Topic: Very first recording!

[tekwrx]

I just recorded my first show.  I'm pretty excited and I could see this being a fun hobby.  Almost all the concerts I go to are extreme metal show, seems to be hard to record.  Small clubs and very loud bass.  The audio from video clips I always recorded in the past were unlistenable.  For now I'm using a pair of Panasonic 61a omni capsules rigged into a set of earbuds powered by a homemade 9v battery box recording with a Sony Hi-MD in PCM.  Thinking about maybe getting a Sony PCM-M10 next.

Anyway, there was still a lot of bass, you I ran it through Audacity's hi pass filter@220.  Did I take too much out?  It sounds OK through headphones and in the car.  Can you guys take a listen and let me know if I need to amplify it more or not roll off so much bass, basically tell me what you think for a first time?

I added the audio to a video I took and put it on youtube.  Check it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygd2_9pF--A

[skelly14120]

Id move back a little the vocals seem very low...

[tekwrx]

Yeah, my wife and I enjoy getting as close to the front as possible.  I did notice my recording of the opening act did sound a little better because we were much farther back.  Would better mics give me better sound up close like that?

[Teen Age Riot]

No, better mics won't help, as a lot of the sound is not coming from the stage, but from the PA. These days, a lot of bands are trying to keep stage volume as low as possible, so that the engineer has more control over the mix. It looked like even Cradle of Filth were using a plexi glass shield on the drums.

Anyway, that's why one would normally record from dead center (rule of thumb: you and the PA forming an equilateral triangle) or inline with one of the PA stacks.

At bigger shows you will often see so-called infills, separate smaller speakers in the center that usually just provide vocals for the pit. In those situations, you might get good sound up front, but generally a bit further back will be better.

My first recording didn't sound half as good as yours, by the way. Welcome to taperssection!

[achalsey]

My first recording didn't sound half as good as yours, by the way. Welcome to taperssection!

I'll second that!  Vocals sound a little low, but sounds great IMO!  Congrats on the recording, it only gets better from there.   

edit:  I'll actually add some basic info to second moon-pix:  Generally if you're front row or very close to the stage in a small club/venue you'll be in line with the PA or close enough that most of the main sound is passing you by.  If you're that close you'll be picking up (especially on your recording, not just with your ears) stage volume.  I was actually at a show last night with predominate vocals and the lead singer actually made reference that people in front couldn't hear any vocals, since the PA was in line with the front of the stage so unless you were at least a good 10 feet back you wouldn't be getting good sound. 

[stantheman1976]

Also, you might want to consider mics that can handle a higher SPL without distorting.  I know a lot of people here plug Church Audio stuff, but they are right.  I use CA-11 omnis and CA-9000 preamp to record rock bands in small bars or converted buildings very close to the source and the CA mics handle it very well.  I also like the sound of the AT853 mics modded correctly for high SPL.

[Belexes]

Yeah, my wife and I enjoy getting as close to the front as possible.

Then you are going to sacrifice the sound quality of the recording.  As moon-pix posted, move back and get center.

[Teen Age Riot]

Not necessarily. The best recordings I've made with small omni mics were all stack tapes. So if you enjoy being close to the stage, that's the way to go, provided of course your mics can take high SPLs.

[tekwrx]

Thanks for all the replies.  I'm going to play around with positions at a few upcoming shows with bands that I'm not as into as much so I can experiment.

[darktrain]

200 is a pretty high rolloff, did you start lower, i usually start around 70-80 and have never rolled off over 100

[tekwrx]

200 is a pretty high rolloff, did you start lower, i usually start around 70-80 and have never rolled off over 100

 Yeah, I took a 2 minute clip and rolled off between 40 and 260, saving each as a flac file and the playing the clips in the car and through my Sony XB500 headphones to see what sounded OK.  I might go back and try listening on a few more sources and see if maybe I took too much out...