Tidying up live recording kit - first world problems

[tacitus]

OK, so thanks to the advice from you all here, directly or indirectly, I’m curbing my gearlust for the time being and planning to focus on technique with 4-8 mikes maximum for recording live concerts of one sort or another.

I have plenty of gear to do this, now, but I want to have a better way of getting one or two pairs of mikes fairly high up on a single stand. I can use, for example Line Audio omnis and CM3s. Those pairs are dwarfed by the XLR connectors, let alone the mounting bar! I’ve undone the XLR casings before now and slid the caps down the cable out of the way, leaving just the inner block in the mike. I didn’t detect any extra noise but it’s not an ideal solution. Still 4 full-size cables, too.

How about using a 4-way snake made up of Sommer cable (10mm OD) with smaller XLRs at the mike end? I’m fairly sure I saw some shorter LRs but I’m dashed if I can track them down again.

Or, I have a couple of stage boxes with much longer cables than needed. I could take a length off one if them, extract four cores and plait them. Apart from begging the use of a bakelite phone, is there another snag I haven’t thought of?

The mike bar I have is the 6-way K&M job and I could knock up a plastic? version for 4 mikes that’s lighter and slimmer. The stand is a K&M boom stand (overheads type) with extension rod(s). I hope to get a discreet install in a good recording position, though I expect in practice I’ll be thwarted at every turn.

But if anybody knows where I can get smaller-than-Neutrik XLRs, and has any constructive thoughts on this topic, I’d much appreciate it.

[pk.roberts]

I'm not sure of the cable exit position would suit your application, but 'low profile' XLRs are available;
https://www.canford.co.uk/CANFORD-LOW-P ... CONNECTORS
or (and make sure you're sitting down when you see the price) here;
https://www.pinknoise-systems.co.uk/rem ... xlr-f.html

[tacitus]

Thanks for that - I thought I’d checked Canford and they usually cone up on general searches. I must have missed the “low profile” bit.

Not cheap, but I only need 4 for the moment, so worth a shot and neater than dismantling connectors live!

[Hugh Robjohns]

How about using a 4-way snake made up of Sommer cable (10mm OD) with smaller XLRs at the mike end? I’m fairly sure I saw some shorter LRs but I’m dashed if I can track them down again.

Canford's low-profile XLRs don't appear to have coloured cap options. PinkNoise offerings do, but the prices are silly. I use Wendy Broadcast. Low-profile XLRs are around a tenner each... pricy, but if you need them you need them. Cap colours in all the standard resistor code options.

https://www.wendysbroadcast.co.uk/broad ... &curpage=1

Personally, I only use two-channel cables with 5pin XLRs for mic arrays, with light breakout tails to the mics (and preamps) with colour-coded caps. I find that a more versatile arrangement than a single four-channel snake which wouldn't get much use here.

I do have one three-channel snake for a Decca tree arrangement, but that's because I had a length of Canford 3-pair cable left over from a church installation job...

For OCCO type arrays I just run two 5-pin cables up the pole, but more usually I'm using separate stereo arrays, so individual 2-pair cables are more practical for me.

However, if you want a 4-pair cable I can recommend Van Damme Blue series which is easy to terminate directly to individual XLRs, and its nice cable to work with.

https://www.vdctrading.com/products/van ... -per-metre

Or, if you prefer black cables, Canford's HSJ is nice too, with Reussen screens:

https://www.canford.co.uk/Products/2052 ... pair-Black

The stand is a K&M boom stand (overheads type) with extension rod(s).

I don't like using boom stands because of the risk of droopage and the bulky clamp in the audience sight-lines!

I use either Manfrotto 1004bac tripod stands if a tripod base is practical, or K&M 26004 large, heavy round bases with 26007 poles.

https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/photo-m ... d-1004bac/

https://www.k-m.de/en/products/mic-stan ... 009-000-56

https://www.k-m.de/en/products/mic-stan ... 007-319-55

Both options will rise to over 3 meters which is usually enough for a main array.

The manfrotto 1004s are very light, which i like (I ballast them with sand bag weights), and three clip together for transport which makes life easy.

The K&M option is much like the Beeb's old bronze 'cathedral stands' and is very discrete, visually, very stable, and I use it a lot. If you need more than 3m you can add 1m extensions, although I generally prefer more robust stand options if I'm going that high.

It's obviously important to ensure the mic array is properly balanced to keep the centre of gravity directly over the pole, to maximise stability.

In churches I often use two K&M cathedral stands, one either side of the aisle, supporting a 2m aluminium or 2.5m carbon-fibre cross-bar (1-inch tubing). That way I can rig mics on the tube over the centre of an aisle without blocking fire lanes etc. The flat round bases sit easily under the pews and take up very little audience space and don't disturb audience sight-lines too much.

[tacitus]

Good advice, Hugh, as usual, and I’ll probably go the cathedral way when I spend some money again. Right now I want a portable solution and while I can imagine you’re some way ahead of me in this area, I think the 4-way would work well for me. Worth pricing up the 2x2way option as well; I’m hoping to limit my current spend to the cable and the smaller connectors as I have enough of everything, just that it’s all in single cables.

I use the boom stand with the boom fully vertical and while the clamp is visible I don’t think it’ll be a killer for me. I’ve been out with it and the general view seemed to be quite accepting. In the fullness of time a straight pole will be better, definitely.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I've been looking at 4-pair pre-jacketed cables, and I reckon the Van Damme Digitour might be the best option.

https://www.vdctrading.com/products/van ... -multicore

It's the same construction as the Green Series, but with a black jacket, and it's only 6mm in diameter where most other 4-pairs are 9mm or more. It's also low capacitance (as needed for AES3) which is no bad thing for long cable runs.

[tacitus]

Actually, that combination isn’t as expensive as I expected. I might succumb fairly soon. There’s no arguing with your logic, certainly.

My resolve is to learn to do it all as well as I can and then start buying gear. If, in fact, I need to. I’ll be replacing my 27” iMac soon and the replacement will be smaller. I could probably manage with no major kit-buying splurges, well, almost indefinitely.

** STOP PRESS **

My partner came home from a wind band committee meeting this afternoon with a PA job and at least two recordings with that band. I’m running!