Help with live recording

DaveY

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I need some guidance in recording a group of singers + piano (or maybe ukulele instead of piano).

On Saturday I’ll be recording a group of teens (up to 12 of them) singing a song they wrote. I’ll be accompanying them on a Roland RD64 stage piano or a ukulele (with a pickup), and recording with a Tascam DR-05. I have four dynamic mics (Rode M1, Shure SM58, and two Encore Blue 100) and one condenser (M-Audio Nova). I’ll have a Bose L1 Compact PA system, and can bring an amplifier (Roland AC-33, Fishman Loudbox Mini, Roland Cube Monitor) if needed. My mixer is an Allen & Heath ZED10FX, which has four XLR inputs (plus one for the keyboard).

Should I mic the singers, or let them sing unamplified into the air for the Tascam to pick up? They probably will be singing in unison — no lead singer (unless, maybe, they take turns), and no backing vocals.

For the singers, should I used one or more dynamic mics, just the condenser, or a combination? What about mic placement — and recorder placement, too?

Do I run the piano or uke through the Bose (via the A&H mixer) or mic an amplifier that the piano or uke is connected to, and let the Tascam pick that up?

I’ll be doing what editing I can in Garageband.

I don’t have the funds to purchase new equipment for this project. And I have a limited amount of time, as this is a program that has a specific ending time.

Thanks for your help.
 
If it was me I would probably record the acoustic live sound and try to get your balance in the room as close as possible. You might have to do a couple takes to play around with levels and tell your kiddos to play quieter/sing louder, etc... So amp the piano appropriately and set up a mic.

If you have a couple line inputs on the Tascam you also might be able to record the piano and uke with a pickup direct while also using the built in mics for the group. But nine times out of ten, if you can get it with one mic - do it.

One last option would be to run as much stuff as you can through the A&H board and record the stereo out. This wound not be my first choice, but you would be able to use more mics. Still just a stereo track so you wouldn't really be able to "mix" it.

Put a compressor on it if you dare and you're off to the races. They'll be stoked no matter what. Simple is better.
 
Thanks for your advice, Brad. I like the idea of keeping it simple. By "one mic" do you mean what's on the Tascam recorder (with the only amplification being of the stage piano), or one mic for everything in the room and connected to the mixer? If the latter, would a dynamic or condenser be better? (I know very little about these things . . . which might be obvious.)
 
Given your lack of gear for such a large group I would just use the LDC microphone. Your really don't have enough gear to adequately record everyone with an individual input and that would be a nightmare to setup anyway.

I suggest that you will still need to carry out some test recordings first to set your levels with everyone knowing thats what you are doing to avoid unnecessary frustrations. After listening to a test recording you may need to move some people/sources closer to, or further away from the mic to balance the sound.

Anthony
 
Thanks for your advice, Brad. I like the idea of keeping it simple. By "one mic" do you mean what's on the Tascam recorder (with the only amplification being of the stage piano), or one mic for everything in the room and connected to the mixer? If the latter, would a dynamic or condenser be better? (I know very little about these things . . . which might be obvious.)

Looking at the Tascam, it appears you'll get a decent stereo recording with the built in mics. If you run off the board (provided there isn't an XLR in with phantom power on the recorder) you'll be recording in mono. Probably not going to make that much difference, but for a group like that the stereo version will probably seem more "alive" and deep if you listen on headphones.

If you had a Neumann condenser to work with, I'd certainly use that. Since you don't, I'd say your mic quality is probably about a toss-up and I'd use the Tascam built-in mics.
 
Meh. Neumanns can be a little overrated these days. If you hang out on Gearslutz people will rave about their vintage Neumann's but modern inexpensive Neumann's aren't that loved.

The Large Diaphragm Condenser microphone that he has will be fine. Experiment and see will be the best advice. Do a soundcheck with the LDC, do a soundcheck with the inbuilt microphones.

Anthony
 
Looking at the Tascam, it appears you'll get a decent stereo recording with the built in mics. If you run off the board (provided there isn't an XLR in with phantom power on the recorder) you'll be recording in mono. Probably not going to make that much difference, but for a group like that the stereo version will probably seem more "alive" and deep if you listen on headphones.

This helps, too.


Experiment and see will be the best advice. Do a soundcheck with the LDC, do a soundcheck with the inbuilt microphones.

Makes sense — I’ll do that.


I've got two hours for them to write a song (chorus and verse, maybe a second verse), practice the song, test the recording, and get a final recording. This should be interesting . . . oh, and fun.
 
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