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Gear / Technical Help => Cables => Topic started by: IceMan on December 31, 2009, 10:05:01 AM
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Long time stealther so I really have not much of a clue. The basic(s):
I have a D8 (DAT) that I'd love to use to record a local band off via the board. What sort of cable is needed. I'd figure I'd go "Line in" and adjust levels on the first tune? Just wondering what sort of cable is best/should be used. I don't want to break the bank on an overly expensive cable because I am not sure if/when I'd ever use again. (Oh yeah I'd probably just use the battery pack to run the dat since the show would be under 1hr or about 1hr in length)
Perhaps a basic question, but I haven't a clue. Thank you for your time and happy new year!
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I keep these in my bag for board recordings:
Stereo Female XLR > 1/8" mini
Stereo RCA > 1/8" mini
Line in on your deck.
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The basic cable & adapter set I'd recommend for covering all likely scenarios when your recorder has an 1/8" mini input is as follows:
- 2x Female XLR>1/8" mini
- set of RCA cables (will cover a sbd with RCA outputs or for 1/4" outputs with adapters below)
- 2x RCA>1/4" mono adapters (for when sbd has 1/4" outputs)
- RCA>1/8"mini adapter
Personally I think every taping bag should have all of this stuff in it, not only for sbd feeds but for patching in/out or other curveballs that come along. One piece of advice I have for sbd feed cables is to get them adequate long so you can set up your gear out of the way of the FOH engineer - every sbd is different and sometimes I need to put my stuff 15-20' away, so be prepared so you can stay out of their hair as needed. In my experience XLR is by far the most common output, but the others do happen sporadically. Length is pretty much a non-issue for XLR cables, so I'd recommend something like 20' cables and personally I always carry a few sets of these so I can run from far away if needed. Get a roll of gaffers tape for your bag as well to tape things down (don't use anything other than gaffers tape and always clean up your mess or you'll make enemies of the FOH engineer very quickly).
As far as using a D8 or any other recording device with an 1/8" mini input, realize this isn't ideal to run a hotter balanced feed into a small recorder like this and brickwalling is distinctly possible. If you want a sbd patch kit to be dialed out, I'd also recommend a set of -10db XLR attenuators that you put inline on the XLR cables to drop the incoming signal. You're better off to get the soundman to adjust the feed as needed from the sbd and not use attenuators, but quite often the last thing a soundman needs early on in a show is a frantic taper wanting his feed dropped, so if you percieve this to possibly be a problem, use the attenuators and you should be fine. The old rule of thumb on brickwalling with the small SOny portable DATs is if you need to set the level knob to <5 to get the levels where you want them, the feed is too hot and you need to turn the feed down until the level knob is at a position >=5. As always with brickwalling, don't assume that because the levels display where you want them that the recording won't have some distortion - the brickwalling occurs in the recorders circuitry before it gets to the record levels, so it's all a matter of how hot the incoming signal is.
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Todd, when do you need the cables? I have most of this in my bag and could let you borrow what you need. I think I'm local to you (live in Easton, work in Newton).
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Thanks a ton everyone..appreciate the info.
Van - Looking to maybe do Caspian at Firehouse 13 on the 12th (its a tuesday). I haven't even asked the band yet but Phil, when I asked if I could tape, was thrilled that I wanted to. I am not sure they want to go board patches yet or not. This show is the 10th in 10 days for them so they might be sorta spent. I plan to ask, but wanted to see what I might need before hand.
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Thanks a ton everyone..appreciate the info.
Van - Looking to maybe do Caspian at Firehouse 13 on the 12th (its a tuesday). I haven't even asked the band yet but Phil, when I asked if I could tape, was thrilled that I wanted to. I am not sure they want to go board patches yet or not. This show is the 10th in 10 days for them so they might be sorta spent. I plan to ask, but wanted to see what I might need before hand.
Firehouse 13 is such a small place that a board patch by itself will be missing a lot of the instruments. I think the only way a board would be helpful there is if you mixed it with an audience capture. I think you are much better off running a stand about mid floor (~15-18 ft back) at about 7-7.5 ft. Just my 2 cents and you are certainly welcome to my cables anyway. I didn't patch from the board when I was there, but another guy did and if I recall, it was 1/4".
I have an audience pull of the Low Anthem from Firehouse 13 up on the archive. I was running my Church gear at the time. Check it out for an example.
http://www.archive.org/details/lowanthem2008-04-23.ca11.flac16
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If you're planning to record off boards using a deck that has consumer level inputs (-10dBu) then it's a good idea to have a pair of -10 or -15 dB pads (attenuators.) Depending on the output you get, the engineer may or may not be able to turn it down. Sometimes it's a bad idea to ask because they are so busy or they were reluctant to give you a patch in the first place. Pads can make the difference between a great pull and brickwall distortion.
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Stereo Female XLR > 1/8" mini
Stereo RCA > 1/8" mini
1/4" adaptors to plug onto RCA