When the lights fade and Nicky, James and Sean move on to their next show, you may find yourself with just a wrinkled ticket stub and overpriced merch to preserve your Manics memories. You’ll dig up a handful of concert photos online, maybe some videos on YouTube if you’re lucky. But Ben, a prolific taper who trades concert recordings as “Zenith,” collects a special kind of souvenir – he’s recorded 40 to 50 of the concerts he’s been to, including 13 Manics shows and a couple of JDB’s solo efforts. He graciously shared some of his hard-earned knowledge with us.
EXILE: How long have you been taping?
BEN: I started taping in 2006. My first show I recorded was James Dean Bradfield at the Concorde 2 in Brighton. I’d been speaking to some people on [ForeverDelayed.org.uk] about what gear they used to record shows, and it turned out that I already had some of the equipment that others were using. I looked on eBay and picked up a mic for a reasonable price (a Sony ECM-719 which, incidentally, I still use to this day). It arrived the day before the show so I had to wing it on the night! Luckily, it came out really well, and that was that, really. I was hooked.
EXILE: Why did you get into it originally?
BEN: After the first time I saw the Manics in 2002, I got into trading live shows. I was really fortunate that someone recorded the show I was at. Sadly, I didn’t get so lucky the next few times, and I didn’t have a record of some really get nights. As I mentioned before, it turned out that I already had some suitable gear, so I thought I’d give it a try. I really liked having the knowledge that I’d have a record of every show I went to, and it made me really happy to help out other people with copies of gigs which they otherwise wouldn’t have had. Most of the music I listen to are live recordings of shows that I or others have recorded.
EXILE: About how many shows would you say you’ve taped (Manics and in general)?
BEN: I did have a spreadsheet of all the shows I’ve recorded, but I got really lax of keeping it up to date. I’ve taped the Manics 13 times, as well as a couple of JDB solo shows. I’d say overall I’ve recorded about 40 or 50 concerts. Most are just audio, but I have video taped some of them as well with other tapers, which was fun.
EXILE: What equipment are you using now, and why?
BEN: Currently I use my Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-NH600 Hi-MD minidisc recorder. Software wise, I use SonicStage 4.3 to transfer the audio from the minidiscs to PC, Audacity 1.2.6 to do some tweaks and tracking, and Trader’s Little Helper to create FLAC files and checksums. I believe in the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, which is why I’m largely still using thesame gear. Also, it’s all light, compact and easy to use. Also, I can’t really afford to splash out on more higher-end stuff (unfortunately) at the moment. If I could regularly tape “taper friendly” bands more often, I would probably buy some better stuff, but for now I’ll have to work with better stuff. I would really like a hard disk-based recorder like an Edirol R-09. I think that would be my next purchase.
EXILE: What sorts of equipment do you recommend for a beginner, for someone who’s taped a few shows and is looking to upgrade, or for someone more advanced?
BEN: It all depends on budget, really. For a beginner I’d recommend a Hi-MD minidisc. Also, it is also possible to install open source firmware called Rockbox, which means you can use certain personal use MP3 players to record in lossless WAV format. Mics wise, you can pick up some really good tie-clip style mics. Church Audio also makes some fantastic entry-level and
higher-end mics and battery boxes. Anyone with the money to spend and a serious interest would want to get a hard disk-based recorder with 24-bit capabilities. Again, the Edirol recorders are good for that. As for high-end mics, the nicest-sounding ones I’ve heard are Schoeps MK4s. I’m not too much of an expert on hardware, but if you wanted to learn more about equipment or techniques, then check out www.thetradersden.org or www.taperssection.com – TS also has a Yard Sale section where you can often find good deals on used gear.
EXILE: When you share your recordings, why do you prefer FLAC/lossless versions? What is the major difference between FLAC and MP3? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each, and why?
BEN: I’m not an audio purist like a lot of the taper/trader community, but I feel that now high speed internet, torrents, etc. are so readily available, it makes sense to share recordings in the best quality possible. I don’t mind people creating MP3s from my recordings for iPods or whatever (I do the same thing), but I do prefer people to share things in lossless formats. When people badly compress and trade out MP3s, and they get compressed again, burnt to CD, ripped and compressed again, etc., etc., you do start to notice a quick drop in quality. If you only ever trade FLACs, then you know that you’re getting the best quality available. As I said, MP3s are fine for personal use, and obviously the reduced file size is useful for personal MP3
players.
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