The 1in5
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
New Recordings
This SXSW was pretty truncated, as I attempted to nurse myself back from a mild touch of pandemic with Irish whiskey (Michael Collins Single Malt, four stars I say!) and Nyquil.
I did get the opportunity to try out my new toy - the Zoom H4 Handy Recorder. Here are a couple recordings I made with it:
Bryan Crowell - Unknown Song - Some Place Off Airport
I balanced the H4 on my lap and used the medium recording level. I had never been to this venue before - some sort of comedy club/playhouse behind the I Heart Video on Airport. Julie and I came for the music, but stayed for the tubesocks. Only about 50 people in the room, and they were pretty quiet except for when they were talking to Bryan. I used the default mics on the Zoom, and pretty much just encoded the track to MP3 using Audacity. It is nice to be able to drag and drop .wav files from the Zoom to my computer.
Oliver - The Casting Couch - Woody's South
This was a little different. Woddy's is a restaurant, with tables and chairs and what not. And the Casting Couch had a new drummer, and no guitarist (for the most part). I grabbed a seat at the table closest to the stage, but it was still about 30 feet away. I put the H4 on the table, set the recording level at "Low," pointed it at the band and let it record. When they were done, I pushed stop. Despite my worries, the recorder didn't pick up the vibration of everytime I picked up and put down my pint of Fireman's 4.
Impressions:
I like the default mics, but neither of these recording scearios were what would qualify as a truly "rough service" concert gig.
Dragging .wav files across from the device is cool.
The H4 is too big to fit in a pocket.
I still haven't found a way mark or divide the files on the fly without pausing the recording and restarting.
So the jury is still out. Since I can't plug my binaural microphones into it, I'll have to see what would work in a more dynamic setting. I'm also looking forward to messing around with the four track.
I did get the opportunity to try out my new toy - the Zoom H4 Handy Recorder. Here are a couple recordings I made with it:
Bryan Crowell - Unknown Song - Some Place Off AirportI balanced the H4 on my lap and used the medium recording level. I had never been to this venue before - some sort of comedy club/playhouse behind the I Heart Video on Airport. Julie and I came for the music, but stayed for the tubesocks. Only about 50 people in the room, and they were pretty quiet except for when they were talking to Bryan. I used the default mics on the Zoom, and pretty much just encoded the track to MP3 using Audacity. It is nice to be able to drag and drop .wav files from the Zoom to my computer.
Oliver - The Casting Couch - Woody's SouthThis was a little different. Woddy's is a restaurant, with tables and chairs and what not. And the Casting Couch had a new drummer, and no guitarist (for the most part). I grabbed a seat at the table closest to the stage, but it was still about 30 feet away. I put the H4 on the table, set the recording level at "Low," pointed it at the band and let it record. When they were done, I pushed stop. Despite my worries, the recorder didn't pick up the vibration of everytime I picked up and put down my pint of Fireman's 4.
Impressions:
I like the default mics, but neither of these recording scearios were what would qualify as a truly "rough service" concert gig.
Dragging .wav files across from the device is cool.
The H4 is too big to fit in a pocket.
I still haven't found a way mark or divide the files on the fly without pausing the recording and restarting.
So the jury is still out. Since I can't plug my binaural microphones into it, I'll have to see what would work in a more dynamic setting. I'm also looking forward to messing around with the four track.
Labels: Austin Texas, live music, sxsw, the casting couch, zoom h4
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Top Old School DY2006: Paul Robeson
I bought Paul Robeson's recording Songs of Free Men last year, and every time a cut from it shows up on shuffle, I end up listening going back and listening to more. Robeson's deep, resonant voice can illuminate a dozen shade of sorrow and comfort in his selection of show tunes, union ballads and folk tunes.
So, number 13 on my last.fm list is the top Old School Artist of DY 2006.
I bought Paul Robeson's recording Songs of Free Men last year, and every time a cut from it shows up on shuffle, I end up listening going back and listening to more. Robeson's deep, resonant voice can illuminate a dozen shade of sorrow and comfort in his selection of show tunes, union ballads and folk tunes.
So, number 13 on my last.fm list is the top Old School Artist of DY 2006.
