recording drums -- a hybrid approach w/ e-drums and mic'd cymbals

J

jccmusic

New member
ok - so i'm not exactly a newbie, but i'm a self-taught, impatient, i-hate-recording-with-computers kind of guy who deserves to be scolded for my ignorance and stubborn approach. compared to most on this forum, i really don't know what i'm doing.

that being said, i'm trying to record drums in cubase 6 in a hybrid sort of method -- here's what i'm using:

- alesis dm8 pro
- zoom r24
-mackie 1202
-cubase 6
-2008 macbook pro w/4gb ram
-owc 500gb hd @ 5400rpm
-real cymbals
-a couple small diaphragm condensers
-dbx 1215 rack eq if necessary
-a couple art tube mp's if necessary

i want to play the kit live using the dm8pro's drums, and my real hi-hat and ride. i am considering buying either ezdrummer or addictive drums, so that's part of my equation/question i suppose.

problems:

- latency (duh) - semi-old computer - can't use a better one. what i don't want is for a ridiculous signal path/method and my own ignorance to be what's holding me back.

-only 2 usb ports on the macbook pro - one is used up by the DONGLE! one must be used for the dm8pro so the drums are midi, i have zero left for the r24. should i get a usb hub? i only need 1 additional, but i imagine it should be powered, and will it slow down anything?

here's my stab at the best method:

2 mics (1 for hi-hat, 1 for ride) into mackie 1202, panned hard L and R and output into r24 inputs ... 1 and 2. r24 into macbook pro via usb

dm8pro into macbook pro as midi input/channel via usb.

dm8pro and mics as different channels - record simultaneously - so 3 total channels/tracks in cubase.

SO -
in order to achieve this, i'd have to get a usb hub. any recommendations? but if this setup is completely ridiculous in the first place, any recommendations on a better solution?

sorry this is so convoluted, that's kind of my style.

OH - also, can i still use the r24 as the output and plug my headphones into r24 and hear everything w/ zero latency monitoring if i'm doing it this way?
 
A lot of the results will be directly dependent on what kind of room you are recording in.

If it was between recording a drumset in my untreated bedroom studio or using EZDrummer, I would do the latter. And I do.

This intense recording setup is unnecessary if you get better results with a VST, with so many of them being very high quality these days. So you need to find out if you have a chance of exceeding the quality of a drum VST.

Just my .02.
 
You should definitely get a hub. Its better to run the interface straight into a USB but everything else can go through the hub. You can most likely monitor the e-drums through the drum brain. Are you using a crash cymbal? If so you would be better off with some spaced/xy overheads.
 
so i think i'm going to try a hub and download the trial of addictive drums. JG - you bring up another point i'm not sure of -- if run the e-drums and dongle through the hub, and the interface through the onboard usb input -- will i be able to set the stereo output to run to the interface in cubase and hear everything? will the e-drums be able to skip the soundcard and run out to the interface so i can hear everything at once? i'll be recording on 3 tracks simultaneously - 1 will be the midi channel for the e-drums and the 2nd and 3rd will be the hi-hat and ride, respectively.

i likely will not be using any crash cymbals, but rather using the crash from the e-drums -- part of the issue is that my particular e-drum kit (alesis dm8 pro) has rather loud heads, so overheads would capture too much of their noise. using real hi-hats and a ride lets me free up those pads for other sounds though. i'm hoping you can assign alternate cymbals to pads in ez and/or addictive.
 
I see where you are coming from. Cymbal samples generally sound the least real so using real cymbals is probably for the best. What I am suggesting is that you listen to the e-kit directly rather than out of your soundcard. Do you have any small mixers. If you ran the line out from the e-drums and routed whatever is coming from the interface to a mixer and then headphones you could be latency free.
 
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