Topic: On Stage Taping

[phrazelle]

ok the band im in, the mississippi flapjacks, is going on tour and my girlfriend (whom usually tapes our shows) is not going.  so i figure that i can just tape from stage as i have seen pics of people doing it on here.  but my questions are; what are the mics actually picking up, sound from the individual amps, or is it the monitor mix?  how well is it going to pull vocals if not from the monitor mix?  what mic config should i use for an on stage application?  do you think ill be able to twist the knobs on the ua-5 fast enough during soundcheck  ?

any help/tips about recording on stage would be awesome.

[bluegrass_brad]

You could run the SBD feed back down the snake from the board to the stage and plug it into the RCA's in back and use mics onstage to fill it out.  Ive done that many, many times and it worked just fine.

[Nick Graham]

You'll be primarily getting the monitor mix, so unfortunately, almost no vocals. 99% of stage taping is done for bands that are strictly instrumental.

Couldn't you get a nightly board patch, seeing as I'm pretty sure you have the band's permission? 

As for onstage configs, a lot of that depends on the setup of the band. Stick mics even a few inches over from what would be the "ideal" spit, and you're likely to get a tape of drums.

[phrazelle]

i would love to run sbd patches the whole way, but our soundguy is new to running sound, and i dont know what i would pull.  as for band setup, we have a 6-piece band.  you can view our stage plot at www.sonicbids.com/themississippiflapjacks and the plot is under basic info.  i dont know if this will give you a better idea of what im up against. 

bluegrass brad:  are you suggesting running 2 seperate inputs to the ua-5?  will it accept the sbd through the rcas and the mics through the xlrs at the same time?  if so, i would want to lower the mic levels and turn the monitor level on the ua-5 up?


+t's to all

[bhtoque]

bluegrass brad:  are you suggesting running 2 seperate inputs to the ua-5?  will it accept the sbd through the rcas and the mics through the xlrs at the same time?  if so, i would want to lower the mic levels and turn the monitor level on the ua-5 up?

+t's to all

That is what Brad means. I'd just take the vocals from the sbd into the rca's on the back of the ua-5 (the little black knob on the back controls the levels) then the mics go xlr as normal. You'd have to do it by ear, but if someone could play and sing so you could set it, you'd get a good result.

JAson

[bluegrass_brad]

bluegrass brad:  are you suggesting running 2 seperate inputs to the ua-5?  will it accept the sbd through the rcas and the mics through the xlrs at the same time?  if so, i would want to lower the mic levels and turn the monitor level on the ua-5 up?


+t's to all

Exactly.  The UA-5 will act as a mixer for using both the RCA and XLR inputs at the same time.  So run the SBD feed back down a couple of returns on the snake (or a couple of the channels with a turnaround if there are no returns available) and use the XLR to RCA cables (your gonna buy for this if you dont have.  Good cables to own, easy to make if your handy with a soldering iron).  Set your mics up onstage (experiment with configs.  Most will sound reasonably good onstage. Just try to get the drums off axis so they dont dominate the recording as Nick was saying) run that into the XLR inputs.  The way I usually get levels is to set the mic level first (have the input for the RCA's turned all the way down).  When that is satisfactory than turn off the phantom to the mics then set the levels from the board feed. when you get good levels from the feed then turn the phantom to the mics back on and record.  Do this during soundcheck so you can take a quick listen through the headphones and see what it sounded like. Ill often start recording just the feed at first, then turn on the mics.  That way I get an idea of what each are contributing to the final mix, and make any corrections accordingly.  Since you are playing and arent going to have lots of time to worry about levels I would set them at a safe place with a good amount of headroom so even if the volume gets loud you wont be clipping.  This should at least give you a decent recording and at best it might be smoking.  You will get a feel for where the setting for the mics should be over a few shows and will probably be able to start them off about where you need them after some practice. The board feed volume will likely change every night unless you are using your own board every night. Anyway you look at it , this is a good opportunity for you to experiment with matrixs, and that is a good thing!

[phrazelle]

sweet.  i cant wait, this is going to be fun.  thanks for the "input"....if you will 

[Brian]

sweet.  i cant wait, this is going to be fun.  thanks for the "input"....if you will 

you guys coming back to  st. louis?

[BJ]

looks like they are playing aug 18th with your boys madahoochi....

i might try to hit the two in sikeston a few nights beofre st lu....

phrazelle....pm me to remind me....and i will def get both nights here in fayetteville...never taped in either place you guys are playing tho....so that will be a new experience...

sodies has real low ceilings...wondering how that will turn out....

coolwater...small upscale bar...with a very large pool room right next to the stage....thursday night..that could get loud...i hope not...

[Chanher]

good info guys, here's my latest sample of an onstage mics + sbd > ua-5 matrix

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=45586.0

[Brian]

excellent!  i'll help out and tape that show for you guys as i should be there

[heath]

excellent!  i'll help out and tape that show for you guys as i should be there

don't let him do it!!!  he has no idea what he's doing 

[Brian]

[jkbyram]

bluegrass brad:  are you suggesting running 2 seperate inputs to the ua-5?  will it accept the sbd through the rcas and the mics through the xlrs at the same time?  if so, i would want to lower the mic levels and turn the monitor level on the ua-5 up?


+t's to all

Exactly.  The UA-5 will act as a mixer for using both the RCA and XLR inputs at the same time.  So run the SBD feed back down a couple of returns on the snake (or a couple of the channels with a turnaround if there are no returns available) and use the XLR to RCA cables (your gonna buy for this if you dont have.  Good cables to own, easy to make if your handy with a soldering iron).  Set your mics up onstage (experiment with configs.  Most will sound reasonably good onstage. Just try to get the drums off axis so they dont dominate the recording as Nick was saying) run that into the XLR inputs.  The way I usually get levels is to set the mic level first (have the input for the RCA's turned all the way down).  When that is satisfactory than turn off the phantom to the mics then set the levels from the board feed. when you get good levels from the feed then turn the phantom to the mics back on and record.  Do this during soundcheck so you can take a quick listen through the headphones and see what it sounded like. Ill often start recording just the feed at first, then turn on the mics.  That way I get an idea of what each are contributing to the final mix, and make any corrections accordingly.  Since you are playing and arent going to have lots of time to worry about levels I would set them at a safe place with a good amount of headroom so even if the volume gets loud you wont be clipping.  This should at least give you a decent recording and at best it might be smoking.  You will get a feel for where the setting for the mics should be over a few shows and will probably be able to start them off about where you need them after some practice. The board feed volume will likely change every night unless you are using your own board every night. Anyway you look at it , this is a good opportunity for you to experiment with matrixs, and that is a good thing!

this is exactly what i did last night and got a smoking recording. the place was so small the only place to put mics was hanging from the ceilin gabove the band. the mics were behind the PA speakers so vocals had to be pulled from the PA. came out great!

[cfbarlow]

edit: wrong post