Home Recording Question from Experienced Musician, Recording Newbie

  • Thread starter Thread starter GardenofMike
  • Start date Start date
So if you record your guitar, your bass and let say a keyboard all with a sm57, would there be too much things in midrange? Would make it hard to mix after? Is it cheaper a kick drum mic or a large diaphragm?
 
The guitar and bass should have completely different midrange content. You will also be eqing both, so it will not be a problem.

The cost depends which specific mics we are talking about.

Which one is better will depend on the amp and the type of bass sound you want. If you are going for a really clean and bright sound with a lot of sub low end, plugging the bass directly in would be the way to go.

I can't think of any compelling reason to mic a keyboard. (Unless it's an acoustic piano or a Hammond B3 or something like that). Plugging in directly would be the best way to go.
 
Sweet thank you! For the keyboard, it's a midi keyboard but some sounds I want to record are in a sound module but I guess I could connect directly the sound module. I was plugging the sound module to an amp to hear it that's why I though of using a mic...
Well as you can see I still have a lot to learn :)
 
Plug it directly into the interface and listen on headphones. You will be able to record and listen in stereo this way (provided you plug both the left and right outputs into the interface). It will sound 100 times better.
 
Kleudde said:
Ok Thank you, so we would need a DI only if we plug the bass directly to the sound card and that sound card doesn't have an instrument input.
Is the sm57 a good choice of mic to record the amp of a bass?
Click to expand...

A DI box can sometimes be a better option than the high Z input on some AIs because a few have limited headroom.

For bass the HF loss that is possible with a passive DI, especially the cheap ones, is not so much a problem as the poor LF performance likely with a cheap transformer. An active DI ovecomes both limitations.

Some of the best and of great value are made by Orchid Electronics.

Dave.
 
Hey all, OP back here. I've done some research, bought some stuff (new computer, interface, Reaper), about to pull the trigger on a bass and electronic drums. For right now I'm just planning to record those instruments - if I add acoustic guitar or vocals, that will come later. So here's my current question - keeping in mind I'd like to buy as little as necessary for right now - what should I use to run the sound through? It seems like I don't need studio headphones because I don't need to worry about anything bleeding into a mic. I'd rather not spend money on studio headphones, monitors, and mixing headphones, so would it be possible to buy just one of these and use it for both tracking (again, currently just electric guitar, drums, bass) and mixing? Also, I don't think I need a mic because everything I'm laying down for now will be running straight through the interface - is there any reason I should get one now?

Thanks!
 
If you aren't going to record anything with the mic, there is no reason to get one.

You are almost always better off mixing on monitors, but you need to control the acoustics in your room for them to work properly.

I can't help you will headphones to mix with, because I don't do that and I don't know what's out there at the moment.
 
To mix you really do need a decent set of monitors. To track (Im assuming you will be playing to a click or a scratch track for drums?) you will need at least a set of tracking headphones so you can hear the scratch or click at a good level. As someone mentioned earlier, you may want to get a good vst for drum sounds. Something like Slate Drums or Superior Drummer. Way better sounds in those softwares than what come with any V Kit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top