Blues Band live

[andrewj]

Hi I wanna record a Blues Band live! In the past I never did things like that, so as much advice as possible will be helpful.

My concept is that I record through a Metric Halo 2882 Interface and use Ableton Live as my virtual tapemachine!

I have a maximum to record 8 signals at once. And now I would love to get biiiig help! Which mics do I need? Is it possible to rent some mics in germany for jobs like that? Where should I place these mics and what should I record directly?

After that I would use URS EQs and my hardware (Audient, Fletcher P10 and my Alan Smart compressor) for the mixdown. Right?

Please fell free to give me as many hints as possible.

[Remoteness]

Andrew,

IMO, recording a Blues Band live is pretty simple. All you need is the right vibe and good mic and instrument placement.

To decide which eight signals and where we should place them we need to know how many players (instruments) the band has. IE: Drums; Bass; Guitar; Keys; Vocals; etc.

What kind of music do you usually record? I ask this because I also want to know what kind of mics you normally pick for that genre. Maybe, they will work well for your upcoming Blues Band session.

I trust our regular Germany GS folks can answer the mic rental availability best. Any takers on this one?

Get us the band instrumentation so we can give you ideas on where we would place those mics and what should go direct.

[andrewj]

Hi Remoteness,

thank you for the fast reply. At first I must admit that I normally record modern soul/Rnb and some Housetunes. My main mic at the moment is the CAD E 350. Used it on acoustic guitars and main male vocals a lot. It always did a real good job. At the moment I am planning my next investments. I am thinking of a Brauner Phantom C and perhaps a DPA 4091. But I am not sure if I can buy them befre this recording. I tried the Brauner it is incredible to me for studio jobs! Hear nice thinks of the DPA Mics in general.

Hope that helps a lot!

The band consists of two guitars, drummer, bass player, singer with Blues Harp and I think no keyboards!

Best regards,

Andrewj

[Tom H]

Is it a live show you're going to record? In that case i would suggest you put some mics in the venue to capture the room and audience!

You might need more than 8 inputs.. You could rent an Audient ASP008 to feed the ADAT input of the Metric Halo.

Recently did a live rec with the audient, good unit for the job.

(note that if it's a live gig, the band might allready be mic'd by the FOH... than you could also use a splitter and take the signal of their mics)

[andrewj]

Thank you for your reply. Good idea. I was thinking about using the ADAT possibility, too! Just had a workshop at the weekend, where some people told me about the audient mic pres! The ASP 008 seems to be unbeatable in it's pricerange! Some people compared it with very expensive MicPres and believed they are as good! Transparent, clear, unbeatable clarity were the words they used!

I still wonder where to get mics and stuff for rent here in hamburg, germany!

[Dale]

Metric Halo 2882 Interface and use Ableton Live as my virtual tapemachine

I would suggest using the record panel in MIO Console.
this is the software for the 2882.
It uses less cpu, lessens the computer's workload

[andrewj]

Yep Dale, this is a definately great idea! Looked at your HP! So you use Earthworks microphones? How many Mics do you regualry use for a live recording?

Can you tell me a bit more?

[ARude]

Blues bands are my thing…

I would recommend the following for the band configuration you have specified:

Dynamic mics on the guitars, SM 57’s work fine. [I’ve been using 609’s lately]

Same for the harmonica [be aware that some harmonica players will use a vocal mic for a different sound quality and may switch in the middle of the set.]

Whatever the vocalist likes for vocals

Take bass DI as the bass leakage will be on the drum mics too...

3 point pickup for drums; kick, and 2 overheads. Or better yet one MS pair overhead, I use a VP 88 routinely. I record the VP in the MS mode that allows me to adjust the stereo width later.

That’s 8 ins unless I miscounted.

With blues bands [at least here in the US] the important thing is to have the machine in record as magic may only happen once…

Don't over think this, blues should be organic.

[andrewj]

Thank you very much for the great recommendations.

At the moment, and after a bottle of Chateau Yon Figeac, I am worried about the right mics! At all I know the Shures are good ones, The DPAs are real hot, but expensive, right? And I read some really good stories about the Studio Projects Mics! Especially about the C1 and the C4 Stereo Pairs! Are these units perhaps a good alternative to the Shure's? Or can anyone recommend a stereo room solution cheaper than the VP88?

Thanks again!

[ARude]

When live recording, I've found that it is always better to use less sensitive mics close to the subject, it helps with isolation. More sensitive mics can be a hindrance as they are too sensitive which translates into leakage.

The Shure VP 88 is quite cost effective for what it does. I also have a Studio Projects LSD-2 that I use for room ambiance.

It's not usually a good idea to hang a large mic array over the drummer. It makes a better target [they are waving clubs around, after all] I have found that an X/Y array over head can be effective. A split pair of mics have the advantage of being placed close to the kit.

[John Hedger]

Originally Posted by andrewj

Hi I wanna record a Blues Band live! In the past I never did things like that, so as much advice as possible will be helpful.

I'm not even close to having the recording knowledge/experience that most participants here do, but if there's one thing I'm preoccupied with, it's recording blues on location...or getting a live sound in the studio for that matter!

One thing to consider is the style or mindset of the blues band you are recording. Are they going for a vintage vibe, ala Chess Records? Or are they going for a more modern, high octane rockin' or funky sound. For example, one of my favorite live blues recordings is Slim Harpo singing through a distorted dispatchers mic! Obviously, at least for my taste, the performance rules over the recording quality in blues.

I record virtually all of my own blues performances with my blues trio. Below is a photo of a Columbus pub performance last fall in which I fronted a blues band as a favor to a guitarist/ lead singer couldn't make it from Florida to the gig. You can see the pair of ribbon mics in front of the band setup. The mics picked up the vocals mainly from the monitor speakers. Again, this is blues, so I don't mind the more electric sound of the vocals through the PA. I'm mainly concerned with the balance of the vocals compared to the instruments when recording two track. Also, I try not to impose alot of equipment on the scene according to the situation of the club layout. This recording was done with two ribbon mics through a Great River pre plugged into the AUX input of a Superscope PSD300 CD burning (44.1) location recorder, thus bypassing the onboard recorder preamp. I did use the onboard limiter of the Superscope. You can see a bit of the Superscope at the bottom middle of the photo next to the gold top guitar.

The sidemen of this band played much quieter than what I am used to. Of course, upright bass will always quieter than electric, but it became obvious to me as the night progressed that this particular drummer preferred brushes to sticks. Apparently his regular front man implores him to use sticks mainly, but...since the cat was away!, this drummer was tickled to death to play with brushes the entire night. I didn't mind...I am always adaptable to the situation ....good Luck with your live blues recording, John Hedger

[andrewj]

Any recommendations for the kickdrummic?

Has anyone used the GT44 on Cabinets? I heard them in a studiorecording! Great results! Now I wonder will they work live? Amps are always very loud, so it should work!

What about the SE Electronics Numer 3 for Overheads? Or do you have a better choice for Overheads? My merchant told me the Elation Mics are great at overheads