recording a gig with pro-tools...any advise on known problems?

[morgan]

In the near future i may have an option to take my studio setup on the road to record a few shows,(about an hour long,32 tracksish ) using a basic hd 2 setup on a noisy dual gig mac ,os 9.2 ,firewire backup ,pro tools version 5. logic etc etc.The end result (if good),may then be used for a dvd etc

Im thinking of taking a feed off stage via stage boxes and will have one of the moniter guys keeping an eye on the rig during the show..
Ive never attempted this before and would be interested if there are any known problems i am likely to come accross....
mainly..
Can pro tools or logic for that matter be trusted to stay in record for over an hour ?
If so ,which is more stable ..logic or pro tools?
Is their an ideal preferences setup for this sort of recording.ie buffer size ,memory etc?
internal drive best ?
Im sure there are many other questions im missing ..
so any thoughts /advise would be most welcome
cheers
morgan

[cajonezzz]

It can be done. I'd do a test run at home tho with full track count and just let it roll for an hour or more.

You really should back up to something....maybe rent some da 78's or similar?

good luck , keep us posted.

[morgan]

Firstly thanks for the vote of confidence...much appreciated!
In a perfect world i would have some proper backup ,however one of the reasons for me getting the gig was by being a little on the cheap side(experience being my main incentive)..backing up to firewire and then checking files on the bus via laptop is my only option (unfortunately im already having to hire an extra 192 to cover my input 's ).
Shall do a test tonight on logic and pro tools , as the dvd looks like it's going to happen.... fingers crossed!!
shall post how it goes over the next few days
cheers
morgan

ps:any other suggestions would be more than welcome....

[thenewyear]

i've done gigs in PT without a back up once or twice using TDM & LE hardware.

What I usually do as a trouble minimising procedure is the following. This is mostly from the DUC of course & not all of it may be strictly relevant/necessary but i have done many many gigs & always do this beforehand & have never had any problem whatsoever.

1. Trash all volume.ddb, cache files, Digidesign Databases directory & the three preferences files.

2. Use disk utility (or the command line if you are Unix savy) to repair permissions on the system disk & to repair all mounted discs.

3. Freshly initialise a drive or partition for recording to.

4. Restart the machine & zap the P-RAM.

5. Launch PT set CPU usage to highest & record.

[morgan]

All good...forgot about p-ram and cpu usage in pro tools...is there a similar setting in logic..I seem to remember it being all about buffer settings etc hmm...?
while im thinking aloud....
As the final mix will be synced to video would it be sensible to record at 48 or is that less of a problem for film these days..?
again many thanks...
cheers
morgan

[bjornson]

Don't forget the preference, "Limit record time to"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tim Halligan]

48 khz is the pro video standard...stick with it. When all the heavy number-crunching starts happening at the DVD authoring stage, 48000 is a nicer, "rounder" number to do the maths on, and the video house won't scream at you.

Cheers,
Tim

[btdigital]

I've found that yanking Plugs into a plugs disabled folder helps maintain stability. I had a 22 track show go for over 2 hours and my PT24 rig gave me no problems at all.

[studjo]

Just saw a Sting concert yesterday and guess what? They recorded the show on a HD rig. So I think it's possible.

But I don't know what they did and how.

Good luck Jo

[morgan]

thanks for everyones posts,they definitely helped..
The tour was a sell out and the only thing that i managed to brake was myself!!! .Packing down before and after playing was a lot more boring than i expected...however the HD setup worked without a hickup ,over half of the tour was recorded and a gig at the barrowlands/glasgow that was filmed for dvd was the best of the lot...so all good and looking forward to the next stage..
many thanks again!!!!

morgan

[unity gain]

hi morgan,

happy to hear the gigs came off without a hitch. would you mind listing a detailed discription of what gear and system you actually used and how you interfaced it? if it evolved much from your first post etc. I am thinking of going down a simular path.

Thanks,
UG

[morgan]

The gear used was as follows
Flightcase 1-
dual gig mac(noisy)1.25gig of ram
os 9.2
80 gig drive(applications etc)
120 gig internal drive(re-formatted for the audio etc) 48 /24bit
pro tools version 5.
logic 6.3
HD2
192x2- 32 analog inputs
firewire backup
flat screen monitor
keyboard,mouse

flightcase 2
octo pre
tl audio mic/comp(blue one)
tc gold chan
tl audo mic pre x4 iu thing
mackie 1604
all fed from the onstage stage box

My main problem was dealing with the different levels coming off stage ...samplers/vdrums/tascam/vocals guitar cabs etc . Also having to decide on -10 or +4 in banks of 8 going into the 192's(no pads for me on the stagebox as promised) .Dealing with this during an onstage line check ended up a little trial and error ..but as long as there are enough mic pre's to go around its fine.
Looking back I would of liked maybe 4 octo pre's or something better just for the ease of use .(I just grabbed what i could out of my studio to keep costs down..not ideal)
In a live situation the quality of pre's goes out the window verses untangling/checking looms...For me it was all about keeping out of the crews way ,playing the gig ,packing down and getting back to the dressing room asap...

I hope this in some way helps

cheers
morgan

[unity gain]

Thanks Morgan!
cool that you didn't have any crashes. I also have been reluctant to make the change to OSX. Is the Octo pre a bit better than the Mackie or about the same quality?

regards,

U.G.

[Legendary Beau]

Hello everyone,

I am also going to be doing some Remote recordings at a venue that I have been working FOH at.

I have a Pro Tools LE system and wanted to get some input as far as what I may not have thought of.

I have a month to get ready to record a show with 5 bands in a festival style setup that will be edited down to two tracks per band for a 10 track CD to be sold at the venue and by the Bands.

The info here is so helpful and there are so many Pros here.
Thanks in advance for all your help