EQ Magazine - February 2008 - (Page 39) STEREO IMAGE Three portable twotrack recorders: MAudio Microtrack II, Zoom H2, and Edirol R-09W. or 1/8" phone, with or without 48-volt phantom power for the mics. Headphones let you know whether the mics are working correctly, and let you hear what the mics are picking up. If the band and P are loud, it’s .A. hard to hear what’s being recorded unless you use isolating headphones (Remote Audio HN-7506) or earphones (Etymotic ER4S, ER-4P and ER-6i; Shure E3 and E4). Preparation below are approximate recording times for a 1GB card (double these times for a 2GB card): ■ 24-bit/44.1kHz stereo WAV: 1 hour ■ 16-bit/44.1kHz stereo WAV: 1.5 hours ■ 256kbps stereo mp3: 9 hours ■ 128kbps stereo mp3: 16.5 hours The recorder might have a recordlevel switch labeled Manual and Auto. Set it to Manual in order to retain the dynamics of the performance. If the switch is labeled AGC (Automatic Gain Control), set it to off. The Gig Before going on the road, install fresh batteries (and bring some spares), recharge any rechargeable batteries, bring along spare flash memory and an AC adapter, and clean the connectors with isopropyl alcohol or Caig Labs DeOxit. Do a trial recording to make sure everything works. If possible, record the gig in a room where the audience is attentive, and the background noise is low. You might visit some potential venues to check out the noise and acoustics. Avoid very live rooms because they can make the recording muddy. Be sure you have enough free space on your flash-memory card before going on location. Listed the room sound and background noise. Try to place the mics as close as possible to the stage where you still pick up the house speakers—about a stage-width away from the stage (Figure 1). Keep the mics away from the bar and other obvious noise sources. If there are dancers near the stage, and the ceiling is low, you might try boundary mics (such as two PZMs) gaffer-taped to the ceiling, or mini mics hung from the ceiling. To eliminate muddy room sound, you can record acoustic groups off the P .A. mixer into a line input. Or try placing the recorder/mics on stage (on a stool Plug in some headphones and turn on Record Monitor mode. You’ll hear the room acoustics and any background noise (audience, air conditioning, traffic). Room noises that you wouldn’t otherwise notice become obvious when you listen on headphones. Also listen for buzzes, distortion, and crackles from bad cables or connections. Where do you place the mics? The closer the mics are to the group, the clearer and cleaner the sound will typically be. In other words, close placement captures more of the music, and less of Fig.1. A typical mic placement. www.eqmag.com FEBRUARY 2008 EQ 39 http://www.eqmag.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.