspyknows

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U2Stonesfan
Or you could just steal someone's recording, remaster it with some hack computer program and call it your own.

Don't we call that rskinnoing a recording?

... have fun.

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glimmertwin1

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U2Stonesfan
Or you could just steal someone's recording, remaster it with some hack computer program and call it your own.

embarrassing ...

I agree, it is embarrassing behavior.

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U2Stonesfan

Quote
glimmertwin1

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U2Stonesfan
Or you could just steal someone's recording, remaster it with some hack computer program and call it your own.

embarrassing ...

I agree, it is embarrassing behavior.

Whatever ...

So long.

i'd really like to get >>> IEM/ST CLARA

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mariano
i'd really like to get >>> IEM/ST CLARA

Go bag a 4+ IEM pull of U2 and get back to me.

Thanks for all the input. Gives me a lot to think about. Again I apologize for posting this publicly I was just wondering if anyone had the ability or it was, as you guys indicated, for a specialized group of tapers.

Now, IEM, I think I may have mis-Spoke. I have never heard the feed but is it possible to record the Assistive Listening Device at a stadium? I have been looking around to see if I can find out what different stadiums use for equipment but have come up with zero so far.

Thanks again for all the informative information.

I have not had any success with ALD recordings at Stadiums. However, I do have a friend that had a few successes. If you decide to go that route, try to attend a sports game at your target venue so you can check into it first. Check one out, practice with it, see how reception is. I did that for one stadium, and turned out they never plugged the antenna back in after a remodel.

Again, practice practice practice

As senecastj says practice practice practice applies to all kinds of taping. Don't think you can be a complete noob and you can navigate all aspects. You need to know your gear and how to use it in extreme situations.

Reminds me when I lent a backup rig to a collector who is active on torrent sites. He asked all the right questions, was able to "make a recording at home" but didn't feel the need to go out in the field before his big show. At the show he couldn't get the recorder to turn on, thought batteries were dead, was actually able to get another set of batteries. I asked how it went and he said recorder wouldn't turn on due to bad batteries. I said right off was the hold button on. "what's a hold button?" he asked. I told him where it was and he looked and said yes.

practice practice practice and know your gear.

I know exactly who you're talking about. I tried telling him multiple times to go practice away a few shows because standing in front of speaker at home doesn't prepare you.

He hasn't even attempted a show since then. Guess not a priority for him.

He tried lol. I encoraged the same as did another taper I know. He wasn't prepared and it showed.