Q. I got myself a little vs-880 ex recorder and am trying to use the octava(?) mics for guitar with mixed results- any guidance for mic placement to the instrument as when i plug straight into the unit sounds phony yet when micing guitar tone is muddy/flat any help is of course much thanks!

A.   Here's my favorite answer to that question -

You are probably getting the 'muddy' sound due to the mic being placed too close to the sound hole. Answer - don't use the sound hole as the primary source. Knowing what I know about your playing, I would suggest you place the condenser mic perpendicular to the neck and about 8 inches out from the 12th fret.

or if you have the time/space/inclination...

Use your ear as if it were a microphone and have Gary or someone play the guitar. Move your head around until you find the best sound at close range. (about 6-8 inches) this can be very useful. If possible, have two helpers. One to play the guitar, one to move the mic around it until you (monitoring at the board) get what you want.

Hope this helps

Q.  I want to start recording our gigs off the tape output on the PA head and was wondering if you had any recommendations. I was leaning toward a mini-disc recorder so I would be in the digital domain and could import the files into my Pro Tools rig to massage them. I am, however, not seeing a whole lot of mini-disc recorders around these days; are they about to go the way of the 8-track?

What would the Soundchick recommend for a two channel recorder?

A. The minidisks are certainly cheaper, but DATs (digital audio tape) are also falling in price. I have a Sony DAT that I bought a couple of years ago that has always been very dependable. Most studios have no trouble importing data, and the tapes are less likely to be damaged in transit as often happens to CDRs.

The thing to remember is that your final format will be a 16-bit file. Mini-discs can only record a few minutes of music at 16-bit resolution, and even less at higher resolution. DAT tapes can be up to 2 hours long, allowing you to capture much more of your performance without having to stop between songs and insert blank media.

Still, an inexpensive CD recorder can be rack-mounted, and will give you excellent results. the CD format is even more widely accepted than DAT.

One more thing - If you want to record the best live gig, don't forget to place a microphone in an area that will capture some of the audience participation. A dry board mix won't sound very dynamic on the CD. You'll want to relive the appluase, too, not just the performacne.