Topic: sound board recording.. ?

[acidjack]

I would agree generally that solo acoustic shows are *better* SBDs than, say, a full rock band, but they still aren't always in balance. Also you have the factor of talking that makes the SBD more valuable.  When I matrix such shows, it's usually more like 75-80% SBD and just a little AUD thrown in to make it less sterile.

[yousef]

And don't forget all those off-mic moments - Jonathan Richman and Hamell on Trial are both acoustic artists where I've been more than glad to to have an audience tape due to the amount of stray from the microphones.

And sometimes practicalities win out: an extreme example - on Friday we taped a band that consisted of vocal, acoustic guitar, cello, double bass, drums, and keys. The board tape is great - probably the best I've ever captured myself - there's real warmth there and everything seems to gel together very nicely. BUT the band played an extraordinary encore, in the middle of the room, unamplified and, of course, there is nothing of it on that tape. If we hadn't have been running mics too we would have lost that amazing performance - the part of the gig that was probably the most memorable for those that attended.

I guess if I had to choose one or the other at a small acoustic gig, there may be significant temptation to go for the sbd but I know I would ideally want both board and mics if possible.

[runonce]

I've actually had pretty good luck adding reverb to dry boards for a more musical sound - goes against my grain a bit, but hard to argue against it.

In Audacity - I clone my trackset - add reverb to the clone, and mix it in as a second source...

[acidjack]

I've actually had pretty good luck adding reverb to dry boards for a more musical sound - goes against my grain a bit, but hard to argue against it.

In Audacity - I clone my trackset - add reverb to the clone, and mix it in as a second source...

I  think that's a great idea.  I've used the reverb in the rare times I've recorded a band directly, and it's really necessary on vocals I find.  Always too dry without it.

[yousef]

One of the first board recordings I ever did (acoustic guitar and female vocal) sounded, to me, very thin, cold and brittle. I spent ages messing around with it and in the end gave it a slight bass boost and a tiny bit of reverb - I thought it sounded fantastic. I played it to my girlfriend, doing the A/B thing, and said she hated the processed version as it sounded too slick vs the raw tape...

Horses for courses, I guess. I still think the processed verison sound fantastic fwiw but I do always think about that conversation when doing something similar.

[OldNeumanntapr]

I've encountered XLR outputs more than anything else whenever I've plugged into a mixing board. Proper attenuation is a MUST, as mixing boards are pro equipment and have a +4db output, vs the consumer -10db. (I always use my Tascam DA-P1 which has pro XLR inputs and does not need attenuation.)

Get yourself a set of inline pads and keep them handy. (Even if you keep your levels low, you can still encounter brick walling without proper pads.) I plugged my D7 into a board once and kept the levels low, and still had some distortion on the peaks. (The sound man may lower the level for you, but usually he's busy with running the mix.)

I agree that soundboard recordings in small venues can sound unbalanced, as they are trying to get the room to sound good and not the tape.

[hoppedup]

Taped board-only last night due to an extremely chatty crowd and folks already in the sweet spot when I arrived.  Was a nice mix to start, but the sound guy rode the vocal levels like a roller coaster. I've listened to six songs so far and each one is useless.

I always have XLRF>RCAF and 1/4">RCAF adapters with me that I use with a RCAM>mini cable. That is sufficient for most any SBD patch. I also have XLRM>RCAF but have never had to use them.