Recording - January 2011 - 18

Another stopgap method to overcoming incomplete board mixes is to record both the stereo FOH console output and a pair of stereo mics. This of course requires a 4-track recorder; any digital audio workstation (DAW) with a four-input audio interface will suffice. Important to consider in this approach is the time delay between the onstage mics and the ambient microphones located in the hall. The room mics will be later in time, that’s a fact, since sound takes time to travel to them and the close mics reach the FOH console electronically at the speed of light. If the distance between the two is minimal, you might only face phase cancellation issues when the FOH mix and room mics are summed. If the distance is great, a noticeable, echo-like delay will be heard when the two pairs are mixed.This is why it is important to record the board mix and the ambient microphones to separate tracks. Later, with your DAW at home, you can slide the recorded room microphones earlier in time to compensate for the time lag and minimize echo and phase problems. FOH multitrack recording The bottom line is that none of the previously mentioned techniques works well when recording loud, sound-reinforced concerts. The only way to achieve professional results is to multitrack every microphone and mix the concert later in a studio. Of course, stepping up to multitrack recording requires a major increase in gear and complexity. Before outlining a truly professional approach to live multitrack recording, I’ll offer one more on-a-budget option. Remember the four elements needed for simple stereo recording... microphones, preamps, recorder, and headphones? Well, in order to multitrack record, you are going to need many more mics and pres, as well as a recorder or DAW with enough inputs to capture every source. More mics is probably the least of your worries. If it is a large venue, the FOH engineer has probably already miked every instrument. If it is a smaller room, you might need to add mics to capture sound sources unneeded in the live sound mix. Hopefully the front of house engineer is agreeable to this and has the available input channels to accommodate the request. As for using more preamps, the truly budget approach is to share the
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front of house console pres, taking a direct out (or insert send) from the live-sound console to feed your multitrack recorder. For most desks this is not difficult, and a pile of patch cables is all that is needed to interface your recorder with the FOH mixer. The real challenge is getting an ornery sound engineer to play along. Not only must the engineer allow you to patch multiple cables into his or her console, he or she has to oblige your requests when a preamp gain setting is less than ideal for your recorder. This can be a real drag. The input levels to your DAW might be semi-pro, and the FOH engineer will have to keep the preamps low, making for noisy, less punchy, poorly gainstaged live sound mix. Other problems could occur as well, and thus sound engineers rarely accept such a proposal easily. If you do plan to record a concert using this method, it is best to either be the simultaneous FOH and recording engineer, or have a positive relationship with the sound person already established. If working with someone new, be sure to bridge the Great Wall by contacting them in advance, take them out to lunch, and ply them with food to get them interested in the project. Recording with a split Transformers are nifty little electronic devices. They allow you to split an audio signal into multiple, yet completely isolated outputs. In your typical large-scale concert environment, transformers are employed in splitters. Usually integrated into a microphone snake, splitters multiply microphone outputs so they can be used by at least two destinations, for example at the front of house console for an audience mix, and at the onstage monitor desk for musicians’ monitoring. If planning a professional multitrack live recording, you will need a three-way split: in addition to the

FOH and monitor legs, the splitter will also feed the mic lines to your recording rig. The advantage of a transformer-based splitter is that each destination is isolated. If an electrical issue such as a ground imbalance arises at one leg, the other two destinations are isolated from the problem. When preparing for a live multitrack recording, contact the sound company and/or venue you will be working with well in advance. Confirm that they have a split for you and find out if an extra cost is associated with its use. You’ll definitely want to discuss the input list with the live sound engineer as well. Be ready to compromise any plans to use exotic studio mics, as live and studio engineers have different microphone needs. Listen to what the engineer has to say, and trust his or her instinct. While the live engineer might be unnecessarily curmudgeonly about using new mics, you still don’t want to destroy the show by mandating a feedback-prone large-diaphragm condenser on the lead vocal. Once you have secured an isolated split, you will need to acquire enough preamps to record every source. How many are required? You’ll need as many as your input list demands, plus at least four inputs for audience and room mics. And don’t forget to plan for Murphy—you’ll want to have at least eight more inputs available for unplanned instruments and to overcome technical problems. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on the audience mics: they can make or break a concert recording! Other methods In some instances it might be easiest to use a spare sound console for preamps, connecting to your recorder using direct outs or inserts. Another method is to rely on a DAW with several multi-preamp audio interfaces attached. With today’s audio preampladen interfaces, it’s possible to put together a 32 input DAW-based recording system for a few thousand dollars, or rent one for only a few hundred. Computer-based recording, while much cheaper than tape-based systems, does have some major limitations in regards to live recording. The problem is that you cannot stop the recording in mid-show, and therefore long audio files are not completed and saved to disc until the concert is complete, or intermission is reached.

Recording - January 2011

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