Gear advice moving from DIing to recording drums & amps

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TigerBlood

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I've been recording my band for a while now using my lounge as a studio, but that's caused some serious compromises - we've had to use an electronic drum kit and DI our guitars due to noise issues. I've nothing against recording this way, but it really doesn't suit our style of music, hence we've never been happy with our recorded sound.

Now we've finally got ourselves a permanent rehearsal space, I'm pretty excited about experimenting with some "proper" recording. I'm going to need to purchase a fair bit of new equipment (as well as learning a lot of new skills) so I could use some advice. I've got a fairly limited budget - I'm hoping to spend up to £1000 for the moment, but I can maybe stretch to more if needs be.

My current recording kit consists of a PC running DAW software, an M-Audio Delta 1010 (8 inputs) and an old Allen & Heath GS1 mixer (8 channel). I've also got a couple of Joemeeks (VC3Q and VC6Q) kicking around that I can use for mic pres.

I figure a 16 channel setup will be just about right for us, with at least 12 of the channels needing mic pres. I've been offered a second Delta 1010 and a Behringer 8 channel mixer pretty cheaply by a friend, so that's one option for expansion. But I'm not sure whether I'd be better off going for a dedicated multi-channel mic pre (possibly with an audio interface combined) or maybe selling my current mixer and buying something bigger. I'm wondering if I need a mixer at all, or whether it's overkill. I really just need some way of amplifying 12 or 16 mics and getting the signal recorded - I'm comfortable doing all the real mixing work in the DAW.

So what I'm wondering is, am I better cobbling together a setup from the aforementioned equipment, or am I likely to regret this later? Should I be considering a different setup entirely, even if it costs a bit more money? If you were trying to put together a 16 channel setup from scratch on this kind of budget, what gear you be looking at? Incidentally, I realise that choice of microphones will be a major factor, but I'm just looking to sort the recording side of things out first - one step at a time!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
 
If you are trying to record everything 'live' without overdubbing you will need alot of gear. If you are OK with making a live mono or stereo scratch track and then replacing/adding the individual instruments/voices you can get by with a lot less.
 
Why 12 channels needing pres? Are you planning on recording everyone at once, in a "live" way?
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Yes, I'm hoping to record everything at once. I'm not averse to the idea of the odd overdub here and there, but we work well together as a band, and we know our material really well. More importantly, the style of music that we play really suits a more natural recording style. I know it's ambitious for a beginner like myself, and I know it's going to cost a lot more that way, but I may as well start as I mean to go on.
 
Hmm... I actually typed a reponse... it mustn't have posted.

I said, approximately, that if it were me, I'd find cobbling together a system from multiple components too difficult and frustrating, and while mixers were themselves useful things to have, they're not necessarily of use in recording, given that they sum to stereo, unless you have a mixer with individual track outs, which it's sounding like you don't.

If it were me, I'd sell excess bits of gear, bite the bullet and buy an interface with enough inputs to do what you want.

Your success in recording everyone at once will depend upon how good you are at recording individual instruments, so what I'd absolutely recommend is that you learn to record, without any distractions, all the separate instruments first. If you don't, then having a band play and getting 12 individual tracks, will just be a mush you can't save. You need to know how to record guitar properly, and bass properly and drums properly and vocals properly on their own before attempting the full band.

Furthermore I suggested that unless you've thought through isolation and mic bleed issues, doing it this way is problematic.

Not to say it can't be done, depends upon your level of competence. If you're a real recording newbie, I'd say it may be a step too far as a first effort. If you know what you're doing, however, it's doable.

Have fun...
 
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