"Carlos Alden" wrote in message

Hey all:

Thanks for the great advice about purchasing some items to record my
son's middle school's orchestra, choir, and band. Your suggestions
helped me re-think my initial ideas on gear which would have been
acceptable but not nearly sound as good in the long run for these
specific uses.

I'm now looking at a pair of small-diaphragm condenser mics and most
likely a simple stereo recording device, and maybe a nice preamp if
the budget allows. Going this morning to talk with the choir, orch
and band teachers as to their options.

As I recall, your budget was limited to say the least. If you're recording
a school band, portability of sorts might be a good feature.

Here's a possible setup:

(1) Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox 3 (NJB3) - check eBay new items recently
closed refurb or new for around $200. This is a surprisingly well-featured
portable 16/44 digital player/recorder with line inputs, flat response and
low noise. Battery and/or line voltage power. 20 GB internal space.

(2) Behringer MXB 1002 mixer - at just about any online music store for
about $100. Battery and/or line voltage power.

(3) Pair of MXL 603 wide pattern small-diaphragm cardioid mics - about $200
a pair new at various online stores, or eBay stores. You should be able to
get the matched pair with shock mounts.

(4) Pair of Behringer ECM 8000 omnidirectional mics - about $100 a pair new
at various online stores.

(5) Misc wires and cables - $100 allowance.

(6) Upload your recorded stereo tracks from the NJB3 to a PC running
Audacity (freeware) for editing, etc. Burn CDs for distribution from the PC
using its burner or if none is available pick up a Liteon CD burner from
various online stores for under $40 with Nero software.

(7) For an worthwhile custom flourish, budget about $80 for a Casio CD/DVD
labeler that adds onto your PC's USB port. I've found that burned CDs with
handwritten labels just don't have the end-user appeal of a CD with a
permanent printed-on label. You don't even need a cover sheet for your CD
cases, but a back sheet with a neatly-formatted track list also adds to
their appeal.

Get some experience using this stuff - at least a month including record
some rehearsals and test shows, and you might be ready to distribute some
pretty fair-sounding product.