I’m currently on a really fun journey to record a live album with a compilation of some of my best song performances in 2022. Now is the time to refine the sound and recording techniques that I’ll be taking to tap-houses, wineries, food cart lots, farmer’s markets, small theaters and more. The key here is absolute consistency in sound level and EQ for each show. The end result will hopefully be a great vinyl album production that I’ll be really proud of.
I’ve pieced together my live rig that I’ll be performing and recording with while I’m out and about. I’m not trying to go too crazy with my inputs and outputs but it’s starting to get really complex and I’ve decided on splitting up my vocals from the instrumentation so I can edit the tracks later.
1- SM57 for guitar ambiance - panned fully right
1-direct-in from my guitar pedal board that has a looper - panned fully right
1- SM58 for vocals - panned left
1- Direct in for SFX and sound padding from my cellphone - panned right
As for my outputs I’m recording directly from the board onto my newly purchased Zoom F3 Field Recorder. I’m also sending a right and left stereo channel to my PA (this will go to the front of house if I have a sound person). For monitors I’m plugging directly into my Zoom recorder with my headset, since it’s already set up with a headphone jack. Though, I’m wondering if I should do headset monitoring while playing live because I’ve found that it really separates you from the audience - which doesn’t really help with building performer/audience vibe.
If I do go with using stage monitoring I’ll need to figure out how to isolate the stage sound from my vocal mic so I can properly edit the track. I’m guessing a SM57 for a vocal mic might do the trick in that case because it has a very focused range of sound, it’s what drummers us to isolate each drum.
Next up - Campfire Hotel where I’ll be kicking it all off net week, March 24, 2022 at 5pm. Until then I’ll be continuing to dial it in and practice up the songs. This song is from one of my favorite tracks from The Beta Band, Dry the Rain, which has been a crowd favorite in my past shows.
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