i'm new and i need some help

[carlpony351]

ok guys this is kinda long so if you can answer cool if not,thanks anyways.

ok i'm in a band and i also mix/record the songs with my band, i u se cubase sx to record and cool edit pro to mix .

now i have good mics and a good pc and mixer and i wanna make my recordings sound as professional as possible,is there any way i can do that with cool edit pro???
i mean some of the audio tracks seem to low and if i raise them they start to distort and i don't about commpression or gating or all that fancy stuff,does that need to be used???
if you know a website that easily explains al the steps to recording a song good,and how to make a guitar sound good and drums,voice,ecc i would appreciate it,i'm going to be putting some songs i mixed on my site tommorow so you guys can hear and give me an opinion and tell me what i'm doing wrong.


thanks for your time and i look foward to your responses

[Jeff_D]

what kinda card are you usin- how many simultaneous inputs- are you recording live (whole band at once) or are trackin everything seperate- best bet is to always get what you want when you track it rather than when you mix it down- within reason of course- i.e. if your multi trackin everything seperate, and you dont like how quite the guitar is... retrack it and turn it up a bit...
more info would probably be helpful for anyone else to help ya out

-jeff

[duck]

You need to hit the books. Pro-sound comes from knowledge and a good set of ears. I have this book and its a great start for learning. You need to "hear" whats going on.
http://www.musicbooksplus.com/books/mx008.htm

[carlpony351]

is there a website that explains it all, i can't wait for the book to come in the mail.

and yes i'm recording 1 instrument at a time

[c7sus]

This is the website that explains that stuff.

Use the search function and forums for questions about gating and compression. Read Harvey's thread about mics. Go to John Sayers site and read about design and construction of rooms. Check out some of the guys studios, too.