Recording audio with mixing board/PA?
 

I'm videotaping an event that has a mic'ed stage running through some sort of sound system/PA, i haven't seen it yet. The performers are just speaking, no singing/music/instruments, just voices. I have a beachteck xlr adapter hooked up to my Song FX-7. Does it require any special cabling to tap into a PA/mixing board to record the audio? I've never done it before and have no clue.
thanks.
Mike

If any of your equipment is AC powered and you're plugged into a different AC circuit than the PA is running on, then you may need to use a passive direct box with a ground-lift switch. Depending on your camera, your BeachTek, the PA system, and the output they give you, the ground switch on your BeachTek may not clear up all hum situations.
In any event, using a passive direct box and the right cables for the output they want you to use is a good way to go when hooking to a PA system. It allows you to set some attenuation of signal level (in broad steps) if necessary. It will allow you to lift the ground connection to reduce the chance of a ground-loop hum as I mentioned earlier. It will also balance the majority of your cable run if you're given an unbalanced Aux output from the PA. And a passive direct box or two is available at almost any musical instrument store anywhere or online too.
Used in conjunction with your BeachTek, especially if they give you an unbalanced out from the PA, a passive direct box and some adapters or cables for their specific mixer should allow you to get a clean signal.
Remember to also set up your own mic on a second channel of the camera in case their signal is totally bad or they mute the mics.

Hello Mike,

You never know until you plug in. I always bring a good mixer and lots of cables and adpaters. You never really know what you will run into. Going ther efirst for a trial run is the best advice I can give you.

Regards,

Ty Ford