Recording Live through an anolog board!

[bluesguy]

hello!! So I have a gig tonight and we mic up everything though my 12 channel Crate analog board. I know its got RCA jacks for "OUT". I noticed on the back of the digidesign there are also RCA jacks. Could a guy get a good live mix in the board and just run RCA cables to the digidesign and record the show to one track or something?? If so what kind of track would I need to run?? Let me know if anyone has any input!!! Thank You!!!
jEFF

[therecordinghouse]

NO! those are digital spdif inputs. not analog. i am assuming you have an mbox?

[JonnyGinese]

If you have a Digi002 there are RCA's for digital and alternate inputs i think... But you should probably jstu get some RCA to 1/4' adapters and use the Line inputs.

[JonnyGinese]

If you have a Digi002 there are RCA's for digital and alternate inputs i think... But you should probably jstu get some RCA to 1/4' adapters and use the Line inputs.

[michael.ryan]

the rca in on the 002 is a -10db plug, if i read this correctly. so, if i were you, i'd hook things up and mic one source and just try it to see what you get to PT. If you've got an gain control on your analog board that controls the output to the rca, then you should have enough control to make it work. But, I would hook up one quiet source (mic and whisper) and one loud source (kick mic or crank your guitar cab) and get a feel for the levels.

also, if you have output gain control on your analog board then you'll really need to put someone on that knob who knows what they're doing. A stereo limiter / compressor between your board output and the digi in could really save your mix if you guys get a little louder during the show than in your sound check.

another thing about recording live shows with on PTLE: i'd highly recommend that you stop recording between each song and have the sound engineering start recording again before the next song starts. this way, should PT puke during your show, you'll only loose one song...

I've successfully used PTLE on stage, but there's usually at least one hiccup during the show that is unpleasant. we always have some pre-planned text "time filler" of spoken stuff to cover then 20-120 second "technical difficulty" time holes that can appear.

also, if your analog board supports it, you're MUCH better off separating lines from it and recording separate tracks to PT. If you can record separate tracks, it will give you the ability to mix it later. this is critical if you're not submixing for the stereo rca track to PT. remember that the mix on the board is to make it sound right in the ROOM that you're playing in. If you record your ROOM mix in stereo to PT and play it back, it will probably sound like total crap. if you can tap individual line outs on your board and get at least 8 separate tracks in PT, then you have a chance of getting a decent mix of the live show later.

1 - kick
2 - snare
3 - overhead (two/stereo if you can)
4 - bass cab
5 - guitar 1
6 - guitar 2
7 - lead vox
8 - backup vox (sub mix them on the board if your board supports)

this will give you a chance to get an after-show mix that will sound something like it did in the room.


michael.ryan

[bluesguy]

O.k. I will experiment both ways with the RCA and doing some seperate tracks. Thank you so much for the advice!! Wish Me LUCK!!!
Jeff

[michael.ryan]

i have a board that does not have enough knobs for submixes. I used the master out to record to PT. here's why it totally sucked:

1) the room was so live, that the kick mic was on zero -- and still too loud!
2) the bass player always wanted the stage monitor too loud -- so that mic was at zero, too.


play back our recording that actually sounded pretty good in the room -- NO KICK AND NO BASS were present in the recording accept for a little bleed through the vocal mics. i could not fix it. it was totally worthless.

now, i'm going to get a larger board that has multiple submixes. This way, one stereo mix could be reserved for the PT stereo recording. room doesn't want a kick? no worries, submix #1 does and i'll turn it up to actually hear it in the PT mix. But, the best is to use the 16 potential inputs and do with PT what you do with your board -- on track for each mic. The more the better!! every additional track that you add just gives you more control later when you try to mix it.

oh, btw -- you'll only need 44.1 with all those tracks you don't want to risk buffer errors. plus, it's live dude.


michael.ryan