Hello,

I am Venus, currently doing my final semester at ICOM, majoring in Music Production & Technology (MP&T). I would like to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences and tips involved in live sound recording. Well, there is a lot of preparation that needs to be done before you can even hit the record button. There are so many things that you need to take into consideration before recording, for example, checking all the performance lists, including how many and what instruments will be used. From there, I check how many available channels I would need for that particular recording session. Besides, always co-operate and discuss with the mixing engineer and the most important thing is “Always be present during sound checks”. Also bare in mind that anything could just happen during the show, therefore, you will definitely need to know the flow of the show and rehearse it as many times as you can.

There are many ways of doing live sound recording; at the recital hall@Wisma ICOM, what I usually do is take the direct out from the board and record the pre fader signal into Pro Tools. As an alternative you can also directly connect from the patch bay as the direct outputs are internally wired to Pro Tools. Besides, I have also tried using the Yamaha O1V digital board to record a live show and I found out it very convenient to use as you can control the volume and other important aspects. Level control is also very important in doing live recording and by using Pro Tools, I can always check my levels in the mixer page. Pro Tools is a very powerful and convenient software for recording. Sometimes, I group some of the channels to busses if I have limited channels to record and always create a master fader to check the overall level. Live sound recording is very interesting and there are always chances for students at ICOM to learn more. Besides practicing recording skills in a live situation, you can also practice and learn how to mix a live band. So, to all ICOM students, please appreciate it and make the best use of the opportunity. It is time for you to move and enjoy the show in another situation instead of sitting down.

A few pointers: