Post your pictures from your portable recording equipment

[Barnabas]

Just the 003R and 12" PowerBook this time to record the audio for video of a musical.

I got a stereo mix of the orchestra pit and a stereo mix of the vocals (24 wireless mics and a few PCC mics) from the house board. I added an AKG C460B with a super-cardioid capsule pointing at the stage to capture the ambient room sound and the audience.

The sixth track was a feed from the intercom system. The alternate audio track on the DVD is the stage manager calling the show. It's going to be used to teach tech theater.

The video camera in front of the table is a static wide shot of the stage. The tall tripod is the one I operated during the show to get the close-ups.

[Remoteness]

Very cool.

Do you delay your headphones when you're at the FOH position?

Originally Posted by Barnabas

Here's my PT rig sitting in the house of Fletcher Theater next to the house sound console.

I used a splitter snake that you can almost see under the table.

Under the table on the left is the Furman headphone monitor for my headphones. Next is a PreSonus M80 8-channel preamp which is connected to the 882/20 I/O that is sitting on top of the center rack.

The center rack has two Digi PREs connected to a 192 I/O. The 882/20 connects to the legacy port on the 192 I/O. On the right is my Macintosh G4 computer in a Marathon rack case. The purple rack ears are my design to get the Marathon rack case to fit in a SKB case.

[Remoteness]

I also have monitor speakers in SKBs or racks in lift off roadcases...

It works really well for us. I have them presently attached to the racks.
Are you doing the same or do you just have them wedged in there?

One more question: Did you provide the projector? I love this idea...
I may cop this idea from you (or whomever) and use a compact (quite) projector on our portable rig dates.
What an awesome idea. IMO, a much better situation than a normal video monitor set up.

Originally Posted by Barnabas

Similar Pro Tools system in a dressing room under the stage at Duke University for Ben Folds.

On top is a JBL 6208 monitor speaker snug in a SKB rack case.

A video projector is projecting the view from stage-right on the dressing room wall.

[Barnabas]

The racked JBL's sit wherever they can. I do not have brackets for them. They are the powered version of the passive ones I have in the studio, so I get a good feel for the sound. I'll use two speakers if I have the room. I'm never mixing while recording, so I only need one speaker just to solo my inputs.

The camera and the projector are mine. I try to set up the camera at the FOH position if at all possible. This time it sat on top of the monitor amp rack and gave me a butt view of the talent.

Call me crazy, but I usually use microphone cables to carry the video signal. I use an RCA to XLR adapter at each end. Sometimes the video quality is excellent, but it's always good enough to let me know when the talent is on stage so I can start the recording.

[Remoteness]

Very cool Chris.

Do you delay your headphones (and/or speakers) when you're at the FOH position?

[Songcatcher]

Hi, here's pic of my modest rig. It's my home rig too and pulls apart quikly to fit in my sedan to record harp concerts and the like. I'm not flush with much outboard gear, but it's enough for now. Cheers and thanks for the great pics and interesting banter,, Denis House

[Remoteness]

Denis,

I like your cleaver rig.
Did you design and build it yourself?

[Songcatcher]

Hi, Yes I'm the DIY type, it's worked ok, the desk bit come off the box bit etc etc. Not much room left in the box tho. Thanks for the comments..

[Barnabas]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

Very cool Chris.

Do you delay your headphones (and/or speakers) when you're at the FOH position?

It's rare that I sit in the house to record, but when I do, I do not use a delay. I'm just soloing the channels to listen for sound quality and do most of that during sound check.

The time that it makes sense to sit in the house is when the house sound system has mic jacks scattered around the stage rather then a single stage box. Patching in my splitter box at the FOH board is easier in this scenario then running miles of cables around the stage.

[Remoteness]

For us, we use a time delay wherever we set up.
Whether we're soloing or mixing the DDL comes in very handy for us.

I love listening to the sounds we're capturing in the same time point.

Originally Posted by Barnabas

It's rare that I sit in the house to record, but when I do, I do not use a delay. I'm just soloing the channels to listen for sound quality and do most of that during sound check.

The time that it makes sense to sit in the house is when the house sound system has mic jacks scattered around the stage rather then a single stage box. Patching in my splitter box at the FOH board is easier in this scenario then running miles of cables around the stage.

[justpushplay]

Hi All,

OK, I'm finally going to post some pics of my PT/Radar rig. I've never been able to get good pics of the thing, as I'm often in some little dressing room or Green room and I can't even get the rig to fit in the frame. The first pic shows the Radars in a tall rack behind the PT rack, but they have since been relocated to the rack in the second picture. The PT rack now has a built in passive line level split that goes to the Radars, and the two 22" displays fit into the case lids. The console and the nearfields also have their own wheeled cases, and everything rolls into a 6x12 trailer with a ramp door. It's not quite as 'portable' as I'd like, as it's a bear to set up by myself. (Come to think of it, I don't remember the last time I did it alone) But I'm often called upon to do mixes for the video truck (or fly-pack system) along with the multi-track, so it does give me the flexibility to do more than just record the event. However, It's a work in progress, and I've got lots of upgrades in store as things progress. Oh for the love of Shiny Objects.....:-)

Michael

[ergower]

Michael -

Great Set Up! Lovin' the "Easy" button.....come to think of it...I need one of those!

Cheers,
Ross

[justpushplay]

Originally Posted by ergower

Michael -

Great Set Up! Lovin' the "Easy" button.....come to think of it...I need one of those!

Cheers,
Ross

Thanks for the kind words! It's kinda funny, most of my clients are from word of mouth, and all arrangements are usually made over the phone and via e-mail. So having never met them face to face, it's a bit of a limus test when they first walk-in, see the gear, and then see the Easy button. If they laugh or smile when they see it, it's always a good day. If they have that look like they don't understand what that thing is, well, we just stay in 'corporate' mode, and keep to ourselves.....:-)


Michael

PS: The Radar rig also has its own little hand puppet mascot. When I bought the Radars, they had just come off a project with a very well know band, and apparently someone on the crew forgot to get this guy out of the drawer before they shipped the Radars to me. I've been calling him "O'Reilly" (get it? Radar? har har!) regardless, he goes out on every gig, and is yet another 'client litmus test' :-)

[asbury media]

justpushplay

and the two 22" displays fit into the case lids.

F'in Brilliant!

[justpushplay]

Originally Posted by asbury media

F'in Brilliant!

Thanks! :-)

[hughesmr]

Here's my 4-ch rig at a 3-day piano festival I recorded last weekend. GREAT players and a lot of fun!

Gear:
Furman power conditioner
Benchmark MPS420 4-preamp 4x2 mixer (PS on top of rack)
Lucid AD9624 (conversion for the Masterlink)
Masterlink (backup deck running at 88/24)
Korg MR1000 (main record deck running DSD 5.6, at left)
Remote Audio HN7506 high-noise headset

[videoteque]

Very nice set Hughes, minimalist and quality!!!

[hughesmr]

Originally Posted by videoteque

Very nice set Hughes, minimalist and quality!!!

Thanks. Oh, and I forgot to say ... the finger-food and drink table is right behind the folding black divider in the pic. Made plenty of trips back and forth while the players did their thing onstage. Backstage has its perks ...

[LX3]

Originally Posted by justpushplay

Thanks! :-)

I'd love to see a higher-res version of your monitor in lids photo. Very cool work. I hate the amount of potential storage space that gets wasted inside flightcase lids

For those X-48 moments when I need a monitor, I carry around a 17" LCD and mini-keyboard. Couldn't believe my luck - an off-the-shelf SKB was inch-perfect for the job. Involved some slightly rushed foam-engineering though.

Paul

[bove]

Originally Posted by LX3

I'd love to see a higher-res version of your monitor in lids photo. Very cool work. I hate the amount of potential storage space that gets wasted inside flightcase lids

For those X-48 moments when I need a monitor, I carry around a 17" LCD and mini-keyboard. Couldn't believe my luck - an off-the-shelf SKB was inch-perfect for the job. Involved some slightly rushed foam-engineering though.

Paul

That is really nice work with the foam! Where did you get the foam, and what do you use to cut it?

[justpushplay]

Originally Posted by LX3

I'd love to see a higher-res version of your monitor in lids photo. Very cool work. I hate the amount of potential storage space that gets wasted inside flightcase lids

For those X-48 moments when I need a monitor, I carry around a 17" LCD and mini-keyboard. Couldn't believe my luck - an off-the-shelf SKB was inch-perfect for the job. Involved some slightly rushed foam-engineering though.

Paul

There, I fixed it for you. Didn't realize how small that pic was. I bought some foam and Velcro straps, and I'm going to try to do the same thing with the monitor for the Pro Tools rig. The lids aren't quite as deep as the Radar lids, but it should fit OK. I do like your case. I love it when you can fit stuff into a briefcase-sized case and walk down the street with it. I'd like to see your X-48 setup, I didn't see any pics of it at your website.

[Royer121]

Hey,

finally I got my small mobile rig together, which I mostly use to record rock bands in rehearsal rooms. The recording on the pic was done so, but fortunately I had an own room with a glass in between, so that I could set up my own little control room.

I use:
Mics from Schoeps to Shure => 2xPresonus Digimax FS => M-Audio FW1814 => PT M-Powered.
I record via eSata on a 7200 rpm HD to leave the FW bandwidth free for the 1814.

Very nice thread...keep your pics coming...=)

Ray

[LX3]

Originally Posted by bove

That is really nice work with the foam! Where did you get the foam, and what do you use to cut it?

The thicker foam in the bottom is ethafoam-type stuff that comes with the case.

The other (darker-looking) foam is some 15mm plastazote which I had kicking around. The foam in the lid I also had left over from another project. Both came from Adam Hall in Europe.

The plastazote and ethafoam don't match, but they got the job done. Both cut cleanly with a really sharp knife. Lots of careful measuring, cutting and gluing was involved though. I remember doing that case the night before a gig and not getting much sleep as a result.

[LX3]

Originally Posted by justpushplay

There, I fixed it for you. Didn't realize how small that pic was. I bought some foam and Velcro straps, and I'm going to try to do the same thing with the monitor for the Pro Tools rig. The lids aren't quite as deep as the Radar lids, but it should fit OK. I do like your case. I love it when you can fit stuff into a briefcase-sized case and walk down the street with it.

Me too, although it's the probably the smallest case I have. It's challenging striking a balance between having everything in just a few huge cases (which becomes a problem with all the stairs in London venues) or everything in small manageable cases, meaning it takes forever to load-in, unpack and set-up.

I know people with trucks who wish they had a flight-pack rig, and people (myself included) who do the load-in thing and wish sometimes that they had a truck!

I'd like to see your X-48 setup, I didn't see any pics of it at your website.

Right now I'm renting an X-48 as and when I need one. I've got some 48-track gigs next month, so I'll try to remember to take some pics for you.

Thanks for the hi-res shots of your cases. I didn't realise those silver bits were actually part of the monitor stands. Nicely done.

[ergower]

Here's a shot of a portion of my live rig set-up for a small club gig in Birmingham, Al....

[dbssound1]

Here is a shot of my 16 channel mobile.

[mrsteaks]

Originally Posted by hughesmr

Here's my 4-ch rig at a 3-day piano festival I recorded last weekend. GREAT players and a lot of fun!

Gear:
Furman power conditioner
Benchmark MPS420 4-preamp 4x2 mixer (PS on top of rack)
Lucid AD9624 (conversion for the Masterlink)
Masterlink (backup deck running at 88/24)
Korg MR1000 (main record deck running DSD 5.6, at left)
Remote Audio HN7506 high-noise headset

Nice rig, Mike! 'Bout time I got to see it!