Big band performances/mic choices

[Mickstape]

Hi people, i have two public events coming up this weekend for te ANZAC services, one involves a few big band <brass> performances in a quite difficult environment, a big park with plenty of reflective surfaces <surrounding buildings, trees,pergolas etc>, my main concern is effective spread and separation to the punters and to a lesser extent how to deal with phase issues related to late reflections from the surrounds<i was thinking about putting two mics up the back to capture the "open parkiness feel" as a reference, i wont be feeding them into the main mix obviously>. In regards to that last one i was thinking about taking a stereo split and keeping it for reference. But i don't think it will have any effect if i mic it up correctly.

The PA im using has a fairly good widebeam delivery so i'm confident it can do the job, well actually it does the job, im the spanner in the works haha.

So yeah, im thinking because one band is 20 odd performers when i'm making mic choices and positions i should consider how the band is arranged, like low end <tubas,baritone horns etc> at the back and the more higher pitched stuff<cornets etc> towards the front? and if i cant site them in the optimal configuration how would i get the best sound from the performance in relation to mic choices and positions.

I should mention that i've been asked to put the rider together<a test i think>,The rider is six 58's, six 57's, 8 assorted small diaphragm cardioid condensers and a couple of large diaphragm omni condensors. the console is a yamaha ls9/32. im thinking to just overhead the majority of the front end and close mic the bigger stuff, also i was thinking about using a lot of shelving and a little panning on channels to get even separation. But after some thought about it i thought that maybe it would be better to close mic the higher end stuff as the bigger waveform from the tubas and stuff could just overtake the smaller instruments? Although having said that i'm sure the higher spl's delivered by the trumpets/cornets etc would definitely cut through the lower stuff, its just a phase thing that worries me.

Am i taking this a little too seriously? By this i mean should i be taking the studio approach to an event like this? Part of me says the punters wont even care but the other part says "mate, you never know who is going to be listening".

Advice is always appreciated.

[Chris H]

Are you doing live mix and recording?
Over the years of doing this type of gig here are a few quick things i give attention to. I like to tune the PA so the FOH is fairly flat and accurate so i'm not over eqing the desk. I use a sure stereo mic the VP88 out front of the orchestra. I mic the kick and one OH mic for the kit, DI the bass and keys if there are any. I chat to the band conductor and find out the best position for spot mics for soloists in each section. Before the show, with the condenser mics in particular i push the gain until feedback and pull out a bit of the the frequency that first takes off with the sweepable mids on the desk channel. A mic placed above each section can help bring them into focus if needed, but it's a trade off as the more open mics onstage the lower the gain before feedback. Gain before feedback is the critical issue and here it also helps to avoid ading eq on individual mics. To get clarity i prefer pulling out the low mids around 350 rather than adding highs.

[Mickstape]

Hi Chris, thanks for the input.

No its not a live tracking session, i just like to get sneaky recordings to use as my reference base. when i say sneaky i mean i don't benefit from them in any other way than to relive the performance and use them as references. especially if the performance was awesome, ya dig?

In regards to the whole setup thing, im not sure if i'll have the time to really get it tweaked, the dawn service finishes and then i've got to pack down the dawn service pa, move it over to the park <about 1k away> set it up and go and pick up some more bins and scaffold. I guess its going to be a lesson in how to effectively deal with situations like these and pull the best possible result with minimum stress.

I'll keep your tip about taking the low mid out on the channels as well as the stereo mic, i hadnt considered taking one of them along so cheers for that one. As for talking to the band leader/conductor i'm hoping the setlist is not too crazy, i think it will be mainly swing/bebop stuff, ww2 stuff i reckon with a couple of more contemporary numbers.

I'll just have to see how it goes eh.

[Chris H]

Looks like you got your work cut out for you. Hope you have someone to help. Regarding the low mid cut, i suppose it depends a bit on each system. The rig i use is all Lorantz mid highs and dual 15"subs. It is a very well designed system with minimal need for eqing when outside, in fact most of the time i never had the graphic eq plugged in. And yea, it's a great idea recording live shows, i know what you mean. Hope all goes well. I'll probably be out fishing!

[Mickstape]

Unfortunately im on my lonesome for the bulk of the morning, its all good, i can handle it. As for the PA its an KV2 EV system. they sound quite good considering they are the cost effective solution apparently. I quite like them. as for fishing, thanks for rubbing it in.

[Kurt]

Shouldn't a well thought out big band be "self mixing"? The players should be arranged in such a way that a stereo pair at the band leader's podium should get everything about right.

Chris' strategically placed OH's will definitely do the job, especially if you get info on highlights/solos before hand..

I seriously thought about buying an extended KV2 system, but it wasn't "cost effective" enough for the work I do :(