Best Audio Recording Device??

[Blue Jean 17,164]

No. All musicians on a show have an ear piece so they can hear themselves playing/singing. It's essential for them to be able to play (or sing in Madonna's case) especially in a big venue like that. If a singer can't hear themselves through an ear piece they will find it difficult to sing in time or in tune because the sound tends to echo in an arena and things like that or it's hard for them to hear themselves amongst all the other instruments etc from the stage.

 

Every musician will be on a different frequency (like a wireless radio) with different settings. For eg, Madonna will be able to hear the background music and then her vocals will be turned up louder so she can hear herself clearly. As another example the drummer will hear a click track so they can keep in time, plus the other instruments and vocals which may be turned down lower depending on what their preference is for when they are playing.

 

Because these frequencies are transmitted wirelessly what happens is fans buy devices that can tune into the frequencies of the singer/musicians as if they were one of the people playing in the show. All they have to is connect a recording device to it and voila!

 

It's unlikely any sound person would let an audience member connect their mobile to the mixing desk. The soundboards that leak like that are most likely recorded by sound techs or people that work on the show and they are probably recorded for a purpose. For example, if the artist, musicians, musical director or someone else needs to listen back to the show for some reason or another (which would be pretty common.) Someone has then shared it with someone else and it has leaked out that way.

[SimonVenekeo 1,895]

What's a good recording device? I'm going to the opening nights and I wanna get a good one!

[cdparky 1]

concerning U2 : maybe someone had a connection from backstage and asked them to plug their mobile to the soundboard. maybe its simpler than we imagine [or not]

It isn't that simple. The U2 (or indeed any IEM) ones are recorded by a pretty dedicated bunch of tapers, often running multiple IEM receivers to pick up multiple feeds either inside or just outside the arena (depending on signal strength you don't need to be inside to tape an IEM). As I understand it none of that equipment is cheap and not surprisingly requires a lot of practise to get right, the results are pretty spectacular though.

 

The best chance of a Madonna IEM from this tour is Tokyo, the Xavel bootleg label from Japan appears to tape shows themselves.

[kurushitovska 1,419]

OMG is that ALD thing real???????? Why aren't people not requesting them in every show lol

[SimonVenekeo 1,895]

OMG is that ALD thing real???????? Why aren't people not requesting them in every show lol

 

You have to look into individual venue policies. Air Canada Center in Toronto won't give you one for a concert. If someone REALLY wanted to make a case about it, it could be considered discrimination against someone with a disability.

[Blue Jean 17,164]

You couldn't really make a case against it if you don't even have a disability in the 1st place though.

 

I am curious to know if they ask for proof at venues when you ask for an Assisted Listening Device. I would actually love to just hear the show through one, I think it would be great to hear the music directly without all the crowd noise. You know, like Madonna's clear voice directly as if you are listening to a live recording. Very cool.

[cdparky 1]

There is an IEM of at least one show (probably both) from Tokyo. Looks like it is on the See No Evil bootleg label.