first live remote multiple bands

[sound_music]

few more pics, no time for audio till next week, i'm on a plane to paris in a few hours, back monday...

[bishopthomas]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

[Roland]

At the risk of being a little controversial, I'm going to play devils advocate here. I've read thoroughly all that has been posted and you comments about the FOH guy and the crew.

I would say that most of what you are saying is pretty much par for the course. A lot of stage crew are "grunts", but surprisingly often they know more than they let on even if they aren't particularly bright. You have to remember for them it's just another show, and they probably have another two like this within the week.

As was mentioned earlier in the thread, you should have either turned up with a split or rented one/got the PA company to supply one for you. I don't see what you are complaining about from the drum OH mic's, it looks like a pretty standard setup for a live gig, indeed some of the mic's I can see are look like good industry standard.

Of course the crew is not going to like you fiddling with mic placement, ultimately it is their job to deliver the event sound, you are there under sufferance, making their job a little bit more difficult than normal. They do shows every week of the year, you turn up on (by your own admission) your first live date and proceed to have (probably) far too much input. You thought the FOH guy was an asshole, he probably realized that and was possibly less receptive to "helping" you. Mic changes or position of mic's as Steve Remote will tell you, on these events have to be carefully negotiated and Steve has a reputation that goes before him, respectfully you do not.

The gain structure point you were making about the PA desk actually sounds correct. Channels are run unity or close too, FOH volume is controlled on the master fader, standard practice, not his fault your gear doesn't take his direct out levels, it sounds too me that possibly your gear is running -10 and his outs are probably +4.

Your real problems started with the approach and the gear you took to the show. As has been pointed out, you should have arranged for a suitable split, suitable mic pre's and a suitable recording system (preferably with a backup) capable of recording the show with little or no fuss. Just because it is possible for him to patch everything wherever he wants on his console, there may be many reasons why he didn't want too, possibly to make sure that the show is as simple as possible, complex patching at multiple band shows is best to be avoided as usually someone will get it wrong and problems arise. As for the amount of bleed, I am a little surprised having viewed what I can from the photo's you posted, it all looks pretty standard stuff, watch footage of big gig's like Glastonbury or the IOW etc they do a similar thing.

If you decide never to record another live show, perhaps it's a shame as Thomas said, however, I often work shows where crew and others involved are less than helpful or often don't really know what they are doing, I still have to deliver. The real trick to location recording is handling the people and the situation, recording is the easy bit!

Good luck in the future!

Regards


Roland

[sound_music]

@ roland: thanks for your insight/post, lot of valid points there. i totally acknowledge that many of the technical problems arose due to the fact that i didn't organize a splitter--no arguement there. hindsight is 20/20...

to your point about "handling" the people, totally agree, same rule of thumb applies in the studio. but you can't handle people who decide to completely ignore professional communication: you deal with the situation in that given moment to the best of your abilities. the FOH and crew were far from qualified or professional--if they had been either, or even slightly open-minded, it could have made things alot smoother for the recording process. not saying i nailed this one by any means, but as you read there were LOTS of other problems! (lack of spec'd cabling, assistant colapsing, talent crisis, gear exploding, 8 hrs of soundchecks, constant marathon running between FOH and establishment's bose system... and many more of your favorite classics!)

as bishopthpmas said in a previous post, i definately learned alot and will be much better prepared if ever i decide to do another big show like that.

[cortisol]

sound_music - I definately think you should do it again. If you've got the ability to capture and mix this stuff.

I guess I don't like the way you are talking about it. And its only your opinion we've got to go on that the FOH guy is incompetent. But you have to look at it from the other perspective.

How professional or competent did you look to the other guy. You did ask him to work his desk in a different way, interefering with his job and his comfort zone. You did set up right in front of his mix position. LOL.

I'm not a live sound guy. Maybe I do 2 or 3 gigs like that a year to help fellow musician friends out.

But if I was running a festival then I'd have the band on stage on one set of fader and the next up on another for a quick change over and if the guy is familiar with a system like that then it means quick change overs with a confident start to the mix.

If the guy was a pro and had worked with remote recordists then your interference in his workflow would have been a new thing. And turning up with a couple of MBoxes would have made you look very amature. And then on top you seem to have a lack of diplomacy and the need to blame others.

Look just get yourself some splitters and some back up recorders and make a start. Its no good just making mistakes, you've got to learn from them.

I don't mean to treat you like a d1ck, if you've got the ears and the competency to record and mix then you have my respect because its all in the ears baby!

Peace,
cortisol