are good home recodings possible

  • Thread starter Thread starter reich_fan
  • Start date Start date
R

reich_fan

New member
I posted this in the "Studio Design and Display" forum and thought that perhaps the question is better suited here. Sorry about that.

Hi everyone,

I compose music in my spare time, and am interested in knowing if it's possible to make good recordings from home. I have recorded before, at home, but only so as to compile the work that I'm doing - my equipment is very basic, and I dont use monitors or anything like that.

The main reason I wish to work from home, and not just head down to my local recording studio, is because I'm a solo musician who likes to layer different instruments on top of each other - this is a creative process for me, and I'd like to have plenty of time to do my recordings, instead of rushing over one whole weekend and getting nothing done.

Anyway, I've scoured these forums and others over the last number of weeks, and I'm pretty confident that I can afford good recording equipment. The other 2 important factors seem to be - experience as an engineer, and the environment I record in. I realise that sound engineering is a profession for those who do it best, but I'm sure over a period of a few years, I could become experienced enough to use the equipment I have, properly. I'll also be recording only a few different instruments, so that should help lower the learning curve a tad. I?d really appreciate some feedback with respect to this ? from both professionals and guys like myself who record as a hobby ? am I kidding myself?

The types of instruments I play include acoustic guitar, marimbas, congas, jew?s-harp and chimes.

What about the recording environment? What would be ideal for the acoustic instruments I?ve listed above? I often see the phrase ?a good sounding room?, but what is this exactly? Is it a room that absorbs every thing, and has no reverberation from it?s walls? I guess it?s a case of acoustics also ? a concert hall for example.
I have one room in my house that I could use for recording in. It is 20ft x 13ft x 9ft. It has a pine floor, and a large mahogany table in the centre ? if that helps in any way. I don?t notice any reverberation when I play in there (if I clap my hand, there?s no echo), but I?m sure a microphone will respond differently.

If it is a case that my recordings will only ever sound O.K. at best in a home studio, then I?ll stick with what I have at the moment. Otherwise, I?d like to give it a shot. Hope you can give me some guidance,
Thanks,
Brian
 
yes, it's possible. especially if you're a brilliant recording engineer. that said, i'm not one of those, and am not giong to poison your mind with my lackadaisical answers to your more specific questions.
 
First off, I second that last post. Knowlege and experience can't be substituted. However, as a (albeit obsessive) hobbyist who's been doing this a while, I do know for a fact that "good recordings" can be had in a home studio by folks that have done their homework (checkout the MP3 clinic).

I would recommend a few requirements, understanding that the term "good recordings" is very general.

1) Good mics - at very least a Shure SM-57 dynamic. You'll also need a decent mic preamp or a decent mixer.

2) Assuming you'll be recording with a computer, you'll need a decent system - I'd recommend at least 900mhz, the faster the better.

3) A good sound card, meant for recording. 24 bit, 48 khz at the least.

4) Good multi-track software. Sonar, Cubase SX, etc...

5) Good, well shielded cables.

6) At least half-way decent monitors. The Labtecs that came with your PC ain't gonna cut it.

It can be done if you're willing to put in the cash and effort. There are a zillion other options, like standalone recorders, so your mileage may vary, depending on what you decide.
 
thanks for that,

I've done plenty of research on the equipment front, and I now know what I need.

But it the lack of experience and the lack of a good studio environment that I'm worried about.
 
Your room is rectangular which is good (especially for monitoring) - square is bad. Generally, a good room has great acoustics of it's own. Those are fairly rare to come-by in home studios, which is why people (and most studios) deaden the sound of their rooms with Studio foam or, at least heavy blankets. This prevents an ugly sounding room from affecting your tracks, and reverb and other effects are added artificially with plugins or outboard gear.

In my opinion, all you really need is a dead sounding room, and you're in good shape if you've got decent effects to work with. Of course, if you get the opportunity to record in an old church or an old wooden stairwell, don't pass it up :)

Experience can be had in a short time if you work smartly. If you keep doing the homework before going willy-nilly on the faders, you'll flatten the learning curve quite a bit.
 
If you are that worried about the experience, then I'm sure there are classes you can take in the area. Although, I've found that this board contains a wealth of knowledge that might not be found in some old hack engineer's recording 101. (no offense to any teaching engineers) Also, you can go into the STUDIO BUILDING FORUM and ask any number of questions about making your room up to par for your situation, you can also do a search to find some frequently asked questions about rooms. This site can help you out with your ideas in more ways than you know yet I think. Try that handy little search at the bottom right of the screen.
 
I think a few people here should learn to "dummy up" and think before the make ludicrous accusations.
 
You'll have to show me where anyone accused anyone of anything.
 
>>Anybody who uses that for a screen name in the US has got to expect it.

Well thats the best I've ever heard, as if to say it would be acceptable to use it in Europe or elsewhere.
 
...o....kay.... I thought we were talking about home studios here? Lets see... Reich_fan is not a Nazi, and Nazi's are offensive to anyone with an ounce of decency everywhere in the world. Got it. No argument here. If you want to further discuss WWII, Hitler, or skin-heads, with all due respect, you might want to take it to the cave.
 
Yes, it's possible, and you don't need a lot of fancy recording equipment either. You need a recording and mixing medium that doesn't colour the signal badly or adds noise, and good monitors so you know what you are recording. That's it really.

For acoustic music good mics and a good room are also essential. A good room is one that has no resonances. This is most easily achieved my deadening the room, i.e. making the room absorb everything.
 
Re: Re: are good home recodings possible

regebro said:
Yes, it's possible, and you don't need a lot of fancy recording equipment either. You need a recording and mixing medium that doesn't colour the signal badly or adds noise, and good monitors so you know what you are recording. That's it really.

For acoustic music good mics and a good room are also essential. A good room is one that has no resonances. This is most easily achieved my deadening the room, i.e. making the room absorb everything.
Click to expand...

I am so glad you said this.
 
craz said:
I'm glad to see that the people who have contributed to this thread so far, are not uncultured enough to think that Reich is somehow a reference to nazis. [/url]
Click to expand...

Queensryche rules, man! :D Rock on! ! !
 
reich_fan said:
I've done plenty of research on the equipment front, and I now know what I need.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiousity what are you getting?
 
Are you abolutely limited to just the one room? Just last night while working on my band's demo CD I set up a microphone in the shower and sang into it (the water was off of course). You know why ppl sing in the shower? Because the natural reverb sounds good. So set up a mic in the shower, turn up the trim on the mixer and sing from a foot or two back. The closer you get, the less reverb, the farther away, the more. Drums often sound good in the kitchen, although we didn't do it. Get a bunch of the egg-crate pads you put on beds and line the walls of your room with them. Those work great for deadening. As always, be creative.
 
Re: Re: are good home recodings possible

regebro said:
A good room is one that has no resonances. This is most easily achieved my deadening the room, i.e. making the room absorb everything.
Click to expand...

This formula would most likely result in some of the worst recordings one can imagine, to say nothing of setting back the science of performance hall acoustics back about 3000 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top