@Flip: I've mostly revealed my secrets, and I still consider myself a beginner.
Of course the bra thing only works, if your t-shirt doesn't touch the mic.
A certain minimum cleavage is needed to avoid that, but not too much so
you don't squeeze the mic inbetween. I know this is too much information
for some people....
Besides: I always keep the md recorder on me,
that's what waist bags are for.
Regarding the length of mini disks: I know the professionals among us
change the mds during the break before the encores start. Despite the
probably better quality I've found this to be a bad idea. As Murphy teaches
you: whatever can go wrong will inevitably go wrong - especially the small
details you haven't thought of. Like Eldritch reappearing before your
md recorder has even stopped "toc editing"....
An event that of
course leads you to violate your md recorder, so it refuses to work, which
then inevitably leads to large amounts of money you don't have spent on
a new device somewhere in a foreign country...
MD recorders in general: the thing why everybody tells you to buy a Sharp
is that Sharp are designed for these barely legal purposes (but, attention:
Sharp have stopped making md recorders, as they rely on mp3 players
now AFAIK). Sony are less "professional" and are said to break down soon
(a lot of design but crap terchnology): I've made good recordings with
both brands and all 3 (2 Sony due to Murphy's Law, or rather Eldritch's
unpredictability, 1 Sharp because I lost patience) are still alive and kicking.
Somebody mentioned the "Hold" button - this is another MOST important
feature - I've learned about that through a sad experience too - 10
minutes of Sisters @ Hildesheim 2002 weren't enough for me either...
AND - most important: always use fresh batteries for your md recorder.
And if the battery container comes separately, you know, one you screw
onto the md-recorder, make sure you fix it to the md recorder with an
elastic band...
As to transferring the music to your computer: as I don't have a mic line in
on my mac I have to use an usb interface. I think the advantage of that is
that I can transfer the music digitally. But I might be wrong...
Oh, and sharpen your elbows or get used to the nutters (of any nationality
and gender), cause they find you inevitably, at least if you're in or close to
the front row...