Recording gigs, noob noob questions

Desmo808

Desmo808

Experienced
Our setup is an XR18 for FOH and monitoring. DAW is Reaper (Windows) on a laptop.

Do you start the recording at the first song, then stop at the end of the last song? Thus, resulting in one ENORMOUS take? Or do you stop & start recording after each song (or every other song or so)? I can think of pros and cons for either method, but would like to hear from others.

For storage, I'm thinking about getting an external HDD to record the show/project in real time. I'm not very creative here, so is there a more clever way of writing/storing the data? Or are external HDDs the common way of doing it?

I'm very noob when it comes to recording, so I'll be adding to this thread as logistical questions arise.
 
Are you controlling it yourself? I'd just run 1 long session in that case and you can then split it later.

The engineer my band works with will record the basic tracks for a full album in ProTools all on the same session, keeps the failed takes, too. It can all be extracted later.
 
Thanks. I'm sort of leaning in that direction after thinking about it (one giant session).

And yes, unfortunately I'm dealing with the DAW and mixer unless we find another voluntee... er, engineer.
 
One big take. When you're performing, you should devote all your attention to the performance and not have to be distracted by throttling the tape. :)
 
Alrighty... Successfully recorded band practices & gig while running our own FOH with our own mixer.

Now a new question. For venues that already have their own FOH and mixing desk, I've come across the need for something called a "splitter snake."

In my search, I found Audiopile & Seismic splitter snakes mentioned. However, they essentially seem to be Y-splitters in box format. Wouldn't I need one isolated bank in case the venue is feeding phantom power to their condensers? I.e., the isolated bank would feed my XR18, so their phantom power wouldn't go into my mic preamps. How are you guys getting around that? Or am I overthinking this?
 
Desmo808 said:
Alrighty... Successfully recorded band practices & gig while running our own FOH with our own mixer.

Now a new question. For venues that already have their own FOH and mixing desk, I've come across the need for something called a "splitter snake."

In my search, I found Audiopile & Seismic splitter snakes mentioned. However, they essentially seem to be Y-splitters in box format. Wouldn't I need one isolated bank in case the venue is feeding phantom power to their condensers? I.e., the isolated bank would feed my XR18, so their phantom power wouldn't go into my mic preamps. How are you guys getting around that? Or am I overthinking this?
Click to expand...
We have two ART S-8 splitters... They have pads are electrically isolated. Check them out...

This way, you send your outputs to the splitter inputs, then one out to your rig and the FOH.
 
unix-guy said:
We have two ART S-8 splitters... They have pads are electrically isolated. Check them out...

This way, you send your outputs to the splitter inputs, then one out to your rig and the FOH.
Click to expand...
OMG I don't know how I never saw the ART. Originally I had gone down the path of whirlwind, and it seemed I would have to take out another mortgage. The ART looks exactly like what I'm looking for. Thanks, @unix-guy.

I'm estimating I can keep everything under $1000 for two ARTs, and two 16-channel XLR harnesses from B&H.
 
Desmo808 said:
OMG I don't know how I never saw the ART. Originally I had gone down the path of whirlwind, and it seemed I would have to take out another mortgage. The ART looks exactly like what I'm looking for. Thanks, @unix-guy.

I'm estimating I can keep everything under $1000 for two ARTs, and two 16-channel XLR harnesses from B&H.
Click to expand...
We bought the XLR snakes from Seismic via Amazon.. Great price and so far no issues.

I think it was about $550 or so from Sweetwater for the ARTs... Never bought from B&H as their prices always seemed high to me, but haven't looked there in a long time.
 
Not sure if you're trying to rack your splitter, but our band uses this and it's been rock solid: https://productionmonster.com/shop/audio-cables/audio-snakes/24-channel-in-ear-monitor-split-snake/ . Don't let the image trick you though like it did for me. The splitter you order from this link does in fact have 24 inputs and not 16. It has two 10 foot snake tails: one for FOH and one for your digital mixer. I couldn't find a rackable 16 input splitter on their site, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Get in touch with Ed: ed@productionmonster.com

Regarding the phantom power question: We bring all of our own microphones and cables, and supply our own phantom power via our digital mixer (Presonus RM16AI). I HIGHLY recommend getting your own microphones and cables. When we first got our rack, we relied on the venue to provide mics and it was always a nightmare for the band and the FOH crew. The end goal is to be 100% self-sufficient and just hand the FOH crew your snake tails and a printout that describes what each cable is for (lead vox, stage right guitar, kick drum, etc etc)
 
Last edited:
Paperjace said:
Not sure if you're trying to rack your splitter, but our band uses this and it's been rock solid: https://productionmonster.com/shop/audio-cables/audio-snakes/24-channel-in-ear-monitor-split-snake/ . Don't let the image trick you though like it did for me. The splitter you order from this link does in fact have 24 inputs and not 16. It has two 10 foot snake tails: one for FOH and one for your digital mixer. I couldn't find a rackable 16 input splitter on their site, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Get in touch with Ed: ed@productionmonster.com

Regarding the phantom power question: We bring all of our own microphones and cables, and supply our own phantom power via our digital mixer (Presonus RM16AI). I HIGHLY recommend getting your own microphones and cables. When we first got our rack, we relied on the venue to provide mics and it was always a nightmare for the band and the FOH crew. The end goal is to be 100% self-sufficient and just hand the FOH crew your snake tails and a printout that describes what each cable is for (lead vox, stage right guitar, kick drum, etc etc)
Click to expand...
Thanks, I will also put this on the list for band review. Our desired form factor (rack or floor box) hasn't been worked out yet. When the time comes, I'll ask about adding transformers to the CBI. My mixer can only handle 16 inputs, so I figure I could save a few bucks there with just the 16 splitter. For now the cost to beat is around $675, which is what I came up with for two ARTs and two 16-channel XLRs of different lengths on Amazon.

Good point you bring up about using our own mics and making a printout. I never thought of that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom