I'm new to this, so my questions may be incomplete and misguided.
I haven't had a chance to check out too many soundboards, but the one I did see recently had approximately 12 XLR outputs on the back, that would be easy to connect to, from my recollection.
Is that what a taper would have to connect their multi-track recorder to? Or are there other areas where the engineer would have to be more involved in helping you set this up? Do most soundboards in mid-level / theater / club venues have the outputs available for each mic used on stage / channel of music?
That leads to the question of "what does each output contain" in regard to the instruments, and also the way to collaborate with the engineer because he would be the one to know.
As I try to imagine this, it seems like it could only be done during soundcheck or well before the show. Or maybe it's a relatively easy thing to do quickly; discussing what each output is and connecting it? Or do you simply connect them all, assuming you have the capacity, to save the engineer the trouble of going over it with you? Perhaps it's something the house engineer could go over with you, instead of the headliner's engineer, or are the arrangements too specific to the headliner band that you'd need to go over it with him?
I guess the main thrust of my topic, is the practicality of setting this up. I know the band would have to be cool with this and there's problem #1, but beyond that, do most soundboards accommodate such a task? And is at as easy as plugging in your set of cables like I've described it?
Any thoughts or full out explanations on this process are wholly welcome and appreciated. I haven't been able to find too much specific information on this, but I'm sure my lack of understanding of the basics has hindered that search.