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Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: blackcatbone on January 30, 2013, 06:05:36 PM
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Hello
I will be seeing John Hammond in March at a small dinner theatre and since i have never recorded an acoustic show i thought i ask for some advice.
I will be using my R-09HR along with my CA9200 pre amp. I have CA omnis and cards but i'm leaning towards using the cards for this show. I have a rail seat about 15 feet from the stage.
There will be no opening band and no music before the show starts to get an idea on record levels.
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Thanks
DJ
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I will be seeing John Hammond in March at a small dinner theatre and since i have never recorded an acoustic show i thought i ask for some advice.
I will be using my R-09HR along with my CA9200 pre amp. I have CA omnis and cards but i'm leaning towards using the cards for this show. I have a rail seat about 15 feet from the stage.
There will be no opening band and no music before the show starts to get an idea on record levels.
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Almost everything I record is unamplified... That is a little different than "acoustic" since with a vocalist in a club there will inevitably be a PA for vox which will also carry the guitar (especially acoustic).
So really you're recording the PA as usual, but it will just have a lot less stuff in it. Some "acoustic" shows can be round about as loud as a band or "electric" show, others not. The level setting is always a guess. The more you use your stuff and go to specific rooms the better you're likely to get in that estimate. Depending on what unintended effects (if any) you get from moving the levels you can do that during the first song (or in between the first and second or however many it takes if your recorder is not amenable to doing that cleanly) and then keep an eye on it. The exact setting depends on a lot of factors (not least the specific room you're in and mix/engineer). It will of course be quieter than a metal show or arena, but you didn't say what you usually record (though I'm assuming electric blues, which tends to run loud)...
The biggest challenge with an acoustic or unamplified show is the difference between the level of the applause and the music (which can be dramatic and is almost always in favor of the applause rather than the music). If the crowd is not clapping throughout the music (which is more a jazz solos thing than a blues thing) I tend to set the levels for the music and let the applause land where it may (claps don't really clip in a perceptible way unless they're way over 0, and in between songs it doesn't matter much). I try not to use a limiter since that can be deceptive as far as where the music actually is ending up (and doesn't necessarily prevent clipping). If you are a little conservative overall you can usually selectively boost the levels on the music segments in post. Better a little low than toasting something.
"Dinner club" makes me think no omnis unless you like clearly hearing all the chat, silverware on plates, etc... I never use omnis for audience recording and really only want them for onstage or "stage lip" use, which I'm doing a lot more of these days.
Good luck.
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Don't forget to check levels during clapping- this is usually louder than the performance and if it clips it will be annoying as all get out to listen to. You probably want to leave 6dB headroom over the music.
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RE: this element of my comment above the solution to the usual volume difference from the applause between songs to the typical level of the music lies in post/editing. A little selective reduction or compression of the loudness of the applause will bring it into a better listening balance.
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My opinion, worth what is cost you, is get the mics as high as possible. Floor:bad, on table: bad, shirt pocket level: bad. Shoulder or ear height is good.
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I would go with the CA14 Cards>9200>M10/R9HR and as suggested, run the mics as high as possible and run 24-Bit/44.1 or 48kHz