Working "the rig" just offstage at The Roxy with Opus
Däi. These tracks were used for their
5 song live EP release, Opus
Däi 'Actum Procul'
Due to changes in the music industry, performing (and
recording) live has become more important than ever. Artists need to be good at it,
and good at promoting their live appearances. This is where good live recordings
fit in.
For demos, a live recording shows off your
true talent. A prospective record label or music venue would like to hear
you or
your group actually perform live. It's a lot more exciting and convincing than
something that is simply manufactured in a studio.
Even if you already have lots of studio recordings, add some LIVE to the mix
and see what happens. Several of my clients have released live CDs from
my recordings, and have found that the energy far surpasses their studio sessions, and the
perceived sound quality is at least equal to what they got in a high-end
studio.
Forbesound can record your live performance in front of an audience while
allowing normal operation of your PA system, due to the isolated mic splitting
system. For recordings requiring over 24 microphones or discrete sound sources,
submixes can be created with the front-of-house console, or I can bring
additional mic preamplifiers or an
auxiliary console. I can also give you an isolated mic split to a separate
monitor mixer. If your event requires more recorded tracks, I can add a
second recorder and bump it up to 48 tracks (extra equipment fees would apply).
Not too long ago, you needed to hire a multi-million dollar remote recording
truck to capture the full quality and excitement of your live performances. Recent
advances in technology have made it much less expensive, but you still need someone with the
knowledge and experience to do it right.
In assembling this great, compact mobile unit, I personally wired three 24 channel
Mogami snakes with 90 pin connectors to my Mogami-wired transformer-isolated mic
splitter (I saved about $5000 doing it myself, and ended up with a better
splitter). I bought a rack of Focusrite mic pre's, lots of good mics, and Mogami
Studio Quad cables (these are the cables used by the world's best studios--the
quad wiring scheme cancels out all manner of noise and interference that is
common in live venues). I decided not to lug around a computer and have to
deal with computer hassles on the road. So I use an Alesis HR24 24 track H.D.
recorder (I don't need the optional version with the improved analog inputs since I am
recording digitally direct from the Focusrites. (Just another example of how I
was able to create more bang for the buck).
Recording Anywhere You Are Comfortable Or
Inspired
Sometimes it's just nice to record at home or at a favorite retreat. A
favorable atmosphere will often do a lot more for your recording than any
technical advantage of being in a studio. What good is an expensive,
acoustically tuned studio if you're not completely comfortable, or if the mood is intimidating or sterile? The
freedom to record just about anywhere you feel like is a beautiful thing. Take
advantage of it!
Here is an image from a recent tracking session during a three day
studio-style recording session done with my remote rig in a big showcase room
with a stage in Torrance, CA. The result is Finn
Riggins new CD release on Tender Loving Empire.
Here is a photo of The John Brown Band recording an audio supplement
to their promotional DVD at a gig at the Long Beach Hilton. I also did the recording for the video on an earlier performance at another
venue.
The compact rig at work at the side of the stage. While the equipment is
fairly unobtrusive, I have an extra 80 ft. Mogami snake that I can use to record from another room or from my truck if
necessary. We only needed 16 channels for this gig, but the portable system easily and reliably handles 24 tracks of 24 bit audio. To safeguard your
precious tracks, I
can back up the whole session to the second drive while still on-site. Then
another backup is also created when the audio is transferred via firewire to my Pro
Tools mixing rig. I can also give you a
DVD backup of all your audio files, or transfer them to your external
drive.
The rig makes its on-stage debut at BB King's, Universal Citywalk, while
recording solo artist Perk and his band. It fit nicely onto a small ledge (on
left)
My custom mic splitter. I used top-of-the-line Mogami cable for all internal
wiring and for the snakes, and only top quality Neutrik connectors, and 90 pin Elco connectors. The 24 channel system has one direct and two transformer isolated sends. This
is the single most expensive part of my rig (therefore it is a component that is
most often eliminated from a budget-conscious live recording rig). This type of system is usually found only on the
major, high-dollar recording and broadcast trucks. If you're recording a live performance where you are using
a PA system of any size--you need this! Otherwise, you will have hum and noise, and the recording
engineer and PA mixer(s) may not be able to make level adjustments independently without affecting the other's
levels or signal quality (due to changing input impedances).
The recording rig interfaced with a large PA system. The monitor mixing
console and power amp racks are shown on the left side, and my recording rig is
at the right. This was the first time an entire show depended on the
quality of my splitter. All 24 channels came through loud and clear for a crowd
of around 2500. Sound reinforcement was handled by Ling
Audio, Mike Helmling, owner.
The load-in door at the Roxy (right), with (what else) the Forbesound rig hanging
out backstage, waiting to record Opus Däi.
My mic splitter (left photo above, bottom right) feeding the PA inputs at the Key Club in
Hollywood. Their box is a
non-isolated splitter that sends the mic signal to both front-of-house and
monitor consoles. I split the mic signal first and used a transformer-isolated
feed for the recording, and a direct send for the PA (enabling them to control
phantom mic power, etc.) My mic preamps will, of course, also feed phantom power
if needed, when connected to the direct leg of the split.
The rear of my compact but very versatile location recording rig. The Mogami snake from the recording side of the
microphone splitter feeds the Focusrite mic preamps, which have lightpipe digital outputs to the hard
disk recorder. I can also accept balanced analog line level directly into the recorder
(from the direct outs of an audio console, for example), or through the preamps if I need additional
level control or compression/limiting. I can also send line-level analog out to a PA console or additional recorder while
recording digitally. (The non-Mogami multi-colored cables and 24 channel compact mixer are used for
headphone monitoring only).
Playback of drum tracks recorded for "ABCL" at a local rehearsal studio. While I'm primarily involved with
recording live shows, an increasing number of artists are opting to do tracking
with Forbesound, since they can record anywhere they feel comfortable. The band
is still pumped about the "best drum sound ever," and they used
these tracks on their new demo.
A bedroom "control room" and living room "tracking room"
for Strand13 in Manhattan Beach. This is where the band feels most comfortable,
and their very productive live session proved it (a full 12 songs tracked in one
day). Could this be yet another shot of the famous
"rig?"
F.O.H. position and stage set-up for recording of Fullonthropy (jazz-fusion),
featuring Neil Alexander on Keys,
Bill
Berg--Drums, Ric Fierabracci--Bass,
James Musser--guitar. These are some amazing players with serious credits. They
did two very cool hour-long improvised sets. (The Forbesound rig shown ad nauseum
and again below, is at right,
backstage, behind the black curtain). The F.O.H. console received my split, and was
only used for PA, and not for the
recording. Video of this event for a DVD was captured by Sunlight
Digital. You can hear their warmup jam from this gig by clicking here
(and opening the file with a media player).
Ah, yes. Yet another view of "the rig" (sorry). But I wanted
to show an example
of how extra gear can be easily added (United Audio dual tube mic pre's) , at the Fullonthropy
gig shown above. If you have a favorite mic pre that you absolutely
"need," you can bring it, or I'll rent or borrow it (extra charges
may apply).
The main outdoor stage at the 2006 Telluride
Jazz Festival (Telluride, Colorado), one of 2 venues where Forbesound
recorded Brazilian, Latin Jazz legends Flora
Purim, Airto Moreira, and the new sound
of Eyedentity during
their headlining performances together. The live multitrack recordings were made
for a documentary DVD being produced by Juergen Bamberger and Alan Kaufman / Sunlight
Digital about Flora and Airto's lives and distinguished musical careers. A
separate live music CD may also be in the works. Sound Reinforcement was ably
provided to the festival by Jacobs Audio.
Close view of the stage during an earlier performance
World-renown percussionist and all-around amazing guy--Airto
Moreira on the main outdoor Telluride stage
The Southwest Stages trailer where they were doing a live 2 channel mix for
PBS, and the Forbesound rig set up in the front room of the trailer. Thanks to
John Strader and his crew, I managed to avoid the summer rain and work in
comfort.
