Recording - August 2015 - 34

D2, one D4, one D6, one i5, and a pair of ADX51 electret condensers,
all for about $900. And of course there are many other options from
Audio-Technica, Lewitt, MXL, Sennheiser... the list goes on and on.
If you're supplementing the PA mics with your own, be sure to keep your
mics unobtrusive and safe. Gaff tape all cables and stands in place so that
a wayward bump or kick doesn't take them out of action; the band will be
focusing on playing, not dodging extra mics they're not used to having on
stage with them.
Don't forget DI boxes for non-miked instruments like keyboards, and at
least consider the possibility of taking a DI feed for the bass, if not the
amp direct out from the guitar. You may sacrifice tone, but get a separate guitar track that you can spruce up later (cheating!) without being
forced to rely on whatever you caught from the amp.
Take your DAW along
If you have a laptop computer or iOS device that you're comfortable
with using under fire, consider bringing a small portable interface and
recording the gig on your DAW. This technique is independent of what's
on the front end; you can hook it up to the venue's console, run your own
mics to it, or a combination of both.
We couldn't possibly name all of the interfaces out there, from companies like Antelope Audio, Apogee, Audient, Avid, Behringer, Focusrite,
iConnectivity, Lexicon, M-Audio, MOTU, PreSonus, RME, Roland,
Steinberg, Universal Audio, Yamaha, and Zoom. Depending on how
many inputs you need, interfaces run from under $200 for simple stereo
interfaces like the excellent Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (photo 5a) up to more
than $2000 for a rugged, world-class multichannel interface like the
5a

the FOH engineer might not bother miking really loud
sources like the drum kit or guitar and bass amps... so those
sounds won't be in the console to begin with. What then?
Set up your own mics
If you want to have complete control over what you're
recording, the only real choice is to bring in your own microphones, either to supplement the venue's setup or to run in
parallel with it. This is when an understanding of what the
band does becomes critical. You need to know how many
mics you're setting up and for which instruments.
Remember that a lot of the rules for recording in a studio go out the window here. You don't want the sound
of the room if you're dealing with a rock band in a noisy
club, so distant miking is out of the question except for
deliberately-placed audience/room mics that you'll use
to blend in live ambience under and between the songs.
For a quiet acoustic gig, start with a stereo array for
the whole group. Remember that you need to worry
about mic stands obscuring the audience's view and possibly making the performers nervous if they've never
been recorded before. A spaced pair of omni mics is a
good place to start; alternatively you could set up an XY
or ORTF array on a single mic stand with a stereo bar.
Adding close mics should be an option if the band is
comfortable with them. While you might not be able to get
as fancy as you would in a studio, basic miking techniques
for acoustic instruments and vocals apply. Bleed usually
won't be an issue, because you're not doing overdubs; the
bleed will actually help to glue the performance together.
If you're recording a rock band, having an extra set of
mics for drums and amps isn't a bad idea. There are lots
of possibilities here, of course; AKG, Audix and Shure
make great all-in-one drum and instrument mic kits that
will have a little bit of everything you need (with the possible exception of drum overheads). Prices will vary
widely, depending on how many mics are in each kit.
Just as two examples, the Shure DMK57-52 kit (photo
4a) has a Beta 52 and three SM57 mics for around
$400, and the Audix DP7 kit (photo 4b) includes two
34

RECORDING August 2015

Antelope Zen Studio (photo 5b). If you own an interface already for studio
work, consider whether it could be pressed into service for live recording.
Note that a lot of people dislike the idea of relying on a computer for
live recording; if your DAW platform isn't rock-solid, you do run the risk
of a crash costing you everything. But if you're confident of your system,
this can be a fast way to get into the game with tools you already understand and know how to use.
The 21st Century approach
One of the hottest trends right now in live sound is the digital console
that's also a recording interface. The idea is simple: since digital mixers
and audio interfaces use a lot of the same building blocks-converters,
DSP engines, and the like-why not put both into one tightly integrated unit
and make recording a parallel process to mixing?
There are two approaches to working with a rig like this. One is to set
it up at the venue as a FOH mixer that also provides a recording feed; the
other is to separately mike everything and run a completely parallel setup
that has nothing to do with the PA system. The choice comes down to a
balance between control and convenience.
A lot of modern digital consoles have a USB recording function, where
the main mix output is recorded as a stereo audio file. The problem is, that
main mix is the one that's tweaked to sound good over the PA system.
Played back in a space away from that particular venue, the balance of
instruments, vocals, and the frequency spectrum might be completely out of
whack, and unfixable because everything's already mixed down.
If you're running a recording rig that's entirely separate from the
venue's FOH mix, this isn't an issue; your mix has nothing to do with
what's heard in the venue. More importantly, you don't have to worry
about feedback in the stage monitors, because your mic signals are
5b

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2015