Recording/Live setup

[warant1]

Hey guys there are so many options out there for what I want to do, I just need some input on gear and setup.

So I have a pop group with 16 singers, and I am looking at putting together a setup that I could use to record all 16 along with a CD player. What I want to to is play the CD through their headphones and have them sing through the song and be able to record all 16 and the CD seperately. However I would also like to be able to use this setup for live applications for when I take the group to other schools to sing. So here's what i've been thinking, and let me know....

Allen and heath ZED-420
SM57 for all the singers

What I don't know is what would be the best interface to use. I need something that isn't gonna completely destroy my wallet, and still sound good. Digital would be easy, but I know it's expensive. So let me know please

 

[mjbphotos]

Sorry, it's not clear what you are trying to do with the A&H. It's a mixer, so are you wanting to mix down the 16 voices (each on its own mic?) to a stereo output that you can then record? If so, the A&H will do that for you - you can send USB to a laptop, or you can use the auxilary ouputs to send audio to a stand-alone recorder.
If you want to record each singer on a separate track (AND the CD player's stereo on separate tracks) all at the same time, you will need an audio interface capable of at least 18 tracks.

I would not recommend SM57s for vocal use. SM58 is more or less the same mic with a ball end and is the vocal mic of the two models.
Do you need 16 separate mics? Live, it's going to be a challenge for the soundman to keep everything balanced.

 

[suprstar]

I think it sounds like he wants to record the backing track, and 16 vocal vox tracks. If you're wanting to record all 16 at once, you're gonna need a 16 channel interface. You can get the backing track into your project before hand, dont record that along with the singers. A 16 channel interface, or 2 8 channel ones that can be daisy chained. A couple of firepods (or whatever they're called nowadays) would do the job. Used firepods can be found on CL/ebay for $200 ea. Something like a mackie 1620i / 1640i will do the job but for a lot more $$. There's a ton of different 8 channel interfaces out there, just make sure you can use 2 at once, and that your computer has the right interface to it (ie firewire / usb2.0)

If you can get by recording 2 singers at a time, and doing 8 takes, then any 2 channel interface there is will do fine for a lot cheaper.