Soundboard recording with H120

[ALJ]

I am somewhat new to recording with my H120, and I was wonder about the best way to record a show through the soundboard (mixingtable).

1:
If it is a digital signal, and they have optical out, I guess I should use the optical S/PDIF in on my H120 ??

( This is what I use when I record radio with it, toslink out and S/PDIF in. )

2:
If is an analog signal. Should I record the analog signal through the line in ?? Or should I try to convert the analog signal to a digital one ?? If the latter, would the job be done by an AD 20 A/D-converter, or is that strictly from converting microphonesignals ??

I thank you in advance for your responses.

[petur]

Well it depends if the external A/D converter you have is good quality. But in general if you can record digitally, do it.

There's quite a bit of information and discussion to be found on http://www.taperssection.com. Registration is required even to view that site (it's just one big forum), but it's worth it.

[Davide-NYC]

If the soundboard has optical out just do that, otherwise go line-out to AD-20 to optical to H120.
Sounds like a good time. 

[whatboutbob]

...otherwise go line-out to AD-20 to optical to H120.
Sounds like a good time. 

This will most likely clip.  The AD20 has min 17dB gain.

[ALJ]

I contacted Denecke by mail, and since AD 20 is a mic pre-amp I will need a - 22 db attenuator cable, which they manufacture.

This sounds like a detour to me, or maybe it isn't, since I obviously can use the AD 20 both for this, and as a mic pre-amp.

I still wonder, before I give my dollars away, does anyone know of any better products for this ??

[keuleJ]

I may be stating the obvious but with recording directly from the mixer you might not get the mix you want. Sometimes you get better results if you record with a mic in the room.

[C1u31355]

The recording part of the H120 is an analog-to-digital converter. It is slightly lower resolution than the Denecke, but it might be good enough for a live recording on its own. It's up to you whether you want to buy and carry around an extra box.

Recording from the soundboard only gets what is going through the soundboard. If the sound of the band also depends on its stage amps, on the acoustic volume of the drums, etc., then you will get a weird mix out of the soundboard. Good sound in a room recorded through good microphones might pick up audience chatter, etc., but it may well sound more natural.

I use a pair of binaural mics and a battery module into Line-in of the H120 and get good results. Line-in directly from the soundboard should also give good results (or a good recording of what's coming through the soundboard) if you make sure it's at the right level.

[Datman]

Recording from the main out of a live mixer could be not as good as it could seem to be. The problem is that in the live session you hear not only the mixer sound, but also some direct instrument sounds, like drums, bass and electric guitars, then they could need a lower level in the mix. In a big show, direct sounds are not so loud compared to the pa, but the best way is to have a recording mixer in parallel with the main mixer inputs or, at least, some main mixer groups to a rec mixer or recording from 2 aux busses.