You bring up some great points.....
After I have done my sound check I change nothing. That way when my artist comes on stage its all working. You should get there well in advance of sound check that way as he the (FOH guy) is checking his gear and getting levels, you can do the same and the monitor engineer can do the same and then the artist is not waiting around for three separate sound checks. Makes the day go very smooth.
I once did a show where the first lady was attending; it was a theatrical performance in Seneca Falls NY. I had a Midas XL4 with many outputs I had in ten minutes requests from CNN, ABC, NBC and about 10 other stations for an audio feed. With no press box it was nuts I had a matrix out on my console and I used just about every extra output I had. over 20 feeds in ten minutes! and send test tones down all the lines to make sure they got it.
luckily it was all transformer isolated so It was not a problem, but it added to my stress level and when you have to mix a show you need to be relaxed not stressed. When your comming in to record a show for the band or management, It's a very fine line and yes you have to tread lightly. I will move heaven and earth for a nice guy. But for an asshole I will just say hey too late sorry, you should have been here at load in.
I think using just a Y cable is very lame and it does change the sound of condenser mics big time, because you’re loading down the mic with the input impedance of two preamps now. That changes the sound of the mic not so much with a dynamic mic. I insist on transformers when there is going to be splits going on.
That being said if your using radio shack transformers ( No they don’t make them) you need to be aware that it will degrade the recording feed greatly. Good Jensen 3 way split transformers 1:1:1 cost about $120.00 Each + the XLR's and the Metal project box + the little ground lift switch that should be on any splitter IMO.
So it will cost about $150 to $175 PER channel of split. There are other solutions that are cheaper like active splitters made by behringer for $150 for 4 channels but you’re still looking at the cost of cable.
One last thing I think is important is being self contained I like it when the recording guy has all of his own cables. I hate when they say hey have you got 50x 25' XLR cables? Because that means at the end of the night my FOH tech has to go thru all of the cables and make sure we get everything back. And if I am on a tour my FOH tech as it is gets 4 hours of sleep at best until load in the next day at 8am. So it's importaint to know when you come in to record the show the "guys" if its a tour have been in the building since 8 or 9am and they want to go eat dinner and relax they don't want to have to chase a bunch of problems down.
PS... Also buy the FOH mixer and the PA tech a beer
if they are allowed to drink if not buy them a coke.
End of rant.
Chris Church
Here is the deal. You want some single channel XLR splits. You also do not want to fuck up the show if something should happen to your rig. So you need to be isolated from the FOH. You need splitters that have transformer isolation. This way the signal flows from mic>xlr>splitter loop through>xlr>snake>foh with no interuptions. At the same time the signal is also going mic>xlr>splitter isolated output> xlr> your rig. You'll be going through a transformer which will technically change your audio signal. High quality "musical" transformers can get a bit expensive, but could be worth it if you only need 2 or 3 and not 24. I have a splitter rig in a rack but also some single boxes that come in handy when they need to go onstage. I use ART's version. There is a ground lift that can come in handy if you run into noise. It is important to let the FOH have the passthrough if there is phantom power involved. The phantom needs to go up the direct line and not through the transformer, that wont work. Technically you can take the passthrough and send phantom power giving the FOH the isolated signal. This give you the cleanest path but you can run into trouble if everything is 100%. Last thing you want it to be the cause of the voclas cutting out mid show. These are cool cause they can sit on the floor right next to the mic stand. You should be prepared to supply the extra XLR since three are needed when using the splitter as apposed to one when your not. You can solder in some better transformers into these boxes if and when you want to. Maybe Jensons or somthing. One day I would like to.
most of the rent-a-roadies i have run into have been dicks and don't care to really be of any help.
Thats pretty typical. By doing more heavy duty recording you sometimes add a fair amount of extra work/stress to the production crew. Thats why it should be advanced on the tech ryder for show your gonna be doing this at. Then the crew expects to be working with you and it is not a surprise day of show. Soundmen can be everything from very cool and helpful to complete assholes. It's totally case by case. Tread lightly. Expessially when your splitting the signals. Your putting your equiptment between the the house mics and the house system and the house engineers are normally weary of that becuase they don't know your gear, or your knowledge. Some people are totally cool and sometimes it takes a little buttering up to make it happen.
http://www.artproaudio.com/products.asp?id=79&cat=13&type=90
Topic: XLR Splitter (Read 5417 times)