Article

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

For The Record: The Past Tells Us Much About The Future Of Live Recording

We should always remember to look back at the historical trends of our industry - it’s the only way we can stay ahead of the curve and keep providing the gear and the services that our clients need

Many of us make our livings providing concert-goers with the best live music experience possible. We deploy high-fidelity loudspeaker systems and microphones with the latest in digital effects and studio-quality processing in an effort to make the live show sound “just like the record.”

Only better, of course, because the excitement, visual elements, crowd response and performance spontaneity are impossible to reproduce in someone’s living room. Or is it? Let’s step back in time and examine our progress in the effort to capture the live experience for the fans to take home.

Live recording has taken many forms over the years. In the big band era, it was typical to put a single microphone out in front of the performers and hope for the best. Early refinements consisted of adding a second mic for the soloists to step up to. Performances were largely acoustic, with the possible exception of a lead vocalist, so there was no interface with the live reinforcement system.

Recordings were monophonic, and the only options available to the recordist for influencing the outcome were mic choice and location. By the way, the delivery system was usually 78 RPM vinyl records. Given the limitations, it’s amazing how many vibrant, exciting examples exist from that era of music.

Through the 1950s and 60s, there were huge changes in performance, recording and playback technology. On the performance side, the invention of the electric guitar changed everything. (In fact, a case can be made that the electric guitar spawned our entire industry.) The concept of an amplified performance where the audience heard an electronic representation of the instrument rather than the instrument itself was revolutionary in many ways.

It wasn’t long before the bass joined the ranks of amplified instruments, and all of the other musicians (with the possible exception of the drums) were using mics. This allowed shows to be staged at much larger halls than was possible in the “acoustic era,”  enhancing exposure for the artist - and revenue for everyone. I

This also shrank the size of performing groups as well. Previously, if the trombones needed to be louder, more trombone players were added. Now the trombone sound could simply be turned up.

THE MIGRATION
On the recording front, the big news was multiple tracks. Two- and even three- track recorders were invented. This created a need for mixing consoles, and most were built by the studio owners themselves. Some even sported advanced features like equalization.

This technology then migrated over to sound reinforcement, and it required operators. We all got a job!

Big things were happening on the playback scene as well. The hi-fi craze swept many parts of the world. Playback systems with wide frequency response and low distortion became available. The 33 RPM Long Play (LP) record allowed much longer playing times.

Meanwhile, stereophonic sound finally gave recorded music more of the spatial impact of a live performance. With stereo playback, the instruments could be spread across the soundstage to simulate sitting in front of a real band. The elements required to bring the live performance experience into the listener’s home were falling into place.

As the music business roared into the 1970s,  the capability grew to duplicate the recording techniques for live events. Record companies wanted to be able to issue as many LP’s as possible from their hottest bands. One way to do this - without taking them off the road – was the live album.

As budgets became available for quality live recording the first studio trucks were created. A recording studio control room was crammed into a box truck and trundled off to the gig. Either using splits off the sound reinforcement mics or double mic’ing everything. a quality multi-track recording an actual concert could be made. A few audience mics were added, and voila, the record company had their new release.

The best part? No new songs had to be written. The same songs could be sold to eager fans twice! Soon, no self-respecting band was without a live album. Of course, the other advantage was that if the house mix or sound system was substandard, or the acoustics were bad, a multi-track master tape provided some ability to “fix it in the mix.”

And on more than a few instances the band would nip into the studio to fix “green notes” in the vocals or a botched guitar lead.

Live recording had started to generate its own revenue stream, which supplemented the box office receipts from the show. Eventually someone got the bright idea of bringing a movie camera into the proceedings. Between the audio recording truck, the camera operators, directors and miscellaneous technical personnel, it could turn into a huge undertaking. For some events, it was worth the money.

The Woodstock movie made far more cash than the festival itself. If you couldn’t go to the concert, the concert would come to your local movie theater. But only the biggest bands or the most high profile events could justify the expense of the production and pack the fans into theaters.

INNOCENTLY ENOUGH
As technology continued it’s relentless march, many acts wanted to record every performance. It started innocently enough with the ubiquitous “board tape.”  At first this was just a stereo cassette coming right off the same stereo pair feeding the mains. These tapes were generally used by the band and their management to review the night’s performance.

Of course, sometimes this led to some mix criticism as well. It was hard to explain to a guitar player that the reason he couldn’t hear himself on the board tape was because his stage amplifiers were on “11” and his mic was off.

So eventually we started doing sub mixes for the board tapes. I’ve done tours where I had a combination of pre-fader and post-fader stereo aux sends, and used delays to time align an X-Y stereo pair of room mics into a DAT machine – all just to make the troops happy with their review tapes.

And inevitably some bright soul would say, “We could release this as a live album!” or maybe give their copy to their girlfriend, which later appeared as a bootleg causing great consternation and finger-pointing within the ranks.  But that’s another story.

I saw one act that even carried a 24-track recorder in a huge flight case and a maintenance technician on tour so they could record every night. They even organized their set list to give the tech time to change tapes. A sound company I worked for owned a Midas Pro 5 board reputedly built for Harry Belafonte (and of course christened the “Day-O” board), and it had an extra 24 output buses to feed his recorder. It also weighed a ton.

But once again technology came to the rescue.

In the 1990s, digital recorders utilizing tape cartridges were introduced. Each unit recorded eight tracks and several could be synched up. They were rack mountable, reasonably light and low maintenance. A portable rack could now hold enough recorders to run a direct out from every board channel and record every night for future use.

Some enterprising engineers even used the previous night’s show routed back to the console to do a preliminary sound check. The only downfall was that you had to spend every spare moment formatting tapes for the recorders, and archiving was a pain. Depending on the length of the show and the number of tracks required, a single performance might use 30 tapes or even more.

By this time, almost every home had at least a decent stereo and a VCR. More and more tours were filmed, whether a theatrical release was realistic or not. Home entertainment technology had created an alternative market for video concert releases.

Although live records were still being released, the concert experience had much more impact if the visual elements were included. Most top tours and almost all major festivals had an audio and video recording element to document the event and provide a revenue stream long after the actual show. The concert experience was now as close as your local video store.

COMBINATION OF FORCES
The 21st Century has only expanded this paradigm. A combination of forces has created a “perfect storm” supporting concert recording. On the recording technology front, digital audio workstations are smaller, lighter, more robust, and in fact, are often the same machines being used in the recording studio.

An entire show can be recorded on a single hard drive. Digital consoles can easily provide audio streams to the recorders without multiple analog to digital (A-D) conversions or analog signal splits.

The advent of the DVD and home theater systems provide a delivery medium with the quality and impact to really bring the concert experience into the home. Large high-definition screens and surround sound can do a remarkable job of reproducing the feeling of being at an event. They also provide new ways to make money from a live performance, and in a day and age where file sharing and piracy have eaten away at the traditional money flow in the music business.

It used to be common for record companies to provide tour support from record sale receipts. Now, it’s more common for touring and the recorded products that come from touring to be the largest source of income for performers.

Some bands have taken it to the next level by selling recordings of the actual show to attendees on their way out. “Jam bands” are still popular, and no two performances are alike. So getting a recording of these performances show may have more significance than whether the band says,  “Good night, Seattle” or “Good night, Detroit”. Concerts are being staged for the sole purpose of producing a DVD or even a pay-per-view broadcast.

A LONG TIME
Nothing can really replace the adrenaline, the excitement and the immediacy of being at a great concert. Our jobs are going to be around for a long time.

But we should always remember to look back at the historical trends of our industry. It’s the only way we can stay ahead of the curve and keep providing the gear and the services that our clients need.

And anything that enhances the revenue stream from live performances for the artists, promoters - and especially for us - is a very good thing indeed.

Bruce Main has been a systems engineer and front of house mixer for more than 35 years. He has also built, owned and operated recording studios and designed and installed sound systems.

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