Recording - August 2018 - 16
TEN TIPS
FOR A SUCCESSFUL
LIVE RECORDING
4: MAKE FRIENDS WITH
THE HOUSE TECHS.
The house technicians' primary responsibility is to the artists
and the live audience. It's their job to ensure the artists can hear
themselves adequately on stage, and that the audience gets the
best sound possible.
As a recording engineer for the live show, you come
with a completely different set of responsibilities... some of
which may require you to ask the house techs to alter some
of their practices. (Asking for more moderate levels in the
monitors, for example). You need to find a way to integrate
yourself into the "house" mix without upsetting anyone, as
there are many critical points where you're going to have
to get their cooperation.
First of all, you'll need to share space with them. Don't
assume the seemingly empty room you found is "free" for you
to set up in. It may be a storage room for cases, or a green
room, come gig night. Squatting won't win you any friends.
Make sure you communicate your needs well in advance and
secure entrance to the venue with enough time to get your
gear set up.
You'll also need to share a sound check. In some clubs,
sound check can be relatively perfunctory. As a recordist,
you'll likely be looking for a bit of extra time to meet the
standard for a great recording. Negotiate that up front, and
make sure you're ready on time so you minimize the impact on
the house tech's time.
And speaking of sound, the house technicians will have a
more complete understanding of the acoustics of the venue. That
information is valuable to you as the recordist. You will need
to reach out with your best diplomatic self. Trust me, the gig is
going to go a whole lot smoother if you are in sync with
the house crew.
5: SHARE MICS WITH FOH.
If your recording calls for more sophistication than a simple
stereo recording you're going to want to get a microphone or DI
in front of every sound source. There will already be microphones
Fig. 3: This schematic of a Soundcraft LX7II digital
console shows the inserts and direct line outs you'll need
to do your "bypassing the board" recording.
16
RECORDING August 2018
on at least some of those sources. Vocal microphones will be
present almost for certain, and depending on the size of the
venue, there may be microphones and DIs for instruments as well.
Rather than set up your own mics for each individual sound
source, negotiate sharing house microphones and DIs. This will
save you a lot of time and will make for a better pickup. And
sharing goes both ways; you may be able to negotiate using
your own mics for critical sources. I often have received permission
to use my choice of mic on things like horns and drums.
That said, you need to be reasonable. The FOH is not going
to react favorably to your suggestion to use a typical studio
vocal mic, because a large-diaphragm condenser mic is far too
prone to feedback in a live setting.
There are a couple of ways to share sound sources between
a recording rig and the house. The next two tips cover those.
6: TAKE A FEED FROM
THE FOH CONSOLE...
The simplest way to share the house mics is to tap a feed
directly from the FOH console. You can do this two ways, by
using either the Inserts or the Direct Outputs (see Figure 3). For
recording, you would connect the Insert or Direct (sometimes
called Line) outputs from the FOH console directly to your
recording rig's interface.
Using the Insert option requires special cables, typically a TRS
jack with the output routed to the tip and then returned to the
console by bridging that back to the ring. For the record, I hate
this method: it can be finicky, subject to ground issues, and the
FOH mixer may actually need the insert to add processing of his
own. Avoid this method if at all possible!
A far better solution is to get permission from the FOH to use
the Direct outs from each channel. These outputs are typically
pre-EQ, pre-insert, and pre-fader, so nothing FOH does for the
house PA sound will impact your recording. Each channel's
Direct out goes to an input on your audio interface, and you
won't even need your own preamps.
Using Direct outs does have one downside-tweaks to
channels' input levels (at the console preamps) will be applied
to the input of your recording rig. If you're poaching direct
outs from the FOH, you might want to gently remind the mixer
that you're at his mercy. In any case, typically these won't be
big adjustments, and you can compensate by automating level
changes as needed when you mix.
7: ... OR SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE.
The most flexible (and professional) method of sharing the
house mics is to employ mic splitters (see Figure 4). Mic splitters
take the signal directly from the mic cable and provide two (or
more) outputs. One split would go to the FOH and the other to
your recording rig. The signal you receive will be mic-level, so
you will have to have a preamp for each mic.
If at all possible, go with a transformer isolated microphone
splitter. These splitters provide a clean isolated signal. Poor
grounding, faulty cables, etc. in one side of the split won't affect
the other side. FOH mixers will be much more likely to allow
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2018
REVIEWS
Ears On: Focal Clear Professional.
Reviewed & Revisited: Daking Mic Pre II.
GIK Acoustics Gotham Quadratic Diffuser.
ART RM5 Active Studio Monitor.
IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O.
Yamaha EAD10.
Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio LABS.
Vanatoo Transparent Zero Monitors.
Ears On: beyerdynamic DT 770 STUDIO.
Roland Rubix24.
Kludge Audio 506 Equalizer and 510 Transwarmer.
Once Over—Reviews In Brief.
FEATURES
10 Tips For A Successful Live Recording.
Studio 101. Part 8: Mixing, Part 1—Signal Flow.
“Girl You Know It’s...” A Lot More Than You Realize!
Live Orchestra Recording.
REGULARS
Fade In.
Talkback.
Fast Forward
Readers' Tracks
Fade Out.
Advertiser Index.
Recording - August 2018 - 1
Recording - August 2018 - Cover1
Recording - August 2018 - Cover2
Recording - August 2018 - 1
Recording - August 2018 - 2
Recording - August 2018 - 3
Recording - August 2018 - Fade In.
Recording - August 2018 - 5
Recording - August 2018 - REGULARS
Recording - August 2018 - 7
Recording - August 2018 - Talkback.
Recording - August 2018 - 9
Recording - August 2018 - Fast Forward
Recording - August 2018 - 11
Recording - August 2018 - 12
Recording - August 2018 - 13
Recording - August 2018 - 14
Recording - August 2018 - 15
Recording - August 2018 - 16
Recording - August 2018 - 17
Recording - August 2018 - 18
Recording - August 2018 - 19
Recording - August 2018 - Ears On: Focal Clear Professional.
Recording - August 2018 - 21
Recording - August 2018 - 22
Recording - August 2018 - 23
Recording - August 2018 - Reviewed & Revisited: Daking Mic Pre II.
Recording - August 2018 - 25
Recording - August 2018 - GIK Acoustics Gotham Quadratic Diffuser.
Recording - August 2018 - 27
Recording - August 2018 - 28
Recording - August 2018 - 29
Recording - August 2018 - ART RM5 Active Studio Monitor.
Recording - August 2018 - 31
Recording - August 2018 - IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O.
Recording - August 2018 - 33
Recording - August 2018 - Yamaha EAD10.
Recording - August 2018 - 35
Recording - August 2018 - Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio LABS.
Recording - August 2018 - 37
Recording - August 2018 - Studio 101. Part 8: Mixing, Part 1—Signal Flow.
Recording - August 2018 - 39
Recording - August 2018 - 40
Recording - August 2018 - 41
Recording - August 2018 - Vanatoo Transparent Zero Monitors.
Recording - August 2018 - 43
Recording - August 2018 - 44
Recording - August 2018 - 45
Recording - August 2018 - Ears On: beyerdynamic DT 770 STUDIO.
Recording - August 2018 - 47
Recording - August 2018 - Roland Rubix24.
Recording - August 2018 - 49
Recording - August 2018 - Kludge Audio 506 Equalizer and 510 Transwarmer.
Recording - August 2018 - 51
Recording - August 2018 - 52
Recording - August 2018 - 53
Recording - August 2018 - 54
Recording - August 2018 - 55
Recording - August 2018 - 56
Recording - August 2018 - 57
Recording - August 2018 - “Girl You Know It’s...” A Lot More Than You Realize!
Recording - August 2018 - 59
Recording - August 2018 - Once Over—Reviews In Brief.
Recording - August 2018 - 61
Recording - August 2018 - Live Orchestra Recording.
Recording - August 2018 - 63
Recording - August 2018 - 64
Recording - August 2018 - 65
Recording - August 2018 - Readers' Tracks
Recording - August 2018 - Advertiser Index.
Recording - August 2018 - 68
Recording - August 2018 - 69
Recording - August 2018 - 70
Recording - August 2018 - 71
Recording - August 2018 - Fade Out.
Recording - August 2018 - Cover3
Recording - August 2018 - Cover4
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