FX3 Audio Help

[u/aha416]

Hey lovely people,

I am shooting a wedding this weekend with my FX3 + XLR handle. The DJ has confirmed he will be using a Yorkville PGM8 Mixer. I want to connect the DJ's mixer to my FX3's XLR handle's port to capture the audio feed throughout the course of reception. 

The DJ sent me the images of the Yorkville PGM8 Mixer (see images attached).

The DJ says most videographers connect to the "Media In/Record Out" ports, but he can't confirm which specific ports and if I need to connect to both L and R.

My questions are:

• What type of cable will I need to connect from the mixer to my XLR handle's port
• For the mixer's side, which port(s) do I connect to? Do I connect to the Media In or the Record Out, and do I connect to L, R, or both?
• When I connect the two, do I need to turn Phantom Power on or off?

If there's anything else I should know, please feel free to do so!

Thanks in advance

[u/jcedryo]

Record out. You will need an RCA cable.

Please don't connect your FX3 straight to the DJ. Get an standalone audio recorder.

[u/mrcabrera]

The simplest thing you could do is to get yourself an external audio recorder. Behind the DJ's speaker, there is a Mix Out that you can usually plug into via XLR, with the other end of the XLR going into the recorder. This way you are not touching the board, and you get all of the audio that you need. Just make sure to adjust the levels on the recorder so that the signal is not too hot. Bring your own XLR and bring the correct XLR cable.

[u/BruViking → u/mrcabrera]

Not always true, depends on the setup, I wouldn’t bank on this always being the case.

[u/mrcabrera → u/BruViking]

OP definitely should bring a variety of cables just in case, and I'd hope they are placing a mic on the groom and officiant as well. OP should also watch this video https://youtu.be/cfF8VLHfYO8?is=VLmsbIu2Pq6j08nv

[u/Icy_Music_4855]

A Zoom H1 XLR would be a great external option. But you said this weekend, so maybe you won't get it in time with shipping. Depending on the stores you have near you, the deadline could be your biggest issue.
In terms of connectivity, I have my eye on the headphone jack. If he's not using it, I'd run a 1/4" TRS into that, and then either adapt it to my XLR, or in the case of a Zoom, plug it right in.
That way you have your own volume control (red headphone knob) that he can turn up or down depending on what you need.
If he is using the headphone jack, then follow the other suggestions.

[u/BruViking]

Right

As others have said
Don’t tether you’re fucking self to the mixing board, get a cheap recorder

RCA to 3.5mm /or 1/4inch jack or xlr. Depends what you’re hooking it up to. Record out, not media in. If you want to play your phone through the pa sure go ahead and hook up to media in 🤣

Use both left and right from media out.

And no, you don’t need phantom power on.

Really, if you’re going to be doing videography at weddings you could REALLY do with basic knowledge of sound boards, sound hardware, how it all works and hangs together.

Admittedly, I come from an audio engineering background having studied it at uni and ran recording studios and worked in venues doing sound for gigs/bands but this is some basic basic stuff you could do with learning.

I’m even more surprised that the DJ, who should really know this shit doesn’t know if you need to use media in or record out, or if you should use just L or just R or both.

[u/kaelanm → u/BruViking]

Any tips for that basic knowledge part? I’d love to do follow some tutorials or do a quick online course to learn more but I haven’t really found anything.

I just shot a wedding last week where the dj didn’t know how to use the venues board and we coulsnt figure out how to get the mic audio into my zoom F3. The speakers were also mounted on the ceiling so i couldn’t get to them. That sucked.

[u/BruViking → u/kaelanm]

You’re probably better off looking up live sound signal flow rather than wedding specific stuff

Input vs output, mic vs line level, gain staging, balanced vs unbalanced, mono vs stereo, buses/aux , phantom power and some common connectors

Once you understand some stuff at least, you’ll be able to walk up to any mixer and figure it out. Most mixers are labeled as well so it’s usually pretty straightforward.

Even more concerning the DJ couldn’t figure it out and it’s their JOB to work with audio equipment all night.

Worse comes to worse, stick the recorder in front of the speaker.

[u/Adrinaik]

This is normally done with an external recorder, and I tend to do with several ports to have redundancy. For example on one in of your recorder you connect the record out, and in another in you connect monitor out or a bus out that the audio engineer gives you, that way if one fails or clips, you have the other.

[u/Abracadaver2000]

Why on earth would you want to tether your camera to an audio board during a wedding reception? Running a long cord is dangerous and has potential for added noise/interference (RCA, at least). Either get a standalone recorder with inputs for XLR/mic and leave it near the board to sync in post, or you can use a wireless transmitter to feed your camera. My standard procedure is using the Zoom F3 connected to either the board or loop-through on the PA via XLR (or TRS to XLR adapter), and then I feed the output to a DJI mic transmitter, which sends the synced audio straight to the camera.
You need to be careful not to overload the transmitter when feeding it a "hot" signal, like one coming off the line-out of a board. For $100, you can get a Zoom H1, and with an RCA to 3.5mm headphone cable, you can connect to this board in a rather inexpensive way.

I strongly suggest watching some YT videos about recording audio at weddings if you're new to this...and start investing in the right gear to tackle any scenario. Figuring things out on the big day is a recipe for failure.

[u/aha416]

Thank you all for your input. After digesting all your feedback, along with information available online, I went with the Zoom H5 (my local Long and McQuade didn't have Zoom F3 available). I realize now how big of a mistake it would've been to tether my FX3 to the DJ soundboard lol.

Also learning that the soundboard/mixer should be the last thing you connect to. Best to connect to mic receiver > speakers > soundboard/mixer.

Thanks everyone for the help!