Any advices for a newbie?

wallystripes

wallystripes

New member
I just bought a tascam us144 and a piar of mikes: akg c4000 and shure sm57. I came home and recorded my guitar amp with both of them, sm close miking the amp and akg as a room mike. I didnt pay a lot of attention to the placing of the mikes since i was anxious to try my interface. The result was not very surprising but it was very inspiring. The sound of the room mike was beautiful and when i panned each track hard l and r, i had a decent track for my first try.
I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on whats the key to a good sounding home recording besides from practice. I will enlarge my equipment in the future but first i want to Master this gear. I know it will take a lot of practice but i just want to know what to keep an eye on the most
 
Monitors, room treatment, listen, and learn from what you hear. Sounds vague, but that is IMO, the first and most important steps to getting a grasp on recording. You can try a thousand suggested 'tricks', a bunch of different mics, numerous gear selections, a thousand different plugins.........,but it means nothing if you cant accurately hear what you are listening to.

Though, even with decent monitoring, music will only sound as good as the performance being recorded. Cant even make ramen noodles taste good without a stove, water and a great package of noodles. You can add veg and meat to a pack, but it will still be crappy dried noodles. Fresh noodles make the best ramen!

What that has to do with my original comment about listening devices and room, well, it takes a bunch of care to make it all work. One measure will not make things great. It takes making the best of what you have, and going from there.

It all starts with the basics of what is most important. What you are able to hear. Or how good it tastes....I need another beer.. lol!
 
And what do you mean exactly by "learn from what you hear"? Besides from a good sound source (good recording player and a good instrument) what will make the most difference in the sound of my recording? I mean what should i do if i bring freakin miles davis over and his trumpet sounds like crap when recorded by me?
 
wallystripes said:
And what do you mean exactly by "learn from what you hear"? Besides from a good sound source (good recording player and a good instrument) what will make the most difference in the sound of my recording? I mean what should i do if i bring freakin miles davis over and his trumpet sounds like crap when recorded by me?
Click to expand...

Well, you won't know whether it sounds like crap or not without good monitoring environment. That is what I mean by "learn from what you hear". Trial and error, through years of experience will tell you what works. There is no best piece of gear or way to record anything. Advice can be helpful, but it comes down to each individual performance, instrument, room, Lava Lamp, etc. Advice further than taking care of your listening environment, is basically speculation and personal opinion. Everyone will always agree that your monitoring situation is the most important link. Getting people to agree on anything else, is a toss up.

Oh, and welcome to the forum wally! :D
 
Thanks a lot! I guess Ill spend a bunch of time in this forum in the future.

So basicaly I wont really improve until I purchase a good pair of monitors and Im able to hear accurately what Im recording?
 
As you should man. There are a lot of really knowledgeable people here. I have learned more in one year from this site, than 20 years of recording. Well, close. lol!

Well, you will have a tough time knowing what is an improvement. The headphone/monitor debate always ends in everyone agreeing headphone mixing is possible, but never recommended alone. Even with $1000 headphones. Never.
 
Mmm so now I have a problem. I knew I was going to need a pair of monitors but I didnt think it was THE most important piece of equipment for my recording. I was going to spend around 200 bucks for them but now Im thinking I should save for something better. What do you think? It just kinda hurts to spend a lot of money in something that at first sight seems to do very little (I know they dont, but if you ask someone who doesnt record they'll tell you their iPod speaker can do the same thing)
 
wallystripes said:
It just kinda hurts to spend a lot of money in something that at first sight seems to do very little (I know they dont, but if you ask someone who doesnt record they'll tell you their iPod speaker can do the same thing)
Click to expand...

Yes, but you DO record, so who cares what someone who doesn't record would think. Most non- musicians think that the audio they hear on a music video is actually being played live by the people in the video, doesn't make it true.

Jimmy's advice is perfect. And just to piss you off even more :D, once you get your monitors, they'll only be as good as your room allows them to be....which means that you will have to enter the world of room treatment. It never ends. :eek:
 
Yeah well, I started with a pair of KRK G2 5's. I still use them to cross reference mixes. I now have 3 pairs of monitors, plus PC speakers that I use regularly. My main monitors that I rely on the most are Event TR8's. They give more clarity than the others. I also have a sub.

The key is to get to know a set of monitors, and how your mixes on them translate to other systems. This is the 'learn' part. Over time, you will realize what you hear from your monitors. Then you know what adjustments are necessary to get the mixes to translate.

Your sig does not say where you are from. All of my monitors were found used, over time by checking Cragslist on a daily basis. KRK's $170, Event TR8's $300, NS10T's $90. Used is the way to go as long as you know what you are looking for. Finding a place to actually try out monitors, and compare for yourself, is the best bet. Though, what sounds good to you there, may very well change once you have spent the time to 'learn' what the monitors are telling you. Start with a minimum budget of $400 new. Then make a decision from there. I would not advise getting a new set of $200 monitors myself. That is pushing the level where price becomes unusable IMO. Sucks to waste money in this recording thing. Find a set of used monitors that are worth $500 for $200, and you have made a good investment. Best if what you purchase is still useable in the future as an alternate monitoring source. :D
 
RAMI said:
Yes, but you DO record, so who cares what someone who doesn't record would think. Most non- musicians think that the audio they hear on a music video is actually being played live by the people in the video, doesn't make it true.

Jimmy's advice is perfect. And just to piss you off even more :D, once you get your monitors, they'll only be as good as your room allows them to be....which means that you will have to enter the world of room treatment. It never ends. :eek:
Click to expand...

Yeah, RAMI is right. Then there is room treatment. Trust me, you will spend a year struggling, and wondering why things don't mix easy. Then one day, you will think, 'Hmm...maybe I should try treating my room'. Then you will kick yourself in the ass (HARD) for not doing it in the first place. Been there......
 
OMG ): I think I will return all of my equipment.


Hahaha just kidding. Tell me more about the room. I will probably have them in a 2x4 meter room (sorry, I use Iinternational Unit system) with a bunch of bookshelves on the back. Any advices on this?

So I should deffinetely buy more expensive monitors?
 
Yeah, look at the threads in Studio Building and Display here. Do not just Google and fall for sites that try to sell you foam products. They are expensive and basically worthless for treating the issues in a small room. Hell, any room really.

Like I said man, if their is a source in your region to find used gear listed by owners, you can get twice the product for half the price. People upgrade, go broke, or get divorced. Deals can be found that allow you to get more for your money. Just gotta find them :)
 
You can get decent monitors for $300 - without monitors your recordings are being colored by the stereo system/speakers/earbuds/headphones you are using - monitors give you an even unbiased flat sound. They actually don't have anything to do with "recording" - they are all about mixing and listening to what you recorded so you can make sure it sounds good :)

if you aren't recording something to release then the monitors are not critical - if you are just recording and listening for yourself it doesn't really matter - but if you want your recording to sound good elsewhere - like on other peoples systems - you are going to want to use reference monitors. They hold their value pretty well so you can always sell them... (*my default disclaimer/excuse for buying just about everything) :)

welcome to HR
 
Armistice said:
You're such a monitor slut Jimmy... :D
Click to expand...

Kinda I suppose. Just like to taste some fruit before my ears go bad from old age. Why I am tasting aurally, I'm not sure. Maybe I'm already losing my mind? Nah! Just don't have enough money 'yet' to buy more expensive monitors! Tasty! lol!
 
Ok thanks a lot for your help guys. I guess Ill save a little and Ill look for a good used pair. The thing is im from Mexico and things here cost quite more. Also there es really little offer so one doesnt have a lot of options. I will be pacient with this. I know a good deal will pop at a moment
 
wallystripes said:
I just bought a tascam us144 and a piar of mikes: akg c4000 and shure sm57.
Click to expand...

First up the AKG C4000 is my first choice when micing acoustic guitars and string instruments. It is also a good vocal mic but does not suit everybody's voice. I also use the C4000 for micing bass cabs. The SM57 is a work horse, it can be used for almost everything. So you have 2 very useful mics in the C4000 and the SM57.

Try micing the guitar cab with both mics at the same time with the C4000 set to omni, if the sound is thin one of the mics is out of phase. Place the 2 mics at about the same distance about 2" from the cab. To adjust the tone move the mics towards the centre of the speaker to increase top end and towards the edge to add more bass. The 2 mics do not have to be the same position. Unless the room sounds good forget the room mic idea.

Alan.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top