ausrock
Well-known member
Rob,
If I was going with an 8 trk analogue setup then keeping a budget in mind this would be my approach......:
Firstly, because by today's standards, 8 trks is rather limiting, you'll require carefull planning and creative thinking, so.........make damned sure ALL players are competent and able to play their parts as apart from "punch ins", there will be little opportunity to correct mistakes short of retracking........editing capabilities is one area where a digital setup has an advantage but if you have good players it shouldn't be a problem. Also, all instruments should be up to scratch........new strings, drum heads, etc., etc.
For gear, and remember these are just my random preferences
, I'd look at the following..........:
Mics;
For o/heads and acoustic guitar, percussion, etc..........A pair of SD (small diaphram) condensers either Oktava 012's or Studio Projects C4's. A LD alternative would be SP's B1's but they are a very honest mic and if there's issues with the instruments or the recording space itself, these mics will tell you about it.
For kick, an AKG D112 although at a pinch you could use the SM57 but you may still need a mic for the bass unless you track it direct to the mixer.
For vocals......this is where, if possible, you need to try different mics out with the singer to find something that sits well with their voice. The C1 is an OK mic but like a lot of the "cheaper" LD mics, a lot of people feel they're overly bright on some voices. Personally, I've had no problems with the C1 but maybe I've been lucky.
Mixer/console.........I suggested the 16 channel Spirit Studio because I'm very familiar with that console (I own a 24 channel) and know their capabilities and as I said, they are frequently on ebay (UK) at sensible pricing and you have S/craft "close by" should you need servicing, etc.
Effects/processing.........Yamaha's SPX series were great units and an industry standard in their day and again can be found on ebay. Comps........well how long is a piece of string
..........I'd definitely suggest getting at least a pair or a 2 channel/stereo unit. Comps may be handy when tracking but effects are better left until mix-down.
Add to this the recorder, h/phones, h/phone distribution amp, mic stands, mic leads and all the other leads necessary to hook everything up. Near field monitors are another subject.
I'd look at a 3 mic setup on drums........o/heads and kick. What is essential here is to be prepared to put in time, and lots of it working on mic positions until you get the correct balance of sound from the kit
For tracking I'd start with a metronome click on trk 8. Then do a scratch recording of everyone (maybe exclude the drums) playing to the click on trk 7...........making sure to have at least two bars of click as an intro before anyone plays a note. Then the fun starts......DRUMS and if possible bass tracked together with the guys hearing the scratch and click tracks in h/phones. Only when you're totally satisfied with the takes should you move to guitar, and again, only when that's satisfactory move on. At this point you could scrap the scratch on trk 7 and get the singer to put down a scratch vocal as a guide. If everything has been working OK, you should now have 5 "keeper" tracks....drums, bass and rhythm leaving you with one empty track and two "sacrificial" tracks that as necessary can be recorded over.
Now, obviously there's other ways of doing things.........if you have a good acoustic space and facilities to isolate the various instruments then you can try tracking all the instruments at once and just dub the vocals later. Use your imagination and put the time in to experiment and learn how to best use your gear before trying to do any overly serious recording.
If I was going with an 8 trk analogue setup then keeping a budget in mind this would be my approach......:
Firstly, because by today's standards, 8 trks is rather limiting, you'll require carefull planning and creative thinking, so.........make damned sure ALL players are competent and able to play their parts as apart from "punch ins", there will be little opportunity to correct mistakes short of retracking........editing capabilities is one area where a digital setup has an advantage but if you have good players it shouldn't be a problem. Also, all instruments should be up to scratch........new strings, drum heads, etc., etc.
For gear, and remember these are just my random preferences
, I'd look at the following..........:Mics;
For o/heads and acoustic guitar, percussion, etc..........A pair of SD (small diaphram) condensers either Oktava 012's or Studio Projects C4's. A LD alternative would be SP's B1's but they are a very honest mic and if there's issues with the instruments or the recording space itself, these mics will tell you about it.
For kick, an AKG D112 although at a pinch you could use the SM57 but you may still need a mic for the bass unless you track it direct to the mixer.
For vocals......this is where, if possible, you need to try different mics out with the singer to find something that sits well with their voice. The C1 is an OK mic but like a lot of the "cheaper" LD mics, a lot of people feel they're overly bright on some voices. Personally, I've had no problems with the C1 but maybe I've been lucky.
Mixer/console.........I suggested the 16 channel Spirit Studio because I'm very familiar with that console (I own a 24 channel) and know their capabilities and as I said, they are frequently on ebay (UK) at sensible pricing and you have S/craft "close by" should you need servicing, etc.
Effects/processing.........Yamaha's SPX series were great units and an industry standard in their day and again can be found on ebay. Comps........well how long is a piece of string
..........I'd definitely suggest getting at least a pair or a 2 channel/stereo unit. Comps may be handy when tracking but effects are better left until mix-down.Add to this the recorder, h/phones, h/phone distribution amp, mic stands, mic leads and all the other leads necessary to hook everything up. Near field monitors are another subject.
I'd look at a 3 mic setup on drums........o/heads and kick. What is essential here is to be prepared to put in time, and lots of it working on mic positions until you get the correct balance of sound from the kit
For tracking I'd start with a metronome click on trk 8. Then do a scratch recording of everyone (maybe exclude the drums) playing to the click on trk 7...........making sure to have at least two bars of click as an intro before anyone plays a note. Then the fun starts......DRUMS and if possible bass tracked together with the guys hearing the scratch and click tracks in h/phones. Only when you're totally satisfied with the takes should you move to guitar, and again, only when that's satisfactory move on. At this point you could scrap the scratch on trk 7 and get the singer to put down a scratch vocal as a guide. If everything has been working OK, you should now have 5 "keeper" tracks....drums, bass and rhythm leaving you with one empty track and two "sacrificial" tracks that as necessary can be recorded over.
Now, obviously there's other ways of doing things.........if you have a good acoustic space and facilities to isolate the various instruments then you can try tracking all the instruments at once and just dub the vocals later. Use your imagination and put the time in to experiment and learn how to best use your gear before trying to do any overly serious recording.
