Danny Duncan on
The Basics of Church Live Recording
Sought after by the world's biggest recording artists, Danny Duncan has been a viable resource in the music industry for the last 20 years. Specializing in the recording and mixing of records, he is known for his trademark drum tones, pristine mixes and life size vocals that capture and hold the attention of every listener.

Many churches are starting to make live recordings of their praise teams, concerts and even worship services. Here are a few suggestions that will make your recording a little easier.

There are several ways to go about live recording. The simplest is, of course, setting up a pair of stereo mics out in the audience at the place that best represents the sound in the auditorium and sending the signal straight to your straight to your recorder.

Then, there is actual multi-track recording to a hard disk recording device, or computer based recording system. While the simple two-track method can work great for a lot of applications, I'm going to address the multi-tracking of a live concert.

Gear
This is probably the biggest concern for anyone ready to take on the task of live recording. Here's something to keep in mind: it doesn't have to be stressful and you certainly don't have to have the latest, most expensive gear to accomplish the task.

The first component of the audio chain is your microphones. I could list my favorites but the object is to use what you have available. Do this, though: invest in a great vocal mic for your lead singers. You will also need some good condenser mics if you're recording a choir. You'll also need them for your overhead drum mics.

"Do this, though: invest in a great vocal mic for your lead singers."

On multi-track live recordings there are usually going to be at least 24 tracks of audio being recorded at once. Most of the time, I have well over 60 tracks at once. Use mic pre amps that are simple to use and have many channels of pre in one single unit.

There are a lot of affordable mic pre-amps out now that have eight channels of pre (pre-amp), are sonically very clean and occupy just one or two rack spaces. I like these, especially for things I don't have to tweak a lot during the recording process - like synths, loops, and electric guitars. If you do have only a few higher end pieces of gear, I would suggest using them on lead vocals, drums and bass. The lead vocal is a good place to use your "channel strip" type pres that have a nice compressor and EQ on them.

The Audience
This has to be one of the most important elements in your live recording. After all it's what makes your recording "live." The audience drives the emotion and passion in your recording.

For miking, I like to use at least six mics used in pairs: 2 up front almost at the stage, 2 midway back, and 2 wider and even further back in the auditorium. (Don't forget you'll have to time correct your tracks later for the distance factor of these mics. Otherwise, your mix will sound muddy when you pull up the audio recorded on these mics)

Try to get your mics as close to the audience as possible without being directly in front of any one person. I like to have one pair (usually the mid pair) very close and hanging from overhead.

Work with the House Engineer
Hopefully you have been able to split your audio signal and everything within your recording is independent from what is going on at the front of house desk. However, the house engineer can help you as far as what you capture, or don't capture in your recording.

The most critical place is stage monitor volume bleeding into your vocal mics. Obviously the lower the stage volume the better. Let the front of house engineer know what you need to make the recording the best it can be.

Work with the Musicians
When I'm getting the sound I want for a recording, I'll spend a good bit of time making adjustments at my controls. But before I do that, I spend considerable time with the players making sure that we are getting what we want out of their instruments. Don't be afraid to ask the musicians to adjust to accomplish the sound you're looking for. Drums are the place to start. Sometimes I'll spend as much as a couple of hours making adjustments with the drummer on the actual drums - especially when it comes to tuning the heads and finding the punch we're looking for.

"Don't be afraid to ask the musicians to adjust to accomplish the sound you're looking for."

Record Rehearsals
This is such a big deal that I suggest you schedule a day before the recording for a run through and full recording without an audience present. It gives you another good opportunity to make final adjustments when everyone is playing together. It's also a chance to get your computer, or DAW in record to make certain you have adequate disk space and everything runs smoothly for the length of your recording. " …many times a performance comes off amazing in a rehearsal and that just may be the magic take for the record."

Most importantly, it is not only a good "backup" of the show but many times a performance comes off amazing in a rehearsal and that just may be the magic take for the record. If everything is recorded with tempo clicks, it will be as easy as importing the audience (or other live elements) into the rehearsal take and it will be the one to use on the record. This happens more often than you might think!

Plan Ahead
Some people fear live recordings because they feel they have only one shot to make it happen. But, it shouldn't be stressful if you have planned out everything in advance.

Five quick checks: If you've

1. selected the best mics for the job;
2. placed them right where you want them;
3. made sure you have good levels at your mic pres;
4. get the sounds tweaked like you want; and
5. have a good level going into your recorder,

then - the live recording event will be the easiest part of the process! (Honestly, that's when I finally have a chance to catch my breath.)

We thank Danny Duncan for lending a hand with this issue in the midst of a very busy recording schedule. You can learn more about Danny, the works he's done and current projects at www.myspace.com/dannyduncan or www.vanguardrecording.com