OK I am planning on buying some recording stuff like mixer sound card and mics and hook it up to my computer to record with my band and just as a hobbie. But I just realized I have no understanding of the recording process at all. I only understand the products and stuff you need to record. Ok so here it goes. My first question is what do all those little buttons and knobs on the mixer do. If you cant record everything at the same time do just play the song 4 times only recording 1 instrument at a time.(if you have guitar,bass,drums,vocals) If im right wouldent the timing on on each track be different. My final question and probably the dumbest is what is the stuff you do for hours after the band is gone siting on your computer, mixing down? I dont know.
mixer and process
- Thread starter Thyst
- Start date
Knobs do a lot of stuff.
- I'm not gonna tell you about the one labeled VOLUME.
- Some, maybe labeled HI, MID, and LO, is your EQ. You twist them to get more bass, reduce noise, etc. It's basically about adjusting the sound to suit your taste and style of music.
- Then there might be some PAN knobs, which directs the sound to the left or right channel.
The great thing about computers, though, is that you can forget about most of these knobs. Twiddle them as little as possible, that's my advice. The sound can be adjusted AFTER you have recorded it, in any way you'd like, in a sound editor.
YES, you'd want to play the song four times. Record the drums first, then give the bass player a set of headphones where he can hear what the drummer recorded. While listening, he records his part. Then the guitar, and so on. As many tracks as you'd like.
That way you can work with the sound of each instrument later, and THAT'S what they do when the band has gone home. Add reverb, add bass, filter noise, remove farting noises, insert backing vocals, improve the timing, whatever you'd like. Then you mix all the instruments together into one track. Boom. You got a hit single.
OR, you can buy a more expensive soundcard with more inputs. That would allow you to record it all at once. No obvious reason for that, though.
Hope this was some basic help. Keep rockin'!
- I'm not gonna tell you about the one labeled VOLUME.
- Some, maybe labeled HI, MID, and LO, is your EQ. You twist them to get more bass, reduce noise, etc. It's basically about adjusting the sound to suit your taste and style of music.
- Then there might be some PAN knobs, which directs the sound to the left or right channel.
The great thing about computers, though, is that you can forget about most of these knobs. Twiddle them as little as possible, that's my advice. The sound can be adjusted AFTER you have recorded it, in any way you'd like, in a sound editor.
YES, you'd want to play the song four times. Record the drums first, then give the bass player a set of headphones where he can hear what the drummer recorded. While listening, he records his part. Then the guitar, and so on. As many tracks as you'd like.
That way you can work with the sound of each instrument later, and THAT'S what they do when the band has gone home. Add reverb, add bass, filter noise, remove farting noises, insert backing vocals, improve the timing, whatever you'd like. Then you mix all the instruments together into one track. Boom. You got a hit single.
OR, you can buy a more expensive soundcard with more inputs. That would allow you to record it all at once. No obvious reason for that, though.
Hope this was some basic help. Keep rockin'!
Tom Hicks
Well-known member
First,select a channel strip.Plug the mike in the XLR (3-pin)slot.The knob on top of the channel strip is the trim pot.With a signal present,turn the knob untill the red LED flickers.The two or three bands of EQ are next.Recording cymbals?Turn DOWN the bass knob.Recording bass guitar?Turn the highs DOWN.Subtractive EQ avoids boosting noise by simply removing unwanted frequencies before they get tracked.You will have one or two aux. sends,seperate mono buses to work an effect like reverb or delay into the signal path via the returns.Monitor send is next,another mono bus mainly used live on stage.The individual channel fader is last in line.Set this to approx. 70% of its travel.You may also have a little button labeled PFL or pre fade listen,which allows you to route one or more channels to the headphone bus to check on a particular track in the mix.Set the master faders to where the signal is just clipping the red LEDs.Add other channels the same way,setting levels one at a time as above.Subtract 2 dB from the master per track (or else it will all add up and clip your output).That's enough to get you going.
Tom
Tom