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hunkswithguns wrote:DO IT! It's crazy easy and very rewarding. I have a Zoom H6 and it's gotten some great results.
-Get a big enough/fast enough card so you don't have to worry about space. (32GB works great)
-Record at the highest sample rate / bit depth (24bit / 96k)
-Make sure to utilize the "safety recording" feature on the H6 which records a backup file at a lower volume
-Get there early and be upfront and open with the pros working the soundboard. AC isn't gonna give you a line in to the soundboard (which is common and completely understandable) but they're very gracious and empathetic towards our humble goals as fans.
-If you can't bring a stand or anything, find a place near the soundboard to put it. The general goal is: the higher up and more center the mics are, the better.
-Get your levels during the opening act and leave plenty of headroom. You want a strong signal but the last thing you want is for the signal to peak.
-Once it's set, forget about it. First and foremost, enjoy the show. Even if the recording ends up being unusable, at least you can rest easy knowing you had a blast.
Can't WAIT to see everyone out there this Spring!
Thanks for these tips! I remember reading you had done some of the 2021 tour with the H6 and had already been wanting one for practice recordings so I went for it. Do you use the standard mic clips? I've been using the MS in our practice space but I was thinking the more directional x/y clip might be better for a big room kind of show.
I've experimented with both over the years and I've found I've gotten better results with X/Y for live music. X/Y is a little more balanced and if you're micing from the soundboard, you get a nice, directional, even representation of the mix, which you can tweak in post.
I usually use MS in a more controlled environment when I want to really hone the stereo image in post production. MS recordings give you a wider stereo image which could technically be considered better but if you're recording from the soundboard, the L/R mic tends to pick up way more audience ambience/wind/unwanted venue reverb on the left and right so you're essentially capturing more information you'd want to filter out in post.
When edited correctly, MS recordings can lead to stunning stereo recordings (and the dense, layered sound of AC live might benefit from a wider stereo image that would allow for more instrument separation / definition) but chance are, you'll just end up picking up more unwanted sonic info. MS might work better if the recorder was directly in front of the stage, on the rail as opposed to by the soundboard.
Would be super interested to record an AC show with one of each mics side by side and compare the recordings afterwards.