Live location recording

Elton123

Elton123

New member
What a fun way to record a full length record. A producer hired me to record a folk/country group at a venue in Kentucky. It's an old church that has been converted into a live music venue. During the day while they were closed we set up on the second floor in a huge room with a stage. High ceilings and tall windows, you can imagine the acoustic nightmare. We ended up putting the drums right in the middle of the room and dampened them a bit with packing blankets. The upright bass was also in the room with an RE-20 at the sound hole. We put the guitar amp in a small bathroom off to the side. The harp(she played fiddle on most of the album) we stuck out in the stairwell. The singer also played acoustic. Those of you that have done this know that is very difficult because of the bleed between the mics. I used the old dual figure 8 trick to minimize the bleed as much as possible. It was tough because he sang much louder than he played. I also stuck an LDC in a little alcove for some additional nature verb. Anyway the session was inspiring. On a cold snowy day we recorded 10 songs in about 6 hours.
https://soundcloud.com/elton-clifton/ive-got-her
 
Not too bad sounds pretty good. Although it sounds a bit like an MP3. A bit gritty or some type of loss in conversion.
 
Nice. I especially like the vocal harmonies in the chorus.

I hear a bit of grit in the cymbals too.

The extreme L/R panning of the guitar and the harmonica are a bit distracting on headphones, though I doubt it would be a problem on speakers.
 
Sounds great. I would've liked to hear more of his acoustic guitar myself, but based on what I read above, that may not even be an option.
 
heatmiser said:
Sounds great. I would've liked to hear more of his acoustic guitar myself, but based on what I read above, that may not even be an option.
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Agreed. I'm kinda stuck with it on this tune. He sang so loud and played particularly quiet on this session. Even though I got pretty good seperation with the dual figure 8's it's still bleeds a little bit. So when I bring up his acoustic, the bleed from that mic does bad things to his vocal. It's a balancing act for sure. But it's something I will lock into when I do it again as far as something to watch for.
 
Nice work. I don't mind the relative levels of vocal and acoustic guitar. But I actually do like strong, up front vocals like you've got.

However, I would have liked to have heard more of the piano and less of the electric guitar.
 
I thought this was a very good song, recording sounded great. But I sure don't like the choice of the guitar crunch. I think it took away from the song. By the way, you are just outside my backyard.

When you do this again, would really like to be a fly on the wall and take notes and learn. Maybe you could PM me.
 
Sounds good. I like it. Nice venue too. This must be the new thing. Jim Tom the moonshiner recorded in a converted church too.
I didn't miss the acoustic guitar once the singer started. His voice is way enough to engage a listener.
You all did good taming the room too.
 
I like it & the crunch on the guitar.
the minimalist acoustic works - it's a colour in the mix rather than a large shape.
I think you did a grand job.
If you'd not explained the circumstances you worked within I'd have said it was a grand job anyway!
The happy snaps certainly illustrate the related issues.
 
vocals sound really good. How did you record the drum mix? what mics did you use? sorry for the dumb question but what is a LDC? Thanks
 
I think everything worked pretty well except for the drums - they need gobos or a different position in the room or something. They're picking up too much of the room compared to the other parts of the mix.

But working a real space like this - what a treat. I'd love to.
 
Actually the drum mics are pretty good. I got way to much bleed in the bass mic. I should have goboed him much much better. Plus I had a room mic up. That may be what you are hearing. I set it in a little alcove. It's sounds beautiful.
On the drums we used a D112 and a reversed NS10 for a Subkick. 57 on the snare, MD421 on the tom. AT pencil mics on the ride and hat. And mono overhead. Copperhead LDC. Which stands for Large Diaphram Condensor. And no question is ever a dumb one. :)
 
rayc said:
I like it & the crunch on the guitar.
the minimalist acoustic works - it's a colour in the mix rather than a large shape.
I think you did a grand job.
If you'd not explained the circumstances you worked within I'd have said it was a grand job anyway!
The happy snaps certainly illustrate the related issues.
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Thank you Sir. It was an inspiring day. We later in the week did some vocal overdubs. Timmy the singer is quite amazing. I've never heard anyone sing so in tune and phrase so well with the lead vocal.
 
For a live recording, in the situation you mention, I think it sounds really great. Great performances and capture. I have nothing to add to the above.

A pleasure to listen to, so I'm gonna have another. :thumbs up:

CoverLovers said:
This place is loaded with talent!!
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Ain't it just! :thumbs up:
 
Nice work, enjoyed the video.

That guy has a great voice, truly top notch, really impressive. The band was very good at keeping that slow groove.
 
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