Topic: Mixer advice for taping in a small bar

[laptaper]

Okay, so here's the scoop.  My weekly gig taping John D'earth down at Miller's here in Charlottesville is going well - no more homeless wandering in, so I've been bringing in the AKG-C480Bs in and getting excellent sound from 6 feet in front of the stage (it's a small jazz band).  However, the one fly in the ointment is the low volume I keep getting from the bass.  Even at its best it's a bit listening for Bobby on Dead recordings; once you know what to listen for you can pick him up, but otherwise he's easy to miss altogether.  I relentlessly tease the bass player about it.  So last Thursday this guy from Richmond suggests putting a small condenser mike on the bass and mixing that in separately along with the 2 AKGs.  The bass player said he'd have no problem with that.  Now, obviously I'd need a mixer for this.  Does anyone know what a good one for that situation would be, and how much I could expect to spend if I got it used?  I probably won't be using it for anything else, so if it's more than a few hundred bucks I probably won't bother.

Thanks for the help in advance,

Bill

[landshark]

Hey Bill -

Your login name is "laptaper" - are you recording on a laptop?  If so, you might want to just consider running another channel and mixing them in post-production, using software such as Reaper.  Ideally you'd like them to be timecoded together, etc., but you can manually match up multiple sources using time stretch functions within software to get the sources to match up to be in sync.  Doing it in post will also let you experiment a bit to dial in the right levels, whereas in the field you'll be stuck with what you get that night.

The other thing you can do is edit the files in post production to boost the base, either using EQ functions or using a multi-band compressor add-in.  The only problem is it will amplify all sounds within the targeted frequency, so you'll get more than just the base player. 

There are a number of three channel mixers out there.  To do the 480's justice, you'd probably like something like a SoundDevices 302 (http://www.sounddevices.com/products/302master.htm).  There are cheaper alternatives, however, since the 302 is likely $300+ dollars (just guessing here).

Good luck!

Mike

EDIT: Yowch!!  After seeing Todd R's post, I took a spin through Yardsale and yup, a recent sale looks like it went through in the $1,200 range.  Guess that's not such a good option....

[Todd R]

I'd agree with everything Mike said -- except pricing on the SD 302.  It's about $1300 street price new, so that's a pretty expensive option.

It'll be easier to mix things via software in post, either boosting the lows or adding in a 3rd mic for the bass.  Mixing on the fly can be a bit tricky.  That said, Trew Audio has a Marenius MM4200 mixer, which is a 4ch to stereo output mixer.  I owned and used the Marenius MM4210 for awhile, which was a very nice piece of gear and had very good sound.  From the looks of it, the MM4200 is very similar to the MM4210, but it has analog VU meters compared to the digital/LED meters of the 4210.  But I'd guess it is pretty much the same internally, and at about $230 ($300 Canadian) this is an excellent mixer option.

Edit:  Here's a link to my FS post on the MM4210, which has got some info on it:  http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,82375.0.html

[ghellquist]

Hi!
Please tell us what you record to.

As you run indoors in a bar you would have access to normal wall power. And then there are a lot of small mixers on the market that can do the job. And for a lot less money than the small battery powered ones. Of course, partly you get what you pay for, but part of the price for the battery powered ones (say the Sound Devices 302) is ruggedness and reliability in harsh environments. Take good care of your small mixer though and you will not have any problem.

My first association is one of the Mackie Onyx boxes. Not really a fan of Mackie, but these are not bad as they go. You find these in music instrument shops.

// gunnar

[tcf]

For a limited budget and access to ac, get a mackie,  I used and go to clubs with mackie gear and it gets the job done. 

[Krispy D]

4-6 channel mix pads come up on ebay for next to nothing all the time.  That would do it.

[live2496]

The mic bodies you are using have a 150 and 75 hz bass rolloff. Are you sure that you can't get what you are after by using the 75 Hz setting and using a low shelf in post processing?

If you have to do this live I guess a mixer is the way to go. It might take a week or two to get the settings just right. But if you use the same setup week to week then it shouldn't take long to tune it in. It would be kind of hard to monitor in a small room with the leakage from the live sound.

Used mixers? The Mackies have good mic pre's. There are lots of them on ebay.