I have been asked to record a live DJ set at a club and to include crowd noise. I have orignally thought of recording the music direct to the recorder and use a mic to capture the crowd noise but I'm unsure of the problems this may cause if any. I would love to know the best way to do this, (ideally I'm looking for the sound quality produced by radio shows going to a club) any advise an what type of mic to use and best way to record would be appreciated.

As for recorder what's better DAT or Minidisc? Is there really any noticible sound quality difference?

Any other tips on live recording would be helpful.

DAT is most definately better, but Minidisc puts out pretty good sound quality as well, and you'd probably get much more for your buck. Not sure how long minidisc players can record for though... I wouldnt like to be changing discs every hour.

For crowd noise, hell, just chuck a mic in an inconspicuous place (so dickheads won't notice it and spoil your recording by yelling into it, suspend on the ceiling if you can), and keep the levels on it low. Actually, try and record it sepreately to the main mix, (I dunno, maybe DAT for the DJ and minidisc for crowd noises?) so if it doesnt turn out too flash it wont wreck the final mix.

Get in early for live recording (in terms of time, a couple of hours before the show)- sort out any little gremlins with your eq/compressor, but remember, the sound dynamics of a room can change completely when a room fills full of people. I assume the DJ will be running his mixer through yours, which will be outputting to a recorder and an amp/speakers simultaneously.

Also remember that some crowd noise/other ambient noise will be transmitted through the turntables (if your DJ is using any). A good trick is to cut two tennis balls in half and place them under the legs of the turntables.

You could get your levels down pat with the DJ before the show, in terms of what sounds good recorded, but make sure any volume adjustments you make during the show won't adversly affect the recording (ie, what sounds good live at the time may sound really retarded when recorded)

I'm what they call a 'bush-techie' (ie I dont have the most formal approach to things), but I hope I've been some help.