ProAudio Review - February 2009 - (Page 50)

www.proaudioreview.com have to either call a car service or take the train. It makes sense to have it as compact as possible.” Engineer Owen McCarthy of Trash Bar in Brooklyn, New York In the music-centric Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, the popular Trash Bar offers live recording to the mostly indie artists that play there. The cozy FOH engineer’s setup allows little room for additional gear, but soundman Owen McCarthy reports very good results with the equipment at hand. Here, recordings are highly dependent on the sound reinforcement gear, and Trash Bar has equipped itself with somewhat better than typical fare, including a Shure Beta 52 on kick drum, AKG D112 on bass cabinet, and a Sennheiser e835 for the lead vocalist. (Additional vocal mics are Shure SM 58s, and Shure SM 57s capture guitar amplifiers and Owen McCarthy mixes the bands at Trash Bar in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. For the snare.) The FOH system also includes dbx and Lexicon effects processors and a nominal fee, he records a band’s set to a Sony RCD W5000 standalone CD recorder. Alesis compressors. — and a Telefunken V-71 DI for bass. Depending on the venue, The e835, McCarthy feels, “is pretty good. It’s warmer, and Duffin and Russell split some channels going to the FOH conthe highs are crispier. I’d love to have a stereo condenser” for sole. “The last thing I did with the remote rig was a play,” ambience, he adds. “Unfortunately, I don’t. [I have] a single Duffin says. “I split off the console and also put up room e835 at the back, for crowd response and some of the guitars mics — audience mics, and a stereo pair down in front to that might be missed because they’re too loud onstage, or catch all the dialog. It was a cast recording, but not ‘studio’ whatever the case may be. Apart from that, it’s just two tracks “Artists are taking advantage of low-cost live recording options — Trash Bar charges $20 to record a set for sales and promotional efforts.” cast, just real and live, the way the show is presented.” Many of the remote gigs are at New York’s intimate Lakeside Lounge, which features live music every night. “For the Lakeside,” says Duffin, “we split off the vocals. They don’t mic the guitar amps or drums, so everything is independent of the PA. “Depending on who’s recording or going to be mixing,” Duffin adds, “sometimes we use Earthworks [mics] as overheads, sometimes [Audio-Technica] 4041s. For the play, I used the Earthworks as my main left/right in the front row. The Earthworks are great mics. They sound great for some things, but are probably too good for some things.” Over time, this rig has evolved to its present state, which allows easy transport, setup and breakdown. “We used to do a more full-blown rig with extra mic pres and gear,” Duffin recalls, “which made a big pile of stuff. Getting around New York, you coming from the Allen & Heath [GL2400] board.” The GL2400’s stereo outs and ambience mic go to a Sony RCD W5000 standalone CD burner. Here, too, artists are taking advantage of low-cost live recording options — Trash Bar charges $20 to record a set —for their sales and promotional efforts. “I think it has a lot to do with the band’s mix onstage,” McCarthy says of capturing the best-possible quality, “and I often request that, if we’re going to record, they take the guitar volumes down a little bit, even though I sort of let it slide and move the mix a little louder to compensate. But if we’re recording, I generally tell them to even it out as close to their rehearsal [volume] as possible. Some people suggest that they put it on their MySpace page, or make a CD for promotional reasons or whatever it might be. I think it’s a pretty good idea.” 50 ProAudioReview | February 2009 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - February 2009

ProAudio Review - February 2009 Contents From Razor Slice To Mouse Click Hot Gear At Winter NAMM ’09: Studio Prioritizing Good Acoustics In Tough Times Digidesign Pro Tools 8 Allen & Heath ZED-R16 Analog Mixing Console Mike Rivers Nevaton MC Series Studio Condenser Microphones FMR Audio Really Nice Series Pre-Amp and Dynamics Modules Mojave Audio MA-201 FET Condenser Microphone Genelec 6010A and 5040A Powered Loudspeaker and Subwoofer Massey Plug-Ins De:Esser Hot Gear At Winter NAMM ’09: Live White Space Regulation: What It Means To Us Recording Live Sound Summit Church in Fort Myers, Florida Bag End P-Crystal R Loudspeaker Mark Olson & Gary Louris’ “Turn Your Pretty Name Around”

ProAudio Review - February 2009

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