[[email protected]]

I haven't been around here in a while so I'll start by saying a big
hello to everybody.

I'm off to Morocco at the end of the month to record these guys...

http://joujouka.net/0About/

http://www.myspace.com/mastermusiciansofjoujouka

Anyway I'm preparing the Insurance and carnet for the journey. A
flight to London and then a drive through France and Spain to the
ferry to the Kingdom of Morocco. Nice eh?

I'd like to post my prepared kit list here and see if anybody would
care to comment on it.

Kit List

Mac Powerbook G4

M-Audio- 2626
Audient Asp 8

2 pin to 3 pin Mains plug adapters…
Multicore 8-way 30m
Long Mic Cables x 2 10 to 15M
Reg Mic cables x 8
2 4way Mains Plugboards
2 long Mains Plugboards
Adat Cable

5 DPA 4011 (suspended above and in front of musicians)
2 Senheiser MKH 40’s
2 Neumann Shotgun mic’s KM 82’s ?
3 Boom Mic Stands
2 Baby Mic Stands.

Quantegy FW80 Harddrives

Tool Kit???

If anyone would care to comment I'd be happy. Weight is a major factor
here...

Oh if anyone could tell me how much space 6 hours of 8 tracks at 48Khz
24 Bit will use off the top of their heads I'd be much obliged.

All the best,
Dave.

[[email protected]]

Oh!
I see my real name and email's up here.

My previous incarnation here was StudioRat...

D.

[Mike Rivers]

wrote:

Mac Powerbook G4
M-Audio- 2626
Audient Asp 8

2 pin to 3 pin Mains plug adapters…
Multicore 8-way 30m
Long Mic Cables x 2 10 to 15M
Reg Mic cables x 8
2 4way Mains Plugboards
2 long Mains Plugboards
Adat Cable

5 DPA 4011 (suspended above and in front of musicians)
2 Senheiser MKH 40’s
2 Neumann Shotgun mic’s KM 82’s ?
3 Boom Mic Stands
2 Baby Mic Stands.

Quantegy FW80 Harddrives

Tool Kit???

I'd bring several extra cables including Firewire and TOSLink. I'm not a
big fan of using laptop computers for remote recording very far from
home, so I'd bring at minimum a spare computer and probably a spare
audio interface. At least bring CDs or DVDs that you need to reload the
operating system, your DAW program, and any accessories, drivers, or
plug-ins. How will you be monitoring? Headphones? Speakers? Small hand
tools, a test generator (like an NTI Minirator), and a multimeter are a
good idea. A sun hat?

Oh if anyone could tell me how much space 6 hours of 8 tracks at 48Khz
24 Bit will use off the top of their heads I'd be much obliged

Hmmmm . . . someone who has to ask that question probably doesn't have a
lot of experience using a computer as a recorder. In that case I'd
suggest leaving the computer and M-Audio interface at home and taking
along an Alesis HD24, and maybe a cheap mixer for monitoring.

However for your edification, for 24-bit 48 kHz, figure on half a
gigabyte per hour per track.


--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[Scott Dorsey]

wrote:
I'd like to post my prepared kit list here and see if anybody would
care to comment on it.

Kit List

Mac Powerbook G4

M-Audio- 2626
Audient Asp 8

Bring a backup recorder, because sooner or later something will go wrong
with your Mac. Even if it's a Professional Walkman or something, it's
better than nothing.

Bring an external hard drive cabinet, just in case.

2 pin to 3 pin Mains plug adapters=85
Multicore 8-way 30m
Long Mic Cables x 2 10 to 15M
Reg Mic cables x 8
2 4way Mains Plugboards
2 long Mains Plugboards
Adat Cable

Bring a spare Lightpipe cable. Sounds like you have enough spare
mike cables.

Do not expect the power to be on Europlugs. Bring whatever power adaptors
you can spare, and if you have adaptors to go into Edison and bayonet lamp
sockets, bring them too. Bring cutters and wirenuts so you can splice into
wiring. You will be amazed at the electrical infrastructure.

5 DPA 4011 (suspended above and in front of musicians)
2 Senheiser MKH 40=92s
2 Neumann Shotgun mic=92s KM 82=92s ?
3 Boom Mic Stands
2 Baby Mic Stands.

I'd skip the shotguns completely, and bring a couple more MKH-40s, or even
better the hypercardioid versions.

Bring some clamps with mike thread, so you can clamp mikes to surfaces and
pipes.

Bring windscreens.

Bring an EV635A. When everything else fails, the 635A keeps working.

Quantegy FW80 Harddrives

I'd bring an external hard drive cabinet as well, and a copy of your
operating system disk so if the OS disk fails you can just swap a new one
in.

Tool Kit???

Absolutely.

If anyone would care to comment I'd be happy. Weight is a major factor
here...

Drop the stands, then. The stands are the heaviest part of the whole
thing and you can improvise something on the fly with pipe and clamp.

Oh if anyone could tell me how much space 6 hours of 8 tracks at 48Khz
24 Bit will use off the top of their heads I'd be much obliged.

You can do the math yourself. If your system is storing 24 bit data as
32-bit samples (which is common), it is:

4 (bytes per sample) X 8 (channels per sample) X 48,000 (samples per second)
X 3600 (seconds per hour) X 6 (hours) = about 30 Gb.

If your system packs samples as 24 bit data, it's about 23 Gb.
--scott

All the best,
Dave.





--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Adrian Tuddenham]

wrote:


I'd like to post my prepared kit list here and see if anybody would
care to comment on it.

Kit List

[...]

Toilet paper - for when you are half an hour fron the start of the
performance and suddenly realise what it is that you have forgotten to
bring...

--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

[Scott Dorsey]

Adrian Tuddenham wrote:
wrote:


I'd like to post my prepared kit list here and see if anybody would
care to comment on it.

Kit List

[...]

Toilet paper - for when you are half an hour fron the start of the
performance and suddenly realise what it is that you have forgotten to
bring...

And gaff tape! It's heavier than toilet paper...
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[[email protected]]

On Jul 7, 6:00*pm, (Adrian
Tuddenham) wrote:
wrote:
I'd like to post my prepared kit list here and see if anybody would
care to comment on it.

Kit List

[...]

Toilet paper - for when you are half an hour fron the start of the
performance and suddenly realise what it is that you have forgotten to
bring...

--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)www.poppyrecords.co.uk

lol...

[studiorat]

Thanks Guys,
Can't believe I didn't stick in headphones. Jeepers, imagine that...
I'll have spare computer, good call bringing CDs of the drivers etc.
too.

I have a bit computer experience alright, I used to be handy enough
with an akai dd1000. I can just never remember the different figures,
I must make up one of those mnemonics to try and remember each one.
I was reckoning on the 80 gig being enough for rehearsals etc. and
another for back up. In an ideal world I'd bring along a DR-16 in a
huge flight case. )

Oddly enough I was just playing with a professional walkman tonight!
It's going in alright. I might be able to get a porta dat or
something...

Light fitting adaptors are a great idea. My original plan was to pick
up a few local plugs and wire them on to my existing mains extension
cables. Originally I was going to bring along a light to test if they
were then wired properly, then I figure that's not going to tell me if
the polarity is correct. In case nobody around knows what way the
power is set up, though I'm told it's the same as France.
Guess it's a job for the multimeter, I hate using those things on
mains! I'll find out the colour code for their mains anyway. I'm
seriously considering a UPS too it would give me a while to save my
sessions in the event of a power outage.

I don't have much experience with shotgun microphones. My thinking
behind these was that the drummers sing sometimes. They are playing
hand drums held at chest height, not unlike the Irish Bodhran. I was
thinking maybe these would have a narrow pick up that I might be able
to get a bit vocal incase I needed it. Am I way off the mark here?

Tool Kit, snips, pliers, screwdrivers for everything. Phase Tester!!
Ah-ha!!! Gas and electric soldering Iron. (solder station
too big!) Gaffer and Electrical tape. Multi meter.

Check!

Wind Screens!

Check!

Extra computer and adat cables!

Checkedy check!

Stands have been an optional extra all along. We've been considering
hanging microphones since day one. I'm going to have a bit of a play
hanging microphones this weekend! The DPA's are ideal for this.

I like the look of those EV mic's. Have I seen those on lots of PA
setups? The version with the large windshield looks familiar.

Anyway thanks for all the help and excellent suggestions, greatly
appreciated.
Regards,
Dave

[David F. Cox]

wrote in message
...
I haven't been around here in a while so I'll start by saying a big
hello to everybody.

I'm off to Morocco at the end of the month to record these guys...

http://joujouka.net/0About/

http://www.myspace.com/mastermusiciansofjoujouka

Anyway I'm preparing the Insurance and carnet for the journey. A
flight to London and then a drive through France and Spain to the
ferry to the Kingdom of Morocco. Nice eh?

useful info on mains electricity standards.

http://users.pandora.be/worldstandar...#voltage_table

[Badmuts]

Bring cutters and wirenuts so you can splice into
wiring. You will be amazed at the electrical infrastructure.

Oh hell yeah, that's not the positive sort of 'amazed'.
Reminds me of days when i was installing electronics for casinos...

Bring rubber gloves. Seriously.

Tool Kit???

Absolutely.

Bring a multimeter. Bring a power conditioner.

Transport everything in good quality cases. Regular suitcases will break.

[Badmuts]

80 gig disks... sounds old. May die in transport, or in heat.
Probably get some new ones. Test and format them before leaving home.

[Mike Rivers]

studiorat wrote:

I have a bit computer experience alright, I used to be handy enough
with an akai dd1000. I can just never remember the different figures,
I must make up one of those mnemonics to try and remember each one.
I was reckoning on the 80 gig being enough for rehearsals etc. and
another for back up.

It gets easier to remember how much disk space you'll need for
recording. I used to remember 10.5 MB/minute for 16/44 stereo, or 11
MB/min for 48 kHz. Now I remember 1 GB/hour for 48 kHz 24-bit stereo,
divide that by two for single tracks. Multiply by 2 for 24/96. You get a
little more time per gigabyte at 44.1 kHz, but save that for emergencies.

In an ideal world I'd bring along a DR-16 in a
huge flight case. )

In an ideal world, you'd bring an Ampex MM-1200. Don't forget the tape.

Oddly enough I was just playing with a professional walkman tonight!
It's going in alright. I might be able to get a porta dat or
something...

You could certainly take a Zoom H2, or with careful placement you could
probably do the whole job nicely with a Sony PCM-D50 using its built-in
mics. Take two, they're small, and two of them cost less than your
computer.

Light fitting adaptors are a great idea. My original plan was to pick
up a few local plugs and wire them on to my existing mains extension
cables. Originally I was going to bring along a light to test if they
were then wired properly, then I figure that's not going to tell me if
the polarity is correct. In case nobody around knows what way the
power is set up, though I'm told it's the same as France.
Guess it's a job for the multimeter, I hate using those things on
mains! I'll find out the colour code for their mains anyway.

Do YOU know what the correct polarity is? I suspect that neither side is
grounded. They use both two and three wire sockets over there, with the
three wire one with an optional ground pin. Nothing wrong with using a
multimeter on the mains as long as you have insulated probes. A UPS
would be a very good idea. The laptop battery should sustain the
computer long enough to shut it down safely in the event of a power
failure and hold it over during an interruption, but a UPS will allow
you to finish the take you'll be in the middle of when the power goes
out. It never goes out during a break.

I don't have much experience with shotgun microphones. My thinking
behind these was that the drummers sing sometimes. They are playing
hand drums held at chest height, not unlike the Irish Bodhran. I was
thinking maybe these would have a narrow pick up that I might be able
to get a bit vocal incase I needed it. Am I way off the mark here?

Shotgun mics that are directional enough to separate the drum from the
voice will be very expensive and not sound very good. If you need more
voice from the drummers, use cardioid or omni mics and fiddle with the
placement. Or do an overdub. g




--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[[email protected]]

Thanks Bob,
I'm looking into a UPS that will do the same thing.

[Scott Dorsey]

studiorat wrote:
Light fitting adaptors are a great idea. My original plan was to pick
up a few local plugs and wire them on to my existing mains extension
cables. Originally I was going to bring along a light to test if they
were then wired properly, then I figure that's not going to tell me if
the polarity is correct. In case nobody around knows what way the
power is set up, though I'm told it's the same as France.

Yes, the official standard there is the Europlug, but you will find
every damn power connector you have ever seen. You will also see things
like table lamps spliced directly into the wall, appliances without
plugs, with stripped cords whose bare ends are jammed into the holes in
the outlet and held in with matchsticks, and other horrors. Do not expect
anything to be grounded and don't trust grounds if there are some.

Guess it's a job for the multimeter, I hate using those things on
mains! I'll find out the colour code for their mains anyway. I'm
seriously considering a UPS too it would give me a while to save my
sessions in the event of a power outage.

There isn't any color code. Well, there is, but they don't use it
consistently, so don't believe it.

I don't have much experience with shotgun microphones. My thinking
behind these was that the drummers sing sometimes. They are playing
hand drums held at chest height, not unlike the Irish Bodhran. I was
thinking maybe these would have a narrow pick up that I might be able
to get a bit vocal incase I needed it. Am I way off the mark here?

The shotgun microphone does not do what you think it does. It's really
not very useful indoors at all, and the bizarre off-axis pickup makes
it very problematic... it will reduce the bleed a lot, but the bleed you
DO get is really nasty-sounding. I suggest you spend an afternoon or two
with one, recording some things and listening through headphones to get
a sense of what it really does.

I like the look of those EV mic's. Have I seen those on lots of PA
setups? The version with the large windshield looks familiar.

Which EV mikes? I was recommending the 635A, which is a television
interview mike. It is an omni dynamic, with no top end and no bottom
end at all, but a surprisingly clean vocal sound, extremely low wind
noise, and of course you can run it over with a truck and dunk it in
water and it'll be fine.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

Badmuts wrote:

Bring a multimeter. Bring a power conditioner.

I think a power conditioner is futile, unless you're willing to really
spend a lot of your weight budget for something serious. Bring batteries.

Transport everything in good quality cases. Regular suitcases will break.

Amen.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Paul Stamler]

I'd also pack a pair of Electro-Voice RE15s. They're as rugged as 635s, and
you can set them up in a pseudo-ORTF arrangement (capsules 7" apart, angled
outwards at 90 degrees) with excellent results. Maybe not as excellent as
MKH40s, but they'll take a lot more beating.

Also: bring water purification tablets. No ****.

Peace,
Paul

[Andre Majorel]

On 2008-07-08, studiorat wrote:

Light fitting adaptors are a great idea. My original plan was to pick
up a few local plugs and wire them on to my existing mains extension
cables. Originally I was going to bring along a light to test if they
were then wired properly, then I figure that's not going to tell me if
the polarity is correct. In case nobody around knows what way the
power is set up, though I'm told it's the same as France.
Guess it's a job for the multimeter, I hate using those things on
mains! I'll find out the colour code for their mains anyway. I'm
seriously considering a UPS too it would give me a while to save my
sessions in the event of a power outage.

Polarity ? Do you really care which is live and which is neutral ?
If so, God help you because wall outlets are often wired at
random.

Don't you have those screwdrivers with a small neon lamp in the
handle where you live ? It's called "tte-phase" or "tournevis
testeur" here. According to granddictionnaire.com, the English
name would be "voltage testing screwdriver". Unlike a voltmeter,
it can tell you which wire is live in an unearthed outlet. Photo
here :

http://tournevis.net/news/tournevis-testeur

--
André Majorel URL:http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/
"Buy in bulk, that's my advice." -- Lemmy


--
André Majorel URL:http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/
"Buy in bulk, that's my advice." -- Lemmy

[Scott Dorsey]

Andre Majorel wrote:
On 2008-07-08, studiorat wrote:

Light fitting adaptors are a great idea. My original plan was to pick
up a few local plugs and wire them on to my existing mains extension
cables. Originally I was going to bring along a light to test if they
were then wired properly, then I figure that's not going to tell me if
the polarity is correct. In case nobody around knows what way the
power is set up, though I'm told it's the same as France.
Guess it's a job for the multimeter, I hate using those things on
mains! I'll find out the colour code for their mains anyway. I'm
seriously considering a UPS too it would give me a while to save my
sessions in the event of a power outage.

Polarity ? Do you really care which is live and which is neutral ?

Yes. It is important.

If so, God help you because wall outlets are often wired at
random.

In places like Morocco this is frequently the case, and it's why you
need to carry a meter (or a test lamp or a 'wiggy').
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Andre Majorel]

On 2008-07-09, Scott Dorsey wrote:
Andre Majorel wrote:

Polarity ? Do you really care which is live and which is neutral ?

Yes. It is important.

It's AC going into a transformer. What difference could it make ?
You're not saying manufacturers reference the chassis ground to
the neutral or anything criminal like that, are you ?

--
André Majorel URL:http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/
"Buy in bulk, that's my advice." -- Lemmy