[This just in from Scott Szeryk!]
We multi-tracked the entire show via the Studio Live 24.4.2 into Capture. Great care was taken on ensure that the instrument sources all sounded top notch (drums, bass, guitar, keys) and appropriate mics and DIs were used to capture the sounds of the instruments.
Drum mics were as follows:
For post-production (mixing and mastering) we used Studio One, and things were kept pretty simple as the performances and sounds were good at the source. I’m not a “fix it in the mix” type of engineer, so the sounds have to be great to begin with. Also we didn’t use any drum samples whatsoever. The drums sounded great and basic EQing (cut some of the boxey mids) and slight compression (just a hint, 2:1 with slow attack to keep the bass response) were used on the drums, and that’s it. Guitars were plugged straight into the Fractal AXE FX2, bass and keys ran DI. The XMAX preamps on the StudioLive are so good that it helped the mix come together pretty quick!
Who are you, where are you, and what do you do?
Louisiana’s own Royal Teeth recently had an incredible trip on the road this summer, and they brought their StudioLive with them… as well as some video cameras, iPhones, and positive attitudes.
Upon choosing the StudioLive, Royal Teeth didn’t just end up hauling a mixer around. The StudioLive provided Royal Teeth with a complete solution for all of their touring needs, including:
• Live mixing of their shows
• Multi-track recording of shows along the entire tour, via Capture 2
• Mixing and publication of live show recordings via Studio One 2.5
• Room analysis and tuning using StudioLive’s integrated Smaart Wizards
• Onstage personal monitoring via QMix
• Remote iPad mixing via StudioLive Remote
• Fan acquisition via Nimbit’s FanCheck.In.
ALL of these technologies are included with the StudioLive mixers. For more on the StudioLive series, visit:
https://www.presonus.com/products/StudioLive-24.4.2
Here’s a whole slew of six videos featuring Royal Teeth’s experience on the road with their StudioLive, its Smaart integration, QMix, and Nimbit. Big thanks to Royal Teeth for their support of the PreSonus brand; glad to have you kind folks on board!
[This just in from Lu Rojas of Oak Street Recording, who along with Mike Montero recently had a great experience with a rig of four StudioLives and Studio One!]
Hey PreSonus! I just wanted to let you guys know about a recent experience we had with some of your products. On Tuesday April 30 at Harrah’s Theater in New Orleans, we recorded Allen Toussaint’s 75th Birthday Tribute & Benefit. All proceeds were donated to the New Orleans Artists Against Homelessness & Hunger.
We had four StudioLive 16.4.2 mixers. We slaved the first two units together, and then sent a submix from those mixers into the next two mixers, which were also slaved together. The first pair were connected to a custom-built PC running Capture 2, and the second pair were connected to a Macbook Pro, also running using Capture 2. From there, a stereo mix was sent to a CD burner, for reference, and to the HD broadcast truck for WLAE/PBS. The broadcast truck in turn sent us SMPTE time code, which we recorded to both computers for syncing after the fact. They also sent us a video feed so we could mix audio to the video. I handled mixing on the first pair of mixers (drums, bass, piano, main vocal & percussion) and Mike Montero handled the mix on the second pair of mixers—horns, guitars, vocals & audience mics. Mike also handled the mix of the overall balance between both sets of StudioLive mixers, as my mix was being submixed into his mix!
Neither Mike or I had worked with the StudioLives in such a situation before, and we had concerns about figuring out our workflow before showtime. Everything was so simple to figure out, that we ended up having downtime before the show! Imagine that… time to eat and have some coffee and not stressing over whether we had our asses covered! Another thing that impressed us was how well the compressors worked on the mixer. I always worry in a live atmosphere when a microphone is being handed around from artist to artist, and not being able to catch the one that is going to overload the microphone. Fortunately, the compressor section worked like a charm even when switching from artist to artist on the main vocal mic. We had Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Elvis Costello, Deacon John, Jon Cleary, Cyril Neville, Dr. John, Joe Stampley and Joe Henry. The important thing was that we got the main vocal to always sit right on top of the mix without it sounding squashed or distorted.
As of now I have installed Studio One on Mike Montero’s computer, and he will be mixing the audio from here out. Thanks guys!
In this episode of PreSonus LIVE, Justin showcases the PRM1 measurement microphone and the Smaart Wizard functionality that is included in the StudioLive 16.4.2 and 24.4.2 mixers.
Learn how to use Smaart Spectra to fine tune your live rig to your environment. We also take a look at ringing out your stage monitors using Smaart features.
Justin Spence is back again in Capture 2!
Join Justin Spence as he swings through a whirlwind tour of our just-released software, Capture 2!
Capture 2.0 includes several workflow enhancements including Prerecord, user-definable Auto-Save intervals, and tons more!
We’ll be giving away highly fashionable PreSonus T-shirts, and we’ll be sure to save one for Justin while we’re at it.
www.presonus.com/videos/PreSonusLive
Capture 2 is now available for download for all registered StudioLive users! You’ll find the download links on the “My Hardware” page.
http://www.presonus.com/registration
Capture 2.0 includes several workflow enhancements. Clicking the Record Now button on Capture’s Start page creates a new session and immediately starts recording. A new Prerecord feature captures audio on all tracks, starting up to a minute before you press Record. Even saving a session can be automated, with user-definable Auto-Save intervals. Capture also stores the active session automatically whenever the transport is stopped and the session is changed.
For more on Capture 2, check out this press release:
http://www.presonus.com/news/press_releases/Capture-2-Available
Marc Nutter, VP at Sonic Sense shares a couple techniques for controlling stage monitor feedback using the PreSonus Studiolive 24.4.2 and Rational Acoustics Smaart. Thanks guys!
Aptly-named Jam in the Van travels around in a a KILLER tour van that includes a StudioLive 24.4.2 and a sweet, sweet, paint job. They record all their in-the-van performances, shoot some killer video, and post the results online for the benefit of all musiciankind.
Here they talk a bit about their use of the StudioLive and QMix in getting their productions done. Hot stuff comin’ through!
Learn more about Jam in the Van at—wait for it—www.JamInTheVan.Com!