Your friend who plays in a band suddenly asks you to play roadie in their next gig and help record their music live. He hopes that they’ll get good enough material to send to the local radio rock music station for their “RAW SOUNDS” programs. Being a good friend, and being able to see visions of Billboard top ten hits in the near future, you agree. This is despite the fact that you only have a few recording experience. Of course you can’t cram learning the stuff in a week, as it not only takes knowledge but most importantly experience to do good in this field. But have no fear; here are a few tips to help you play out your rock star fantasies –even if you’re only helping with the recording.

Check the quality of the equipment. If you plan to invest in recording equipment, make sure that you get good quality stuff. Start with the very basics (such as a mic, a mixer, and a recording device) and build your way up. You can participate in online forums that are dedicated to reviewing recording equipment. You usually get loads of good advices from experts and sometimes you also encounter those who sell their old equipment so they can upgrade. You can take advantage of these offers. Don’t forget to conduct trial recordings to judge the level potential of the equipment.

Don’t forget to ask for a line-out in the venue, this means that you record directly from the sound engineer’s board – there is usually one who handles all the sound details during a gig. This will help control noise. And grab the chance to chat with the guy (or gal) and discuss about sounds and equipment and stuff. Be the best of buds.

Speaking of noise control, if you are using microphones, make sure that their placements are well-planned. Select areas where there is the least ambient noise. A boom mic over the crowd’s heads is a nice idea, but try to be more creative in the mic placements if you do not have the budget for boom mics.

Carefully monitor the recording level of your recorder or you’ll get more of the noise than the music.

Practice, practice, practice! You always take chances with live recordings but you minimize the problems by anticipating them. And the great way to know about them is to encounter them. But better to do so while you are practicing rather than on the actual session itself.