recording keyboard to 1680???

[videodrone]

Do I use midi or mic or go direct?

what are the advantages of each? would mic'd be a fatter tone?

[Chrisjob]

I don't know what a 1680 is, ( i think its a korg digital multitrack)

But either way, you can't record anything with midi- there's no sounds, just info.

Miked vs Direct? Depends on what kind of sound your recording (piano, organ, synth), but if you go miked- you gotta worry about mics, pres, amps, and acoustics....

Good Luck

[muzakal]

Roland 1680 recorder - a tried and true classic, but relatively old technology given what we have available today.

Anyway, if you're recording your keyboard to the 1680, ideally you'd want to go direct, and if you can front a little extra investment, go through a preamp (if you're on a budget, presonus makes some decent stuff).

Basically, you'll go keyboard, to preamp, to mixer (some mixers already have built in preamps - mackie makes an okay pre), and then to recorder for example.

just my 2 pentz and worth just that.

-muzakal

[Gunther]

I usually record keys direct, no mic.
I usually sequence my recordings using midi and then record the playback directly to tape (or hard drive in my case).

Recording in midi gives the most editing options. When you get a track with the right feel but one or 2 notes were off, in midi you can easily fix that, on tape its is a pain in the ass to fix. Of course if you don’t have a sequencer you can’t do this.

Recording direct works best for me. Micing a guitar is a good idea since the amp adds character to the sound and is just as much a part of the instrument as the guitar.
But the case of keyboards, the sound that comes out of it is complete. In fact, you will probably make the sound a lot worse if you used an amp since all amps (and rooms) have weaknesses and color the sound. If you were doing multi part sequences, using an amp might make every part sound one dimensional, since everything is going to sound like its coming out of the same amp. So keep it direct, but do use reverb and delay’s to make the sound seem like it was recorded in a room (most keys have built in effects).

Of course there are exceptions to this. Some real organs have a rotary speaker effect, these sound good when miced in stereo… so even though they may have a direct output, you may like the miced sound better. Also, if you have a great room or your going for a certain sound, it’s not a bad thing to mic the keys (like a rock organ through a vintage, overdriven tube amp). But you will ALWAYS get a cleaner, clearer, less noisy sound going direct…

[Gunther]

Originally posted by muzakal
Anyway, if you're recording your keyboard to the 1680, ideally you'd want to go direct, and if you can front a little extra investment, go through a preamp (if you're on a budget, presonus makes some decent stuff).

Basically, you'll go keyboard, to preamp, to mixer (some mixers already have built in preamps - mackie makes an okay pre), and then to recorder for example.

just my 2 pentz and worth just that.

-muzakal

Maybe I am missing something but why would he need a pre-amp with a keyboard? I am of the opinion that it is a bad idea, or if not bad, just a waste of money.

The output of a keyboard is at line level already, so it doesn’t need to be boosted. In the case of my keys, the output is totally frickin silent and clean (so silent that if I hook my monitors directly up to the keys, I can’t tell they are on till I hit a note, even at high volume).

Think about this though, they designed the sounds on a keyboard while using the amps in the keyboard itself... so if there is any weaknesses in the keyboard amps, they would have been compensated for when designing the sounds.

So all you would be doing is adding an unneeded piece of gear into the signal chain to color the sound (a bad thing) and to add its own noise and distortion. If you’re going for a certain effect on a given patch, I can see it... but in general? I have doubts.


I suppose if you had a really noisy keyboard amp then a preamp would do, but if your keys are such a POS, you should probably get a new one anyway.


If anyone can provide some knowledge in why using a pre amp might be a good practice for all keyboards, I would love to hear it. But there is NO WAY I am going to believe that the pres in a Mackie will do anything but harm the sound my keys make.
I record keys by plugging them directly into my recorder. No mixer, no pre-amp, no nothing.

[muzakal]

Gunther,

Not a must, but makes for great in some situations. Let me clarify and agree with Gunther that it's not necessary, however, many pre's (Avalon) for example have a certain ambience of coloration that can be desireable if used in certain situations.

First thing that comes to mind are strings. Just as an experiment, try running your strings through a pre and notice the difference.

Let me just say it again - NOT A MUST - but fun.

my 2 pentz, and worth hardly that.

-muzakal