DR-40 Mic Positioning

[Revinylize]

Hey guys, glad to be a part of the community. I just picked up two Tascam DR-40s for the purpose of recording live music. Would placing one in XY and one in AB config cause any phase cancellation, or would it create a higher quality stereo image?

Also have another question. I have an SDHC 32GB Sandisk card, but the device only "sees" 2gb, yet shows 30gb in the system info. Incompatible card maybe? Can anyone recommend any modern cards that work with the device?

EDIT: Tascam support got back to me and said this SD card issue is because the max single file size is 2gb, but the device will keep recording to a new file if it hits that limit.

Thanks for any help,
Revinylize

 

[BazzBass]

Where will the two be positioned ?

I'd say just use one unit and get a tripod that puts it above the audience 3/4 way back from the stage.

 

[Revinylize]

@BazzBass they would be on a dual mount tripod right next to each other. But I reformulated my plan. I picked up two external mics since I didn't want to deal with timestretching and matching the two Tascams, so I'm gonna have 4 mics total around the soundboard (hopefully) above the crowd.

 

[Art Anderson]

There you go. I've done it that way with one DR-40 for several years. I locate the unit up a lot closer to the musicians though. I mean you can measure it in feet, not yards. These are mostly acoustic electric folk roots and pop covers acts in cafés and small clubs.

I set the built in pair wide, not crossed. I either use two external cardioid mics on stands at four feet high or better if the band has a mixer or the back of a Bose L1 or a Yamaha StagePas system
I take L&R feeds from that for clean sound they way the band wants it to be heard.

The DR-40 is powered via a wall adapter into the USB port. The external mics use up phantom power. It only takes about 10% of the volume of the built in capsules (if all 4 channels are showing the same recording level on the DR-40) mixed in to the external mic tracks to give me enough sense of a live audience and room ambience for my taste. I usually am synching it up to video so I also have the fallback of what ever the camera caught but that's a last resort.

 

[Revinylize]

@Art Anderson thanks for all the tips! I'll definitely give the AB config a go to get that nice wide sound, and position myself closer to the artists. First show is gonna be a brass band, so I have no doubt they'll be able to produce enough sound for me to pick up! I'll let ya know how my first taping goes as it's this Sunday, super pumped!