Asking venues if you can plug directly into their board...

[enfueggo]

ok, i'm new to the bootlegging and minidisc business... but i don't want to come off that way if i were to ask the soundboard person if i could plug into it. by the way, to accentuate my newness, exatly what would one 'plug into'? would i need any special wire? any help would be appreciated.

[BJ]

I've never asked--I'd assume you just be straightforward with them. They have jobs to do, and if you don't take up much of their time, I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

Bring with you a variety of cords: male-to-male stereo 1/8" cord (a stereo headphone jack on each end), an 1/8" to 1/4" stereo adapter, an RCA-to-1/8" stereo cord (one end is a componant plug, like for the back of your stereo). I think that's a good start.

If they're willing to let you jack in, they can tell you where to stick it (and might, so be ready for rejection). It'll be up to you to adjust your recording levels on your MD. Even if it's out of a headphone jack on their board, it's better than an audience recording.

Also, smaller venues would be more likely to let you connect to the soundboard, so see if you can't catch your act at a local club or pub instead of an arena. Good luck!

[Guest Anonymous]

http://www.minidisct.com/forum/showthread....&threadid=13842

[enfueggo]

thanks for the replies.

i'll think about it all more as the date nears.

arg i hate to have to be in the soundboard to start recording as the show is starting... i want to be in FRONT!

[Guest Anonymous]

it depends on the place/music you're recording. With clubs and smaller halls, an electic guitar's loud enough that it doesn't need much additional amplification. The sound guy, instead, has to turn the vocals way up to compensate, and even out the sound. So oftentimes, the sound from the board is going to sound almost nothing like what you hear on the floor, you'd be better off recording in the audience.

[Guest Anonymous]

my band had that problem often. we bought a n505 (no mic in) and would plug it into the board when we played but it usually didnt sound that great. vocals waaay too high, band off in the distance.. crystal clear vocals though. so sometimes an audience recording will be better.

[catchpole]

I do this sort of thing all the time. If you are unsure first ask with managment. Sometimes an engineer will just ask "have managment said yes?", and it's better for everybody if you at least look organized.

while it may be your band up there playing, the engineer and managment do have some rights over the sound (not nessisarily the right to publish your music, but the right to decide if you can use the sound from their desk and what you do with it). In most cases I have found noone minds as long as the engineer and venue gets some credit if you publish the recording on the net or something. If the recording turns out to be good enough to publish on a CD then that where the venue may want more than a friendly credit.

As for the technical point. most desks I have seen have a spare stereo RCA tape out. In most cases they use the MAIN OUTs for the PA. Sometimes all the plugs will be used. Then it comes down to how much time the engineer has for you. If it doubt, just get there realy early and talk about it before the rush sets in.

Also it can be hard to determine what the level will be like. If you dont have someone there to adjust the input level on your recorder (engineers will probably be busy themselves, dont rely on them), then either leave buckets of headroom. If a band plays before you, get a level from that.

I am a great fan of the MD format and have been using a Sony MSD-E10 for recoding live gigs in both mono and stereo.

The venue at which I record typically supplies a mono desk mix (or a least not a very wide stereo mix). In this case I will record the desk signal onto one channel, and on the other I use a shotgun mic at the back of the room (the ability to adjust to pan of the input level on the MDS-E10 makes balancing the two different input levels reasonably easy).

As a live recording, you may find the desk mix a little dry and the room mic of course way too mushy and distant. When you get this two track recording home, it’s time to mix down. If though, you mix these signals together with a little bit spatial pan, you will find you get a reasonable stereo mix. You will find different parts of the spectrum fall on different channels, so that it will sound like a real stereo mix, rather than a lop-sided mix of two mono signals. You also get to hear the response of the audience (if this is a good thing) and it can also correct the imbalances found in sound re-enforcement (eg. Vocals are louder on the desk because they need to ride above drums and guitars which don't need to much aplification). One thing to note is that in large room, you may a few milliseconds gap between the desk and the room mic. In this case, I used a delay to rectify the problem.

Christian Catchpole

http://catchpole.net/