Recording - August 2015 - 32

As we'll see, stereo recording solutions are now more affordable and
flexible than ever, but the entry cost for multitrack recording with convenient and powerful tools is also dropping fast. Before you simply assume
that a multitrack system is out of your price range, familiarize yourself with
the newest technology in that realm.
However, keep in mind that multitrack recording carries a huge hidden
cost: your time after the gig is over. You're mixing, editing, and mastering a
performance as opposed to cleaning up a performance that's already mixed.
If the band is new to recording, make it very clear that the cost of the gig has
to cover your time in the studio afterward, creating the final product.
It's also important to consider whether you want to hand the band a
stereo scratch mix on the night of the gig; they may walk away with it and
consider the job done, leaving you with tracks you recorded for nothing
and the possibility of a damaged reputation if the scratch mix goes public with your name on it. Knowing and trusting your client is key here.

Understanding the venue itself is key to getting a
good recording. Most public spaces where bands play
have terrible acoustics: concrete walls and floors,
hardwood fixtures, lots of slapback and uncontrolled
messy reverb. Larger spaces will have a big sound system and a console already set up, and will be prepared to mike up every instrument, whereas a smaller
venue might not be set up to mike drums or guitar cabinets... assuming it has a sound system at all.
If the venue has its own sound system, you need to
learn if there's a Front Of House (FOH) engineer that
runs it, or if bands are expected to provide their own
engineer (common in very small venues). If there isn't,
you need to learn what the console can do and how to
interface with it; if there is, you also need to meet and
talk with him/her to make sure you can do your job
without getting in the way. Remember, the primary
responsibility of the FOH engineer is to make sure
things sound great in the club. He or she is going to be
busy during the gig, and really won't have time to
worry about whether tweaking the mix for the PA is
going to screw up your live recording.
Stereo or multitrack?
The first basic choice one makes when setting up to
record live gigs is whether the recording will be stereo
or multitrack. Stereo recording has the advantage of low
cost and simplicity, and multitrack recording has the
advantage of finer control over the resulting product.
4a

RECORDING August 2015

Set up a portable field recorder
Seeing ads for stereo or multitrack field recorders makes you wonder: can a
little device that fits in a pocket and only costs a few hundred dollars really record
a gig in releasable fashion? The answer is, "Yes, if it's the right sort of gig."
Often, the ads show the recorder set up in the back of a club, dutifully recording a rock band in full swing in front of a cheering crowd. If you want tons of
audience noise between you and your client, that's a perfect way to work. Some
bands may love the raucuous energy of such a recording! But this approach
works best when the field recorder's built-in stereo mic array can be supplemented or replaced by external microphones set up in more favorable places.
If you're recording an acoustic ensemble, especially one with little or no
amplification at all in a club that doesn't have a PA, field recorders can
be ideal. You can capture the sound of the room in stereo, and on some
models you can add spot mics where appropriate.
Fostex, Marantz, Olympus, Roland, Sony, Superscope, and Yamaha all
have great recorders out there, many of which we've reviewed. But the two
firms that stand out as offering the most choices are TASCAM and Zoom. Each
has a lineup that starts with a $100 portable recorder that offers very basic
features (TASCAM DR-05 (photo 1), Zoom H1) and goes up to products costing $300-$400 that offer additional options for miking and recording... most
importantly, the ability to hook up standard microphones via XLR cables.
For about $300, the TASCAM DR-44WL and Zoom H5 offer 4-track recording with two external mic or line-level inputs on XLR/TRS combination jacks.
The TASCAM is unique for its ability to transfer files and be remotely controlled
from a computer or smartphone via Wi-Fi, and the Zoom stands out for its interchangeable stereo mic arrays tailored to different needs. Zoom's H6 (around
$400) is actually a 6-track recorder; it can take up to four external mics plus
the interchangeable stereo array, which can be swapped out for two more
preamps if you want to just use your own mics. See photo 2.
Hook up a rig to the PA console
Unless the venue's really tiny, its console will have channel inserts for most
or all of the inputs. A larger mixer will have direct channel outs as well; many
smaller consoles will use the "halfway in trick" pioneered by Mackie decades
ago, where inserting an unbalanced 1/4" cable halfway into the insert TRS
jack turns it into a direct out. If you have this ability, you can take a feed of
all the inputs on stage and run them to a multitrack recorder or DAW.
Since channel inserts and direct outs are pre-fader, you can capture audio
from all the mics, line inputs, and DI boxes on stage at full volume, unaffected
by what the FOH engineer does to make the band sound good in the venue.
The traditional way to work involves transformer-based splitter boxes that
give you a signal that doesn't affect sound quality in the console. A larger
venue might already have those. Alternatively, modern solutions exist that
don't require splitters.
Cymatic Audio makes recorders specifically designed to plug into the
inserts of a live console and capture audio to USB media during a gig;
the LP-16 (photo 3) comes in at well under $400, and the uTrack24 runs
about $1000 and doubles as an audio interface. In the $2000 range
(and up) is the high-end JoeCo BlackBox line of rackmount recorders that
work the same way. Whatever solution you choose, remember to budget
a bit of extra money for the snakes you'll need to connect to the console.
The issue here might be that even a well-equipped console might not be handling everything happening on stage. As I mentioned above, in smaller rooms

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2015