Wind Ensemble / Large Ensemble Recording Question

[Tim Snyder]

OK, I have scoured the posts and been a casual learner for years. Thanks for all the great info. However, I have some questions. I have been recording wind band for years and feel that I get some great results. However, recently I feel my ears have grown and I am now looking for improvements and upgrades to the gear I own. Don't worry this isn't a which mic or mixer should I buy question.

We currently record by using a mixer of some type, whether mackie, yamaha, tascam etc. Record 4 mics straight to stereo most often. Very seldom do we record with spot mics due to the nature of what we are recording. If we do multitrack we record to a HD24 for that stuff.

So the question is, all you guys that are using API, Grace, Millenia mic-pre's how are you getting a stereo image without pan pots? This will show my ignorance and stupidity, but I don't get it. Is the DAW creating that image from the properly placed microphones and spacing between the microphones? I just don't understand. My assumption is that you run your mic-pre's line level into a mixer and then mix, bypassing the mixers pre's. But some people have talked about running a (2) channel mic-pre directly into DAW.

I am ready to upgrade my gear but don't want to be left short at the first gig. So any information would be much appreciated.

[Roland]

So the question is, all you guys that are using API, Grace, Millenia mic-pre's how are you getting a stereo image without pan pots? This will show my ignorance and stupidity, but I don't get it. Is the DAW creating that image from the properly placed microphones and spacing between the microphones? I just don't understand. My assumption is that you run your mic-pre's line level into a mixer and then mix, bypassing the mixers pre's.

Most are mixing in the box (pans and levels all available here) or returning to a console for the mix.

But some people have talked about running a (2) channel mic-pre directly into DAW.

Left and Right simple 2 mic recording.

Regards


Roland

[Tim Snyder]

Originally Posted by Roland

Most are mixing in the box (pans and levels all available here) or returning to a console for the mix.

Which item has pans, levels yeah, but pans? I have found very few units with panning. I was looking at API but as far as I can tell they only have one unit with pans. 3124MB

I will keep looking I guess. Thanks for the info.

Tim

[corworld]

Not sure if you misunderstood Roland but:
"in the box" refers to the DAW. You don't need hardware panning when you mix using a computer.

[Tim Snyder]

I get it now - So if I am recording to an Alesis Masterlink I would need to somehow get a left and right signal correct. So I would need some form of mixer. Straight to computer, I set the panning within the program.

I think I get it now. Thanks

Tim

[videoteque]

So I would need some form of mixer

If you want to mix and pan some mics to make a stereo pair (that you will record with your Masterlink) you DO NEED a mixer.

[fifthcircle]

You could also look at many of the summing mixers out there. There is a very successful school of engineering that only uses hard pans- Left, Center, Right. When I do large ensemble recording, I largely follow this procedure as partial pannings seem to get lost in the image. The only place I'll occasionally use a partial pan is with soloists.

That being said, I record off my pres through converters into a DAW. The mix happens there. In the DAW, I have full control over exactly how I want my audio presented- from l-r image (pans), to delays, reverb, etc...

--Ben

[charlienyc]

hi Tim,
you could look at a 4 channel mic pre that offers an on-board mixer. for instance, i often do concert recordings with my trusty Benchmark MPS-420. it hard pans L/R pairs, so i use channels 1-2 as my main pair, then split a spot mic using a Y-cable into channels 3-4. panning is accomplished by adjusting the relative levels on channels 3-4. voila, no outboard mixer needed! in addition to the mix output, this unit also has discrete outputs, should you want to record each channel independently.

with this setup you do not need a separate mixer. personally i hate using mixers in-line when i have amazing mics setup, detailed pres and a high-res recorder.

if you're not stuck in the dark ages like me , look at the Benchmark Pre-420, their current unit that has pan pots (HPF, pads and solo functions too) on each channel. i'm sure there are also other pres out there that allow you to mix internally.

cheers,
-c

[Tim Snyder]

Thanks for all the help. I think, I know where I need to go now. I am thinking it is time to invest in computer recording as well as pre's. Seems to the be the easiest and fastest. If I do the hardware thing it will be the API - 3124MB+.

thanks again.

tim