Some DL1608 board recordings

[abzurd]

A few months ago when I was looking to buy the board I Googled for some board recordings and didn't really find anything. Anyway, I've had the board a few months now and last night used my new Ipad 3 docked to the mixer to record. The original Ipad I have was a bit flaky when recording. Now I use the original Ipad on a mic stand near me to make any adjustments during the show.


I think I'm going to move to mixing FOH to Aux 6 and just run a mono PA. That will allow me to do some panning and tweaking of the recording channel levels. It's still a crap shoot, but do it every show and you're bound to get some good stuff. I also don't want the FOH EQ recorded, which I'm assuming it's doing. Does anyone know for sure that's the case?



So here's a bunch of songs from the board. Yes, they are mainly old tired covers. Last night was a family reunion, which went surprisingly well. They danced to every song. We also do 20-25 weddings a year, so we pretty much have to stick largely to the standards.


http://ppl.ug/-eEcQU6kWYM/ - Don't fret about the weird hyperlink. It's coming off a USB hard drive in my house.

[Fluddman]

Hi abzurd.

The recordings turned out pretty good.  What instrument do you play?

I haven't tried any recording myself mainly because I rarely have all instruments going through the PA but after hearing your recording I might give it a try.

BTW, the band is sounding good.

Cheers

[abzurd]

Thanks - I'm the singer.


This week I'm going to run the main mix through Aux 6 and record with the main bus. Still a blind recording, but done every week something will turn out at some point. After years of recording with my Presonus StudioLive, I've gotten decent simple live mixes. Except for break music, the PA is running mono anyway, so going off the Aux won't really be any different. Dedicating the main bus for recording will allow adjustments to be made that only affect the recording and not FOH. Adjustments I'd make....


1 - Panning guitar and keys slightly to opposite sides


2 - Possibly run my vocals in stereo so the harmonies are panned (I use a VoiceLive2)


3 - The bass is the only instrument with an amp on stage. The smaller the venue the more the amp carries into the room. This is why the bass is under-mixed on the sample recordings.


4 - I'm pretty sure the recording is post EQ, which isn't a good thing since the main EQ is used to adjust for your speakers and the room. A benefit of recording the show without a master EQ is to listen back to the recording to see if any of the instruments aren't EQ'd well. If not, you make adjustments to the channel strip. After a few shows you should be able to get a recording that sounds good EQ wise. Once you've done that don't mess with the channel strip EQ's any more. Use the main EQ to tune the sound to the room.


5 - The kick is too loud in this mix. The thump is great in a live dance party situation, but not so good on a recording


6 - Since most backing vocals are done with my harmonizer, for a cleaner FOH mix, I like to gate the other vocal mics. Sometimes I'll take the "toasting" microphone and leave it open as a room mic. This will give the recording a more live feel and can be controlled with the channel strip to not be too much. I leave this out of the FOH mix and just print it to the recording

[stevegarris]

Hey - you've inspired me to do some recordings!  Your band sounds great BTW. I love the BS&T, great vocals, great guitar & keys. The kick sounds fine to me, knowing it's a live recording.

So back in the early 80's when I was just getting into the music biz we had a local band (Spokane/Seattle) that started as "Sweet Madness", then changed their name to "Next Exit". 1980's new wave for sure, but they were kind of cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HbBqCGq8_g
http://pnwbands.com/nextexit.html

[abzurd]

Hey - you've inspired me to do some recordings!  Your band sounds great BTW. I love the BS&T, great vocals, great guitar & keys. The kick sounds fine to me, knowing it's a live recording.

So back in the early 80's when I was just getting into the music biz we had a local band (Spokane/Seattle) that started as "Sweet Madness", then changed their name to "Next Exit". 1980's new wave for sure, but they were kind of cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HbBqCGq8_g
http://pnwbands.com/nextexit.html

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. I needed it as it's been a rough day. We just got a Roland TD-30 drum module today. Holy smokes this thing is amazing. I just plugged it in and was floored. The drums are going to be killer now.


Re: the name, yes not the most original. We picked it in 2001 and have come across probably 30 other cover bands named Next Exit over they years including 2 that are relatively close (Cincy and Fort Wayne.... We're in Columbus, OH).

[wthford]

Hey guys! I just got the 1608 a few days ago.  We used it in practice last night and it worked great.  At the last minute, I noticed the record button and pushed it. I was surprised how good it really sounded. My "other" rig is an Allen Heath mix wizard with an Alesis HD24 riding in the rack with it... I can get a killer recording with that setup, but it takes some doing, what with transferring over firewire then dragging it all into Cubase for remixing.  I was pretty surprised at the quality of the   short recording I got last night.