Damsels in Distress

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CHSFootballGirl

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I'm a member of a collegiate a cappella group, and we're about to apply to the school for funding so we can purchase some audio equipment. I plan to use my soundcard, a Sound Blaster Extigy (external version of the Audigy), for recording purposes and Cakewalk software for mixing and editing. Before we can apply for our start-up funds, we need to know what equipment to buy. Could somebody give me advice on this? The sound guy from a band I used to play in suggested the Shure SM57 as a recording microphone, but he wasn't sure about what kind of pre-amps and adaptors would be necessary. I obviously need some kind of adapter, since my Extigy doesn't have an input for a microphone cable. Could somebody help me out with this?

-Jamie
 
How do you plan on tracking? Help us out with some detail as to the where (location-wise) and how?

Do you plan on having each person track their part one at a time, or would you rather just track everyone live at once? (seems the latter would make a lot more sense)
 
Glad to provide absolutely any help I can for those trying to help me! We'll probably track everyone together, with the possible exception of the vocal percussionist. We have a few options for recording: Either we could use one of the (mostly) sound-proof rooms at the music practice building, an empty classroom, someone's dorm room . . . Pretty much anywhere with an electrical outlet, we can record. We've experimented with different locals, and I'm not sure if I'd rather have more natural reverb in a room or maybe add it in later with effects. The school provides $400 for start-up funds for us; we might be able to raise more than that by attending TV tapings (one of the great things about living in L.A.) if necessary.
 
From my somewhat limited experience recording all-girl a cappella groups . . . and given your relatively small funds and resources and what not . . .

I would recommend recording the entire ensemble in one room, minus the soloists . . . or at least have the soloists shut up rather than sing. :D Station the vocal percussionists several feet away and out of the mic's range from the rest of the ensemble -- but still close enough so they can be heard by the rest of the group.

You could also try putting them in a separate room, but then you would need to invest more money in head phones, cords, etc. etc. so that everyone would be able to monitor them over the headphones while you perform.

My favorite method for recording the ensemble would be to have them all get in a circle around a stereo pair of condensers. You could probably get by with a pair of Oktava MC012's from Guitar Center. Tell the butt monkey working the counter that it's for a non-profit organization, so you'd like to see if they'll give them to you for a $100 for the pair.

You could also do the same thing with the vocal percussionists. Have them get in a mini circle around a pair of condensers. You're probably going to want to stick a pop filter over their mics and have them get in close -- almost right up on them.

You could then have the soloists overdub their parts after everything else has been tracked. For that, I'd recommend picking up a CAD M179. http://www.frontendaudio.com/CAD M179.htm An outstanding mic for female vocals, and it's very cheap.

All told, these mics will set you back about $400 for the lot. That's about the rock-bottom price I'd be willing to shell out for decent mics. You're obviously going to need to raise more dough for the rest of the stuff you're going to need. For that I'd recommend throwing a kegger. :D Preferably the kind with lots of beer and hot women running around. :D he he. Just kidding. You might consider approaching your school's student governmental body -- student council or Board of Ed if you're in High School or student senate if it's university. You could have a bake sale at a game, host a dance, any number of things. Use your imagination.

Here's some stuff I recorded for the University of Chicago women's aca pella group, Men in Drag :

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1298&alid=402


Good luck
 
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