Recording Live Music?

[atlcHEROKEE]

So I did a few searches and didnt really see this topic around too much in the threads, so I figured I would give it a shot here-I have a V1U, with a shotgun mike and a wicked long XLR cable-If I was to record live music, a concert for instance, Im trying to figure out what the best way to get the best audio might be....Now, granted, a concert with thousands of people wont allow me to get up close for shooting, I'm talking more along the lines of a small concert, maybe 200 people indoors-

Might it serve me best to plug into a soundboard and get one single direct signal of the band going straight into the camera? Or if I miked the stage with my lone shotgun (something tells me this would be a colossal failure)-

I know recording live music might be just a little more difficult than just an interview subject....Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[tigeba]

If you are planning to do any moving, use an external recorder. Try to get a small stereo mic and place that in a fixed position. If you can get a feed from the board you might consider mixing it with the ambient mic, but generally board recordings in small venues are not going to sound good because they only provide reinforcement for the sound and don't represent a true "mix".

Google around for some sites where tapers discuss their recording techniques. You should find some good suggestions for microphones that perform well in that situation.

 

[SMuir]

A dry feed from the mixer is a good place to start. However, what they send you will likely be mixed for the PA system, and will likely not sound that great as a live recording.

Often, percussion sounds a bit weak on the mixer feeds, since the drums generally don't need as much reinforcing. To fill out the mixer feed and give it a more audience POV feel, mic the venue from above the audience's heads. Optimal placement will varry greatly from venue to venue.

Shotgun mics aren't neccessarily the best tool for this kind of job due to the coloured off-axis sound, so you may want to consider using a cardioids or omnis for the crowd mics. If you use cardioid (or shotgun) mic's, you may experience a bit of a dropoff in the low frequencies when mic'ing from a long distance. To compensate for that, consider using a kick-drum mic' (eg. AKG D-112) up close to the PA stack to provide the sub-bass in your mix.

You'll likely need a field mixer, especially if you're dealing with two or more mic's in addition to the mixer line. High isolation headphones (eg. Remote Audio HN-7506) will also let you hear your mix comfortably in very loud environments. Be sure to contact the sound reinforcement mixer ahead of time, because they can really make your job much easier.