New to this, I have multiple questions

[Brandon T]

So a few weeks ago I got a Tascam DP-01FX and I'm going to record my songs on it. I don't have a band yet so I might as well try to do the bass/drum tracks to go along with my guitar parts.

No matter what I do, the quality of my recordings won't be the greatest in the end because I'm doing this in my basement with no idea of how to, uh, sound treat? I'm also using shitty cheap mics that happened to be sitting around the house, eventually when I get better at this I might drop money into new mics but for now I want to learn to use the stuff I have.

Anyways, I've figured out just basic stuff like how to record, arm tracks, etc. I've done a few guitar tracks to test it out but that's it. Reminder that for now I'm just doing guitar/bass/drums and maybe guitar solos on a different track. I don't even want to attempt to sing so for now I'll just make my songs instrumentals and maybe just try to write lyrics for later use.

Question 1: How should I get around to actually getting the tracks in time with each other? I will be recording with a metronome so that part won't be a problem but I'm wondering the best way to get the bass and drums to eventually line up. If I'm not wrong since this 8 track is digital I can eventually punch them in (or is punching not what I'm thinking it is) to start at the same time? For example, if the guitar comes in 5 seconds after I hit record and the drums come in 8 seconds later, can I make them start at together? And related to this, how should I actually go about making everything the same length? I generally know the structure of my songs and how many time I repeat certain riffs or whatever but when I'm drumming I won't be able to hear the guitar. When recording drums should I be trying to imagine the songs in my head, or should I try to write down the sections on my phone and have that in front of me (such as intro riff x8, verse x2, chorus x4, etc)? My drums are too far away to try to listen to the guitar/bass tracks unfortunately.

Question 2: How should I generally position mics? I'm trying to record guitar first right now and I have the mic sitting maybe 6-10 inches from the middle of my cab. I haven't really tried recording any drums yet and don't know if I should use two mics for it and where to actually put said mics. Also worth noting that I only have one mic stand so if I use two mics, one has to sit on the floor or on a stool.

Question 3: Slightly related to the last question, how do I get it as loud as possible while avoiding distortion? On my guitar tracks I've gotten a few to the point where the signal output display meter thingies are as high as possible without peaking but compare to CDs playing at the same volume on my speakers, they sound way quieter. I also don't know what level to set the mic input at on the recorder. Should it be turned down lower while the mic is close to the amp and the amp is turned up or should the mic input be turned up high while the mic is further away and the amp isn't as loud? Sorry if that sounds confusing, this part is confusing me the most.

Appreciate it if anyone can answer any of these!

 

[spantini]

Welcome


After you lay down your first track...

Do you record the second track while listening back to the first track? If so, everything should be lined up.

If you don't listen back while tracking the next track, and track 1 and 2 are not aligned with each other, you can use the Track Edit feature to cut time from the front of the second track so it aligns with the first track. OR... you can ADD time to the start of the first track to align that with the second track.

See About Track Editing Pg. 47 in your manual.

 

[Massive Master]

Jumping to 3 -- Don't record hot... Record with massive (no pun intended) amounts of headroom. Keep that headroom. Cherish and protect that headroom as long as you possibly can. Worry about volume at a (much) later stage.

 

[ecc83]

Jumping to 3 -- Don't record hot... Record with massive (no pun intended) amounts of headroom. Keep that headroom. Cherish and protect that headroom as long as you possibly can. Worry about volume at a (much) later stage.

+1 But there are, er, issues John! This, Tascam DP01 & DP01FX | tells us that the metering on the box is pretty useless but you can dump files as .wav to a PC so...Ifnitwasme..I would do a test recording at some arbitrary point on the FUless meters, import that to a DAW, Audacity will do nicely, and see what the level is.

The recorder seems to be 16bits so OP will have to be careful but even so, an average level of -14dBFS or so should be fine. Guitars and their amps are noisy buggers so the 16 bit limitation is not that bad.

And FFS chap! Buy a couple of mic stands! The 1/2 sized ones are VERY handy around amps/ac guitar and kicks and can be had for $20 or so. Not "gig fit" for long but fine in a home setting.

Dave.

 

[mjbphotos]

1) Use a 'Count in" at the start (when you are recording your first track) - at least 4 measures (on the metronome). Gives you a chance to hit the 'record' button, then get in place. AS already said, monitor the tracks you already recorded with headphones so you are in synch with them.

2) Try different mic positions - a lot depends on the amp, speaker and mic. I put a Shure SM57 at a 30 degree angle towards a spot a couple of inches in from the edge of the speaker, 3-4" out from it. If your room does not have too bad reverb/slapback echo, you can put the mic out further without worrying about capturing too much of the room in the recording. You can also try putting bass traps around the mic.

3) As already said, don' worry about overall track voume when recording. It's in the mastering stage that the volume gets boosted up.

 

[Brandon T]

Thanks for the replies.

If you don't listen back while tracking the next track, and track 1 and 2 are not aligned with each other, you can use the Track Edit feature to cut time from the front of the second track so it aligns with the first track. OR... you can ADD time to the start of the first track to align that with the second track.

See Pg. 47 in your manual.

Yeah I think this is what I was looking for. I think it lets you be pretty precise with the timing so once I get to recording a bass or drum track I'll try the track editing.

+1 But there are, er, issues John! This, tells us that the metering on the box is pretty useless but you can dump files as .wav to a PC so...Ifnitwasme..I would do a test recording at some arbitrary point on the FUless meters, import that to a DAW, Audacity will do nicely, and see what the level is.

The recorder seems to be 16bits so OP will have to be careful but even so, an average level of -14dBFS or so should be fine. Guitars and their amps are noisy buggers so the 16 bit limitation is not that bad.

And FFS chap! Buy a couple of mic stands! The 1/2 sized ones are VERY handy around amps/ac guitar and kicks and can be had for $20 or so. Not "gig fit" for long but fine in a home setting.

Dave.

On this recorder all it really shows on the meters are two bars, no info on what the decibels are actually at. Good point on being able to check it on a PC. Also I know another mic stand will really help, I got a really ghetto setup going on right now. On the plus side I got a slightly better mic than anything I have now, I just need to get an XLR cable for it.

3) As already said, don' worry about overall track voume when recording. It's in the mastering stage that the volume gets boosted up.

Ah really? That's good news because I probably would have kept trying to record them as loud as possible. It looks like I should stop being lazy and try to get one song recorded to at least hear the mastered end result.

 

[andrushkiwt]

Lots of people seem to buy gear first, then ask questions later, in this forum. I'd bet most would have told you to skip the recording unit and just pick up an audio interface and DAW. Incredibly easier to do some the things you're trying to do.