Soundboard Cables

[Steve House]

Other than for the recital, I've only been suggesting adding a mixer a bit more strongly than does Fred because I've been assuming you want to record dialog from a mic plus the paired L/R channels of stereo music, whether the music is picked up by a stereo pair of mikes or fed from house sound, without mixing the music channels down to mono. Since both Beachteks mentioned at most provide only 2 active inputs at once and my assumptions of the recording goals require a minimum of 3 inputs (1 dialog, 2 music) if all three sources are going to be recorded at once in real time, I feel a mixer of some sort is going to be in order fairly soon (and at ~$100, something like the Behringer, if only to experiment with, is cheap enough to not be much of an issue). Aside from that, Fred and I are both on the same page.

[David Ennis]

Steve, you're right. It's just that I'd advise Scott to forget about preserving or setting up to capture true L&R stereo in the beginning. It's just not that important for most event recording, where the focus of the potential audience is its emotional attachment to the subject. Two mono tracks from two different feeds give a difference in content that can be played with in post to give some spaciousness to the sound. That plus the natural room reverb.

In the one case where I really wanted stereo from the board plus a third track for room ambience, I just used my second cam's audio for the third track and mixed it in post.

[Scott Routt]

[QUOTE=Fred Retread]THAT's what I'm talkin' about :>)
Plugged into the BeachTek would be any two of the following:
1. Wireless from lavaliere mic placed on podium, groom or officiator
2. XLR cable running from mic placed to pick up ceremony audio and room sounds
3. XLR cable feed from sound board (good choice if the church has one set up for this purpose, but there often won't be one)

Place your second cam a tripod to run unattended at a second angle, also picking up sound.

Hey Fred,
I wrote down every thing you told me about the first time about the equipment pieces. I got manufacturer codes and prices. I did pretty good except for when I got to the wireless mics. There were so many of them. I saw something like 29 versions of the Sennehouser G2. Any way, can you narrow it down for me?

Also, as far as the wireless is concerned, would your suggestion include some kind of receiver that plugs into the Beach?

On #2 (XLR cable from mic running to Beach) is that with the idea of using the AT3031 Cardioid Condenser Mic you mentioned earlier. Or is it for using the Rode Video Mic converted like you said in your last post (the one from the BH photo link)? Or is it for both (one or the other)?

From your suggestion, I can plug 2 out of 3 into the Beach. You felt the soundboard would be great if possible because it picks up all the music and vocals pre-mixed. But you felt the situation would be rare, so take it if I get it and add the wireless mic or wired mic to the Beach.

Thanks,
Scott

[David Ennis]

If all you had was the Rode, then you could use it instead of the AT3031 at the ceremony with the adapter cable, then mount it on a camera and use it without the adapter at the reception.

But if you get both, my choice would be to put the Rode on the second cam during the ceremony and set up the AT3031 with the XLR cable. That, plus two inputs to the Beach would give you backup on top of backup, plus lots of good stuff to mix in post.

After you done a few mixes, you'll have your own opinions on what's best.

The first priority is to get the vows. A lav does that best. So a lav on the podium, officiator or the groom is almost a must. If the house sound board includes that lav, it's my number one choice for feeding the Beach. Anything else it picks up is gravy.
The second feed would then be the AT3031 setup, because it will get very good audio of the vows plus room sounds.

If the board didn't have a lav feeding it, the wireless would be choice number one. The AT3031 would be my choice number two, even if the board carries the church music, chorus or whatever. Why? Because the 3031 is the best vows backup, and will also pick up the music (so will the second cam, and even the lav).

Some churches (and other venues, like theaters) have rules. So you might not always have the option for the AT3031 or even the second cam. One of the reasons a wireless is a standard part of a wedding kit is that they sometimes don't want you to run a wire. On the other hand you may have a very friendly church and/or church sound guy and be able to run the AT3031 into the sound board and run the sound board into your BeachTek with your wireless as the other feed. That would be nice.

You have to coordinate with a church official in advance as part of the plan, and you have to be flexible. But there's always more than one way to do it, and you'll be equipped to do most anything.

As far as the wireless itself, the outfit should include a lav, a transmitter and a receiver. If you're feeling rich, an option for more money is to also get a "plug on" transmitter (in addition to the regular pocket transmitter). This would allow you to get a feed from the AT3031 or a board without running XLR cable, but only if you weren't using the lav. The receiver is only good for one transmitter.