Live Recording Equipment - Suggestions/Reviews

kkolb71

Inspired
I was curious if anyone here has explored recording live performances with one of the newer handheld recorders from Zoom (H4N, H6) or Tascam (DR-100MKII)? Our band has the presonus digital board and I am considering getting one of these units to record our live shows. These are multi-track recorders so I thought I could take main outs from the board and record line level signals in 2 of the channels and have the handheld unit out front and use the built in mics to record 2 channels of the room sound and then blend them for a decent live mix. Any thoughts on this or another better idea for live recording would be much appreciated. I like the idea of the live mics to hopefully get a better idea about my tone and how it is sitting in the mix on a broad range of songs.
 
I think using a laptop with Sonar or your favorite recording software hooked up with a firewire soundcard . Motu 24 I/O or echo audio or something like that. You could run a snake and actually have up to 24 mics recording and it could all be mixed within Sonar. If you take a feed off a mixer then you wouldn't need so many inputs on your sound card. That's how I would do it.
 
I do what your saying using my Tascam DR100 and use the XLR inputs and run direct from the board sometimes. It works well if you listen to the mix. You can clean up the file a bit afterwards and it's ok....but certainly not the best method.
Using it 'in the room' and being able to use the omni or directional mica works pretty good if placed in the perfect sweet spot.

But, I don't believe you can do both simultaneously on the unit....have to set the switch to the mic being used....omni, directional, or XLR.

Ideally would be like mentioned above and use laptop scenario and capture all channels separately so you can mix later.
 
+1. Works Perfect with the Capture-Software....the Most Important Thing is to use a Texas Instruments FireWire-Chipset.
Use 2 Condenser -Mics with Omni-Pattern for the Athmo....
 
We are actually connecting the board to a macbook pro and recording the way mentioned above but I wanted a perspective of what it sounded like out front vs direct channels coming through the board. I will try running a couple of mics out front through the board and try to get some ambient stuff blended in with the mix. Thanks
 
We have used the two channel zoom recorders in the audience for years.

I think the X/Y mic patterns of the ones we have are okay... but because the dives we play have no thought to sound or sound treatment, you pretty much get the boxy sound of an untreated room.

I have the 24 channel presonus board too. I think capture is by far the best way to record with that board. For instruments that are not normally mic'ed, see if you can slowly introduce mics for recording only. Try to keep it simple in regards to number of mics and mic stands. Nothing worse than a 4 hour load in just for the purposes of recording.

Richard
 
I was curious if anyone here has explored recording live performances with one of the newer handheld recorders from Zoom (H4N, H6) or Tascam (DR-100MKII)?
Are you recording acoustic or electric sets live? I have recorded a few full length CD's with the Zoom H4n using the stereo on board mike AND the line in, off the board.
For acoustic sets
I use the board stereo out for the band mix, then the on board mikes for the 2 main components that may need adjustment in the final mix, like vocals or a specialty instruments. Side note.. the latest H4N firmware has finally made the on board compressor work great!
For electric sets

I use the board MX stereo out for the band mix, then the on board mikes for the either crowd response, lead and one backing vocal OR the kick. What ever I think may need. Using the upgraded compressor really is the key to getting balanced mixes on the fly with the 2 on board mikes live.

For electric sets with no house PA (small or NON venues)


Use the on board mikes for the kick and and bass. They are usually side by side, so the H4N unit is placed between them, but closer to the kick. Then I use the the 2 XLR inputs( good mic pre's) for vocals or a specialty instruments like mandolin or harmonica and use the wired remote with LED indicators (usually sold separately), to control volume, and start/ stop.


The recording that the clients purchased from me paided me 3x the cost of the unit. They liked the recordings so much went out and bought a Zoom H4N. They eventually asked me why their recordings did not come out like mine, so I gave them the same info as I stated here.:encouragement:
 
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Thanks for the tips on the HN4. We are an electric 4 piece band with guitar, bass, drums and acoustic guitar. Everyone is running IEM and no guitar amps on stage to miked of course since I am using the AXE. The drums are the only bleed in the vocal mics.
 
Thanks for the tips on the HN4. We are an electric 4 piece band with guitar, bass, drums and acoustic guitar. Everyone is running IEM and no guitar amps on stage to miked of course since I am using the AXE. The drums are the only bleed in the vocal mics.

I've recorded similar from the board. We put a Kickport KickPort International | Drum Sound Enhancement | KickPort | CajonPort | FX Series and more on the kick drum and used an X/Y pair of Shure SM81 mics for drum kit for recording only. Worked pretty good. Without the kickport the drum mix sounded too wimpy on the recording.
 
We are actually connecting the board to a macbook pro and recording the way mentioned above but I wanted a perspective of what it sounded like out front vs direct channels coming through the board. I will try running a couple of mics out front through the board and try to get some ambient stuff blended in with the mix. Thanks

This is what makes sense to me. That gives you the most options. I use Zoom H2 in audience/board to hear what it sounds like and to bootleg stuff. Works fine. If you just wanted the convenience of an audience 2 track it's a decent option (among many), but if you're going to take the board mix and mix it with audience/board mics, you could probably get better quality by spending the $ on the x/y mic than the recorder. OTOH, that still requires mixdown whereas using the Zoom H6, you could mix the board feed with the x/y all in one shot and have an instant picture of the sound. So many options in today's digital recording world.
 
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