Recording - August 2016 - 28

By Brian Marshak
Something that I've heard over and over again is, "prove it
live." As a guitarist in a rock n' roll band, I have been fortunate
enough to record in great studios with talented producers and
engineers who worked with timeless gear. I'm talking about the
Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, CA, Sunset Sound and
Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, CA, The Mouse House in
Altadena, CA, and many more. There, we could build songs, create sounds, and capture moods that didn't require quite the same
mindset or sense of urgency as a live performance does.
In some ways, as the opening quote declares, playing live is an
almost entirely different energy, which is much more raw and primitive. With that in mind, seeing-and more importantly, hearing-a
band live separates that band into one of two categories: bands
that do their best work in the studio, and bona fide brilliant live
acts, bands that demand to be heard and experienced in person.
If you think you fall into the latter category, then this article will
be your blueprint for turning your next live gig into a live EP or
album worthy of commercial release. While my advice is primarily
for musicians themselves, engineers will learn from these tips too.
The setup
First, you'll need to know several crucial pieces of information so as to get good-sounding tracks, which you'll need later
on during mixing. Do your homework! Speak to the venue and
its live sound engineer (if they have one), so you will know
what the exact setup is. Tell them what you want to do, and
get them involved. Communication is key.
Ideally you'll be able to mic the kick, snare, toms, and overheads of the drum kit, the bass cabinet, guitar cabinet(s), keys,
additional percussion and all vocals. Also, taking a bass
and/or guitar DI is helpful, as we'll see momentarily.
Hopefully the venue has a good console so each instrument
can be tracked individually with a healthy signal going to
whichever DAW the venue has at their disposal. My experiences are primarily at venues in Los Angeles, most of which
have a decent working version of Pro Tools. Obviously each
venue's setup and gear quality will vary, but in general, the
better the setup, the better the end result. If the venue can't
record to DAW, you'll need to split the board feeds to your
28

RECORDING AUGUST 2016

own recording mixer, set up your own mics (not getting in the
way of the live mics!), or use an inline recorder to capture the
board signals as they come in without affecting the PA.
Ask for a soundcheck
Here is where you'll have enough time to get a proper mic setup
and sound dialed in on all of the instruments, and communicate
with the venue and sound engineers as to what is needed come
show time. It is much better to not assume anything, and to iron out
all of the kinks at soundcheck, instead of trying to tweak things
when a crowd of people are waiting to see and hear you play.
Depending on the details of the recording, it could be a
good idea to prepare as if you were entering into a proper
studio. Fresh strings on all guitars and bass, new heads and
well-tuned drums... you should even bring mics that you want
to use to record with. I know a drummer who brings his own
kick mic to shows whenever possible because he loves using a
Shure Beta 52A. Remember, your sound is your signature.
Invest in good DIs
DI boxes are most likely going to save the day when it comes
to performing live. For example, you will obviously want to mic
the bass and guitar cabinets, but don't assume that they'll
sound perfect during mixing. The live mics will undoubtedly
pick up noises, hums, bleed from other instruments, and crowd
noise. Perhaps your live rig doesn't give you the perfect sound
the night of the show, and you may want to reamp tones later
on with a better rig or in a more controlled environment.
Also, it's not a bad idea to expect the unexpected.
Performing live is an experience mixed with adrenaline and
emotions. I promise you, mics will be kicked, moved, or not be
as in pristine condition as they would be at recording studios.
For all of those reasons, or even as a safety precaution, consider using a DI so you have it, just in case.
The most important component
...is your engineer. Hire and put your trust into somebody who
really knows what they are doing behind the board. While you
perform and work the crowd, you ought to have implicit trust that

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2016