direct in or use a mic

[cake1122]

i have a very low budget home studio and i am recording a friends hardcore band on thursday and i m wandering if i should record through the line in on my usb mixer right into garage band or mic the guitarists amps with my mxl 991 instrument mic . if i should mic it what mic placement and amp volume setting should i use. either way how do i get that really big sound thats in alot of hardcore songs

thanks alot guys

 

[Monkey Allen]

For a good sound you'd probably have to mic up a lot of the instruments. Line in probably is no good. Using one mic you'd just place it a distance away...do a test...etc

 

[cake1122]

so if i record the amp i wont loose alot of sound quality because alot of things i have red say go direct.. i have also heard about douplicating the track twice why would i do this? sohlud i duplicate it?

 

[ggunn]

i have a very low budget home studio and i am recording a friends hardcore band on thursday and i m wandering if i should record through the line in on my usb mixer right into garage band or mic the guitarists amps with my mxl 991 instrument mic . if i should mic it what mic placement and amp volume setting should i use. either way how do i get that really big sound thats in alot of hardcore songs

thanks alot guys

Always mic if you can, IMO. Set the amp to where the guitarist is happy with the sound and experiment with mic placement for the best capture. And be realistic in your expectations.

 

[T Sat]

The only time a guitar sounds decent through line in is if it has no effects, just straight clean guitar. Even my out 2 to mixer from the Digitech pedals isn't as good as to amp and mic it.

 

[myhatbroke]

I have a low budget studio too man. First do what they said, let the player tweak his gear until hes happy with it. Then do a recording test. If it has too much low end or high end that not even the mixer EQ can fix then go back to the gear and fix it. Experiment with mic placement and also record at a volume where the amp sounds good. If the amp gets muddy at a low volume then crank it up. Its a very tedious and frustrating First step but very important. Also remember to always leave space for each instrument, so if your happy with a really deep thick guitar tone keep in mind that your bass and drums still have lows to squash in there. And the double tracking is so you dont have to use so much gain and low end on your guitars. Make the guitarist play rythm twice and pan one to the left and one to the right. This will thicken your sound and make it more stereophonic. Recording will take aout 4 days in my opinion. Getting the right sound for the actual instrument is one day. Recording drums and rythm the next, maybe some rough vocals. Third day is leads,vocals and maybe extra stuff. Fourth day is the mixing and editing...But all that I said is from what I'M learning.

 

[myhatbroke]

Another thing. Did you get the combo or is it just the mxl 991 . That mic is IMO not very good for amps by itself. NOW, if you have the combo which is with the one with the bigger diaphram then i suggest you put the little one in the front to get all the high end and place the big mic in the back of the amp to get all the lows.

 

[orksnork]

you've mentioned books you've read in posts on this board

what recording books are they?? i'd like to get a few copies (to stoke my fire)

 

[travelin travis]

Another thing. Did you get the combo or is it just the mxl 991 . That mic is IMO not very good for amps by itself. NOW, if you have the combo which is with the one with the bigger diaphram then i suggest you put the little one in the front to get all the high end and place the big mic in the back of the amp to get all the lows.

If by "the bigger diaphram", you meant the 990, I'm pretty sure the 991 and 990 have the same capsule.

 

[myhatbroke]

If by "the bigger diaphram", you meant the 990, I'm pretty sure the 991 and 990 have the same capsule.

explain

 

[travelin travis]

explain

i think the 603s, 604, 990, 991, and 993 all use the same diaphragm. the 990 just has a bigger body than the other mics.

 

[myhatbroke]

i think the 603s, 604, 990, 991, and 993 all use the same diaphragm. the 990 just has a bigger body than the other mics.

YOU sure??

 

[cake1122]

yes i got the 990 991 package so i should put the smaller one closer and the bigger on farther back? how far back. and should i have the sound levels the same for both mics.?