Topic: Soundboard taping

[rowjimmytour]

I made my self a set of cable w/ built in attenuators -25dB for the same problem at my my home town venue where I do most of my taping.

[yltfan]

Most of the time I plug into soundboards, I am able to get the levels adjusted. Using the (much lower) canned music between bands, I set my levels to 0, and try to get the output to about 30% of where I will want it for the band. I think that only once did the sound tech say she could not drop the levels--but even that was disputed by the band's engineer after the show.

[dolphinsmile]

In my small experience doing soundboard recordings,  a lot of the cheaper boards do not have a level out adjustment.  This is especially true of older boards.  I've found that most boards with RCA out's do not have an adjustment... a lot of Yamaha boards seem to be this way.  Some boards offer both XLR and RCA outs, in those cases the XLR usually has adjustable output while the RCA does not.  I've not had much experience with 1/4".

I always bring my own attenuators, even if the board has adjustable output. 
Reason:  The sound man is usually busy dialing in the house sound and I don't want to bother him/her during the first couple of songs.

That's just been my experience, yours may vary.

ive taped many many time off the 'sdb' and frankly most of the time its a waste of time. the mixers are crap and sometime not all the instruments are coming from the board. you need to go in thru the line in
not the mic in, if you use mic in forget its going to distort.
an attenuator cable is useful if the signal is too hot. and being nice to the soundman is a plus.
xlr cables with a mini stereo is also uselful.

[Zippina]

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[stevetoney]

Yup, if you like dry sounding unexciting recordings that have drums and vocals mixed too low in the recording, then SBDs are GREAT!

[morst]

Yup, if you like dry sounding unexciting recordings that have drums and vocals mixed too low in the recording, then SBDs are GREAT!

Vocals mixed too LOW? Uh, most SBD recordings have PLENTY of vocals, as well as keyboards, effects, and whatever else is NOT loud on stage. If I have to choose to make only one recording, I'll usually put up a good pair of mics in a good-sounding spot, but if I have two recorders, I love to take a board feed to mix with my Neumann recording!