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Going Live with FX Rentals
FX Rentals has been responding to an increase in market demand to record live performances. FX can provide an experienced recording engineer, plus recording packages tailored to individual requirements, to record live gigs, whatever the venue or budget.
While FX has long been handling this sort of work, improvements in portable technology has enabled gigs to be recorded cost-effectively without the need for a large mobile truck, while the burgeoning live music scene has created a steady rise in demand for the company’s services. Another factor is the changing landscape of musical formats: for example live tracks can be made available as downloads after the gig or archived for future live DVD release.
“I think record companies are pushing for many of the live recordings, which they see as a cost effective way of providing alternative products to market, and a source of material that can be released outside of the artists’ main album releases,” says FX’s technical manager Adam Pope.
In order to supply the best possible recordings, FX specifies packages of the highest quality. “We generally use active mic splits – BSS or XTA - through discrete mic pre amps,” says Pope. “These are can be Focusrite, Millennia, ATI or Audient. We record direct to hard disc recorders which include up to 96-channel Radar, Pyramix or Pro Tools systems, and we always provide a back up system, which can be another hard disc system, or Tascam DA98HRs. We also provide four or more DPA and Sennheiser audience mics. The recording setup is always supported by a UPS, if video is involved we use a high quality sync pulse generator for video reference and video referenced timecode distribution, and we usually provide clients with a rough stereo mix on CD.
“As we only need a relatively small area, and try to be as self-sufficient as possible in the working environment, we can be easily accommodated without making more work for the sound crew.
“Preparation is the key to a successful project, which means planning and liaising with the artist management, event organisers and systems engineers involved, and careful preparation along with rigorous testing of the system we are providing.”
Recent live recording work for FX includes the Arctic Monkeys at the Sheffield Magna Centre, The Darkness at London’s Alexandra Palace, The Subways at the Birmingham Academy, Ian Brown at Brixton Academy and Nitin Sawnhey at Club Koko. An unusual project which FX carried out recently was for DJ Heavensent, who required a 5.1, 96kHz/24 bit recording of his three and a half hour set at the Compagneit club in Stockholm for a planned 5.1 HD-DVD release. FX’s senior tech Graeme Rogerson travelled to Sweden to record him, accompanied by a iZ Radar V multitrack hard disc recorder, Focusrite Octopre mic preamps, DPA 4011 mics, and Alesis Masterlink two-track hard disc recorder. Additional gear including a monitoring desk, VGA screen, UPS and looms were sourced locally to save the client having to pay freight costs.
22nd May 2006
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