We Get Technical

So Saturday is the big day – we will be putting together what the band members have been coming up with. Camille (harmony) and Tag (piano) can’t be there, so we wil give them recordings to work from.

Jeff has emailed all of those involved and we hope to put this together in a 6 hour session at The Root Cellar this Saturday. Jeff’s Plan:

“During our Bull Run session, I am hoping to turn the stage of the Bull Run into a recording studio with the following guidelines:

1) Low or no monitor stage mix

2) Low house P.A. volume

3) Quiet and orderly audience participation

4) Condenser mikes with phantom power only

5) No piezos

6) Carefully selected wide positioning of players to optimize acoustic isolation

These are guidelines only and I will arrive early and have this all set up prior to the performance.”

Jeff and Ira have been exchanging emails about the set up. Jeff had hoped to replace the normal cartoid microphones with condensers but that won’t be possible., so Ira will place his recording gear on the side of the stage so Jeff can feed him the lines from the condensor mikes directly. Jeff wants to use two microphones on each instrument. He thinks there will be plenty of audio signal bleeding through the stage mike.

Jeff has already told me that he prefers to go with microphones on the instruments. The only direct input will be for the keyboard.

Says Jeff to me , “Jane, I'd like to go with two sets of mikes. You'll sing up close into the SM58 dynamic mike and the large diaphragm condenser mike, KSM32, will be placed behind it such that it is about 6" behind just like we do in the studio.

The SM58 will act as the wind screen.Using the large mikes will also clue the audience into the fact that they are part of a recording session.

And Ira says to Jeff” Jeff, you may want to bring your own tripod style mike stands in addition to the mike holders. The stage is kind of bouncy and in past recordings, sometimes transmits a lot of noise up the stands into the mikes.”

And I just say “I put myself in your capable hands.”

And Jeff says, “It’s gonna be great!” which reminds me why I like to work with him.

So there it is in a nutshell all you techies out there.