Help! ....college audition pre-screens tomorrow! What recording device?

[Tripletmom]

Our high school daughter (upright jazz bassist) is recording her college pre-screens tomorrow - she really wants them to be good and is stressing.

What mic/recording device should she get? She will be playing with a pianist and a drummer in a church (not sure how acoutics will be).

There are so many options out there! Zoom mic (the cheapest one is the red one H1n at $80 (but she will need to lay the audio over her Iphone video).

Then I spoke with someone at Guitar Center that said to go with the Blue Yeti ($150).

Then there is the integrated Zoom with video and audio ($350 - yikes) - but there are none in stock in Guitar Center in the LA area. Probably too high in price anyway.

And then - where should she put the mic? Nearer to her so you can hear her bass (without an amp or with an amp?).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[And I]

i vote no to the blue yeti. the tascam DR series field recorders are quite good. i have a dr-07 which i like a lot. the dr-05 is under $100 and it sounds more or less like the space it's recorded in. zooms are good too, and you don't have to get the $350 one, they have field recorders in the more affordable price range too.

i would have her use an amp, and yes put the mic a little closer to her as this is an audition recording and you want her to be present. but be sure there is a good balance. you don't want her twice as loud as the other instruments. the role of the bass in a jazz combo isn't to be the loudest instrument unless it's soloing.

it seems the location is already settled, but anywhere else would probably be better than a church for this recording. a huge room with reflective surfaces is not the best for a jazz combo. but work with what you got... if you can set up a perimeter around the musicians, hanging packing blankets or some other absorptive material from coat racks or whatever you can manage, that will help a bit.

good luck and don't stress it. stress, more than anything technical, is the ultimate enemy of good recordings.