Topic: on-stage or stack recording? LSD2 advice? (pic included)

[Corbin]

Well it's not really a picture, but a video on youtube shows the layout of the stage and the type of music being recorded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNxTdN8Fy6o

There's only one speaker facing the crowd...in the top left corner. 
So I've been unhappy with my tapes of these guys at this bar.  I've been setting up 20 feet or so back and there's always too much chatter on the tapes.  The ceilings are low and I can't go back any farther back because the bar is small.  So I'm thinking of going closer..

I have some questions. 
Do you think this band is suitable for an onstage recording?  or do you think I'd get better results running my mic right in front of the speaker on the left?

I run an LSD2.  I've never used any configs other than cards, XY or Blumlein.  If I ran onstage or in front of the speaker, would I want to use different configs like Omni (which I never know when to use if someone wants to clarify for me), or MS?

What would you do?

[Tim]

is that a keyboardist? If yes, does he have an amp or does he run direct? Same with the bassist, direct or amp?

can you clamp to that rail or get a stand up there? You could run X/Y from up there and probably get the vocals out of the monitors. You'd have to play with your positioning but I bet it would work

[Corbin]

is that a keyboardist? If yes, does he have an amp or does he run direct? Same with the bassist, direct or amp?

It's not really a keyboardist...for one song they use a toy casio mini-keyboard.  I'm really not sure if they're running direct or through an amp unfortunately.

can you clamp to that rail or get a stand up there? You could run X/Y from up there and probably get the vocals out of the monitors. You'd have to play with your positioning but I bet it would work

I don't have a clamp but I can put my mic stand anywhere I want in the venue.  Are you recommending right in front of the rail DFC?  or should I put my stand right in between them all?  And if it was between them would I want to then use Blumlein?

Thanks Tim

[Tim]

I was thinking between the rail and monitors, closer to the monitors, if the vocals are loud in the monitors this should work.

The other option would be to try and get infront of the monitors. Blumlein would work in that situation.

Experiment! That's a cool opportunity to play around and figure out onstage techniques. It's tricky but when you find the spot you will pull a great tape!

[Corbin]

thanks for the advice..

Do you think it would come out uneven if I ran in front of that one speaker?
and when do I use the Omni setting on my lsd2?

[Tim]

I think you'll like the more natural sound of being up close, not to mention that on-stage will be in stereo. The speaker will be bright too, no woofer in there.

I don't think the omni has much use for us. Maybe I'm missing something but coincident omni's don't sound very useful for field recording. Maybe using one as the M in M/S?

[Corbin]

not to mention that on-stage will be in stereo.

Thanks! I never even thought of that for some reason..

[Tim]

have fun, don't be worried about trying something out - if it doesn't work no big deal, change at set break.

[BradM]

Are you able to just plug in to the soundboard?

Aloha,
Brad

[Corbin]

Are you able to just plug in to the soundboard?

Aloha,
Brad

Hey Brad,

I'm listening to your Wassabi show right now trying to figure out some track names from a show I taped.  It sounds great.  They've gotten a lot better IMO.

I haven't invested in the cables to plug into the sound board yet.  I have a modded 660 so the line in has been disabled.  So I guess I would have to turn my phantom power off and use my XLRs. 

What would it be?  XLR > XLR?  I'm not sure what cables I would need.

Adam

[BradM]

It depends on what "outs" the board has available. If it has XLR outs, they'll be male, so you need female XLR connectors on the ends of whatever you plug in. A pair of regular XLR cables should work fine: the female ends to go the board (just as if it was a microphone), the male ends go to your recorder. (I think that's the XLR standard: sources/outputs of signal, like microphones and board outputs, are male, while inputs [i.e., places into which signal is injected/routed] are female.) If the only outs are some other format (like female RCA or female 1/4"), you'll need other adaptors to get to the female XLR connectors on the recorder.

If the recorder expects mic-level signals, though, I think you'll have to be careful, as I'd assume the board to putting out line-level signals.

There's a FAQ on what cables/adaptors you (might) need to hook to a board:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,14253.0.html

If I were just using mics, I'd probably go on or really close to the stage. With a bit of craft foam and some duct tape, you might be able to cook up some kind of "shock mount" (what I sometimes call a "sock mount", because it looks like it's made out of old socks) you could duct tape to the railing. (I built a pair of tubular mounts that way, and used them a bunch of times with my Oktavas, taped to railings in front of a band, or taped to metal posts DFC at Mavericks.)

Aloha,
Brad