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I thought I had it all figured out, but I think I'm gonna hafta ask for some help with this one... :oops:

I've got a 14 piece band wanting to record a remote session at their own hall...the problem is, I have a fairly limited amount of gear...(I've only just recently registered as a full-time business) I'm basically looking for (if you'll pardon the puns) a sounding board for my "issues"...I'm hoping I'm on the right track. :?

I'm running (in my mobile "unit"): Roland VS-2480CD Dedicated Hardware DAW (24 Tracks Digital, but only 16 at once and only 8 XLR ins, the rest are TRS), 2ch.Tube Pre-Amp, 4Ch. Comp/Limiter, 4ch. Headphone Dist/Amp, and my mics are: C1000S, C3000B, SM57, SM58, (2) APEX 180's, APEX 435, (3) Behringer XM8500's (Very similar to the '58 )... 8)

Here's the band rundown: 5 Horns (2Tpts, 2 Sax, 1 Bone), Drums (Only wants Kick, Snare and 1(!) OH), Bass Gtr, Lead Gtr, Keys (Wants them in stereo), 4-5 Vocals...which gives us 13-15 Tracks of Instruments (depending on whether I go with my desire to put two mics AND a DI on the Gtr) and the Vocals...for a Grand Total of 20 Tracks (including my added "desire")

I figure I'll track the instruments first along with a single vocal mic (maybe an Omni with all the singers around it) as a separate scratch track so the band knows where they are...

(another issue: they'll be separated into three or four different, but not exactly soundproofed, rooms in the place...they'll be supplying Cameras and Monitors on top of the headphone mixes I give'em to stay in visual as well as Auditory contact for some of the cues)... Then I imagine we'll just track the "good" vocals afterward...

Here's where you guys come in...(I know, FINALLY) I MIGHT have at my disposal a Drum Mic Kit of known-to-be-great mics/cables/hardware which would takes care of the drums...whether I do or not, I (or rather "WE" ) still have to figure out which of the available mics that I have available to me would I use on which Instruments, Vocals, etc. :?

You see, the Trumpets MUST BOTH have the same kind of mic on them and that would mean using the 180's...but then I don't have Stereo OHs for the Drums... :( The man would prefer to only have a SINGLE OH but I really think it would be better in stereo... If I used one OH I'd just use the C1000S...(?) Would that work well? By now you can see what my predicament is...I'm a little frazzled about it all (Do you blame me, it's a 13 piece band I have to worry about AND right now it's quarter to one in the morning so I'm not at my best...I've been ill) ;)

I'm gonna need XLR-to-TRS cables for 6-8 channels too...I think... :?

Sorry for the long post, but believe me, I'm cutting it short! I have at LEAST two more issues I'd like to run past you fellas (and gals, if there be so), but I digress...like I said, it's too early in the morning for this...

I appreciate all the help ahead of time, thanks people... Be well...

-G-

Comments

bradb Thu, 05/19/2005 - 10:30

im just gonna throw these few things out here..
looks like you have a big predicament. your plusses are this so called "hall" which could sound great and make your life easier. and a drummer who seems sane.

do the TRS inputs you have have mic pres after them, usually TRS means it requires a line level signal. you may need some more pre's?

I'd do three mics on the drums, kick, snare, single overhead. with so many instruments it will be good to lodge the drums centrally and use the stereo field for all the instrument spot mics..?

then place all the instrumentalists around an omni, move them around till it sounds right, perhaps place some spot mics, do some test recordings, check phase.

One thing which may help you is running the monitor mix out to a separate mixer and mixing in any scratch vocals then sending that to the headphone mix... this saves inputs.