well, if a mix is bad the bootleg will sound like shit regardless of how great your equipment is. Things like record level and clipping you can control though, and you seem to have done so expertly on this one (be that by luck or genuine skill, you can clarify if you'd like).
That's the thing, though, I generally
can't control recording levels with my rig; I didn't have the extra forty or fifty bucks for the adjustable level control and bass rolloff options on my battery box when I bought my setup. Sure, I can adjust the level on my Archos, but if clipping's going to happen it'll already have happened by then; it's unfortunately up to the levels of the venue most times, and indie rock venues tend to be on the loud and bassy side.
Do you stand near the soundboard for bootlegs? cause typically, that's suposedly where the mix sounds the best.
No straight answer to that, it varies from show to show. I mean, I'm not primarily attending shows to build up a collection of pristine bootlegs, I'm there to have fun and enjoy a show, which thanks to my generally reserved nature doesn't usually get in the way of decent recording but doesn't always involve me standing way in the back by the soundguy just to be safe.
In this particular case, especially due to the fact that it was going to likely be the last Ozma show I'd see for a while (which of course turned into "ever" that summer....) and the fact that Sarah and I had travelled a few hundred miles to make the show, I believe I kept myself pretty up-front (a few bodies back just because even at 5'11 I'm taller than the average Ozma and thus try to avoid being directly up-front) and centered, and didn't sweat the recording too much. Thankfully the stars alligned and so forth; it was a nice mix for recording, I guess.
