Recording Songwriters in the Round

[demensia]

I just picked up a Korg D4 after seeing a friend playing with a pandora. I had to get it. My main intention was to be able to capture the song circles that go on after some open mics that I play... The casual performances.. where people just play without worrying about audiences or recording... Theres one place I intend on recording.. its in the most beautiful room I've ever heard. I can't wait to try it out..

I have a bunch of gear that I use to record into my computer .. do you think I should bring my own bluetube preamp and AT3035 instead of using the builtin mic and pre?

Does anyone have any tips for recording these performances... I mean.. I don't intend to be monitoring the recording.. I just want to hit record and capture the circle as best I can... Think I should put the mic in the middle at everyone's face level... should I hang it from the celiling or what?

I have a 3036 compressor... I'd rather not bust that out, but I'm afraid that everyones different styles will eventually lead to clipping somewhere along the line... any tips for that? carrying all that crap kinda takes away from the portablility of the D4 in the first place.

Anyone got samples of circles?

 

[demensia]

Nobody eh? This is the first time I haven't got a reply to a post in like 6 hours... I feel neglected.. I feel... like less of a man.. Owell. I guess I'll suck it up.

 

[Richard Monroe]

That is where a good X-Y pair or a good one point stereo mic can be really good. Mostly, for that kind of stuff, I use a SONY ECM-MS957 and the Pandora. I just set the SONY for 120 degrees, point it at the group from about 12' away, arm 2 tracks, set the input trim fairly low, push record, and change the card every 45 minutes. I know your D4 doesn't run on batteries. Here's a tip. Go to a big ass Hardware store and get a 12v power supply. Get a small power invertor. You can get them at Radio Shack, but they are cheaper on ebay or no kidding- Walgreen's. Don't get a big one, they use fans. Plug a short extension with a couple of grounded inputs into the power invertor, and there you go. It'll power your preamp and the D4 for hours. Much easier to carry than a riding mower or motorcycle battery. Then you can substitute any stereo pair for the one point mic. For that version, I use a pair of C-4's and a desk stand with a stereo mic bar into a DMP-3. I can run the DMP-3 and the Pandora off of a 12 volt power supply for at least 12 hours. In a pinch, it'll run a small PA for about 4 hours.
And don't worry, Demensia, my studio will be dried out in about a week. I was spooking around on your web site. Is that a Taylor 710CE I see you with?- Richie

 

[demensia]

Whoah.. That sounds like a great idea.. The power inverter and battery.. I'll have to wait a bit for some funds to open up... but that would be perfect.. I think I might buy a nice hard metal suitcase and strap the gear to it so I can be as portable as possible. Not a 710 its a 410ce

Its the perfect guitar for me

 

[Richard Monroe]

The power supply rocks, because it has a built in charger and jump cables. You can plug it right into the wall to charge, and in a pinch, what the hell, you can use it to jump start your car. It comes with a handle, easy to carry.

 

[giraffe]

Go to a big ass Hardware store and get a 12v power supply. Get a small power invertor. You can get them at Radio Shack, but they are cheaper on ebay or no kidding- Walgreen's. Don't get a big one, they use fans. Plug a short extension with a couple of grounded inputs into the power invertor, and there you go.

sweet !...