Home Recording's Dirty Little Secret

[Bobby Darko]

I wasn't after the 'commercial' sound in the first place either, so I am not afraid to use a cassette based system in my studio (tascam688). I started one year ago and my clients are all coming back now!!! THis is a hobby (for now and probably forever), but I can pay the rent with my rec jobs so that's very nice...

My recording secret is and will always be fix it before the mix (on all fronts) and be creative while mixing.

www.myspace.com/casacassette

 

[thexflamesxburn]

i put option 3. mostly because when i got into this i had no ultimate goal in quality, just to learn as much as possible and get my quality as high as possible. as soon as i like the outcome of something, i go out and read, learn learn learn, and make it even better.

so im basically using it to learn as much as possible. so far i think i've been doing pretty good, but theres always room for improvement

 

[Pahtcub]

My recordings now sound a whole crapload better than on my 4 track cassete recorder, but won't rival a neve recording to a studer 24.

 

[zed32]

my recordings sound awesome.

 

[Blue Jinn]

OK,

I picked 3, but like someone else said the operative word being "reasonable."

I figured, "I have equipment that matches what was more or less the state of the art in 1968." (or in the case of my digital stuff state of the art in 1991) so why can't I sound **about** like a record I hear made in 1968? And is 'about' probably going to be good enough?

Now, I know my unfinished basement isn't going to have the acoustics of a pro-studio, and I do this as a hobby not a full time job. I'm not going to record my drums in an English castle. I don't have a U47, or a 2" 16 track, or any Apogee A/D converters. But, I've seen my friends build houses on their own who are not professional builders. I've seen recording studios that aren't much more sophisticated in gear (not space) than what I have. And I've bought *commercial* records and CD's that sound like crap.

The first choice uses the word "high end." Even commercial isn't always "high end." As others have said, "commercial recordings" run the gamut, from that small label/small studio recording, to wherever Madonna records. People buy records/CD's made by both of them. Is A League baseball any less baseball or any less entertaining than the majors when you're sitting there with your kid and your peanuts?

 

[K-dub]

Without question, it's possible to make high quality productions in a home studio.

Put a pro engineer in a home studio and he'll get the same sound he does in a pro studio.

It's harder to get there, because there are challenges, but it's totally possible.

Kev-

 

[Good Friend]

recordings

I hate studio recordings and i hate modern production. Its lame. Its like when you wake up you smell coffee like a punch in the face but after awhile you dont even notice it anymore. You get used to it and you no longer care. Well hi-fi and major label over produced recordings are that way now. I even dislike the sound of home studios that try to emulate big studio sounds. Ive heard some great home recordings (and by great i mean interesting and creative) and i see zero need for music to continue to be put out in such a ridiculously overblown bloated manner by big studios with tons of money and training yet no artistic vision.

That being said there are some modern recordings that i love that are overproduced to some extent such as Tegan and Saras "So Jealous" record from 2004. If you are going to add tons of tiny subliminal hooks and doubletracked phantom voices coming in and out on individual words and such, thats the way to do it. I think what saves that record is the new wavish mid-fi drum sound and the bizarre vocal sound they put on Saras voice for tracks like "Walking with a Ghost" and "We Didnt Do It".

 

[westgate]

what a question!
i checked off 3rd option. (i should say here-i was a musician who liked to record my own and others stuff-and not for the money)
got akai 4 trk/4 ch in '78, had peavey 6x2 mixer, akg mics-not the good ones; figured with the 4 tracks i could rival 'sgt pepper'. with a better board and mics i might have come close but that was before i knew about track width, +4 levels of pro gear, many other things.

then there was generation loss. took me a while to get that. i thought i could keep overdubbing/mixing down to empty track on same recorder with great results, ad nauseum...
not!

actually did make some 45s in ~86/'87 on above gear; didnt sound bad on jukeboxes, etc. one 'talent' even sold several hundred. and blew it (proceeds) up his nose (if you know what i mean).
was i supposed to get paid-hell yes! did i get paid? hell no! but it was fun.

edit-a few things (among others) that make a world of difference, imo, are dealing with mic placement/room sound (still important even with all kinds of digital reverb, etc) and the use of compressor/limiters (i'm not sure i ever got their proper use totally under control).
all else being supposedly 'equal', these two things can make or break your recordings!

 

[Farno]

No!

If I get a sound even close, I'll be happy! I have confidence in myself which helps big time, such as saying it will happen some day!

As probably most people know, I'm only 13 so I have time to get the perfect sound. This will help big time. The only thing I don't have is money. But hey, I work alot!

 

[Monkey Allen]

I started out wanting to play lead over the top of some rhythm guitar and that was pretty much all I wanted to do. I never expected to sound like a record, I just wanted it to be played one over the top of the other because I thought that would be really cool. How humble is that?

 

[bjbell52]

Well, here goes my two cents worth. I started recording way back in the early 70's. I had a Teac 3340S. I had a lot of fun with it and I still have a few of the recordings I made, but not the machine.

Then I got married, raised some kids, got divorced, married again, raised some more kids, went back to school, worked long hours, etc. etc. etc. Somewhere about 10 years ago I started up with my music again. I was very excited to get a Portastudio 7. Such power. Sadly, I was still working long hours and couldn't put that much time into. I sold the unit on Ebay.

Years later, I got the bug again. At first I tried a Foxtex 4 track digital recorder. I really didn't get good results. I wasn't trying for profession sounding, just decent sounding. I sold it on Ebay and bought a Zoom MRS 802. I had a lot better results. I loved the built in drum machine and the ease of use. I still wasn't 100% happy, but with a machine like this creativity was fun.

Earlier this year I came across a deal I could not refuse. I found a Korg D16XD in totally MINT condition on Ebay for $600. I bought it was have been quite impressed with the sound, the features and the results. I bought some better microphones (MXL V6 Silicon Valve and V12 Silicon Value) for under $400. I'm still trying to learn how to use this machine, but each recording is getting better and better.

Having said all of that, here is my take on the home studio vs professional studio. I will never go to a profession studio because this will always be a hobby for me. But having started with a 4 track tape machine I have to say that we live in a wonder time - gear wise. In some ways I have more power at my desktop than the Beatles had to record Sergeant Pepper. I have 144 tracks, built in compressor, effects, mixer, EQ all in one machine. I am just in awe of what we can get today. I may never get as good as results as a professional recording studio, but I plan to have a total BALL making music with it.

 

[anthonypayton]

Home recording

I thought that buying all this equipment would help me get this beautiful sound... But what I found is that a lot of others don't use the same recording methods that I am trying to use. Therefore it is hard for me to find knowledge on getting the commercial sound. I struggle with recording mono vs stereo. I hear that it is better to record mono, because stereo eats up your space...
-I used nuendo, the VS2480cd, and the Korg M3.
-My biggest obsticle is- trying to duplicate an organic sound with the use of midi instrumentation. I am starting to realize that is almost impossible.
-I think it comes down to knowledge and the style of music you are trying to record.
-For me to get a commercial sound. I would have to get live musicians to play bass and guitar, and possibally drums... But I don't have the money to pay for these musicians... the ones that are good enough to play what I need are way to expensive. The ones that are free just can't do it. So I have to use synthetic instrumentation.

-I hooked up with a guy from the Czech Republic. He heard my work and wanted to do a song. He used a great bass/guitar player and mixed it all with nuendo and some expensive vst's.
-I think the end product was better than anything I have ever done and it sounded pretty close if not just as good as the commercial stuff. But then again he cost 2,500... He tried to help me out a little with recording knowledge but, I noticed people that have skills, they get aggravated with the uninformed... LOL I have a lot of questions.

 

[stevieb]

My first real recording experience was my son (a trained, professional sound engineer) recording my now-defunct bluegrass band. He did things I would have never thought of- that drove home the lesson that gear does not make the (sound) man, before I ever heard the (very impressive) results.

When I decided to buy my own home recorder, I had no illusions, or desires, to even try to duplicate that. I am in a somewhat unique position, in that I have access to gear, thru him, and more importantly, expertiese, that most probably do not. So, I only record as a hobbist and to capture/exhange ideas.

 

[Monkey Allen]

He did things I would have never thought of- that drove home the lesson that gear does not make the (sound) man

I have access to gear, thru him, and more importantly, expertiese

What kind of expertise do you recal him using...as opposed to just plugging things in and aiming mics...you said that gear doesn't make the sound...so what does your son do to make the sound? I'd be interested in hearing what you observed.

 

[timthetortoise]

I feel that I'm now close to producing commercial-quality recordings with minimal gear. Years and years and years and years of recording shit bands, mixing and remixing old recordings over and over again, practicing mic placement with my horrible drumming while combating a less than stellar room has actually helped me a ton. Maybe someday I'll actually get paid a decent amount for it :V

 

[KJI]

I still think home recording can rival commercial studio recordings, if you have the knowledge.

The proof is in the pudding... I've heard lots of songs recorded in home studios that sound professional enough. Perhaps a commercial studio could do it differently, but not necessarily better. That is, it might be hard/impossible if you're trying to get a specific commercial sound, but it's very possible to get a commercial sound.

Me personally, I wasn't expecting to be able to make commercial sounding recordings, and I still can't.

 

[Tbone100]

For me it was more about getting some ideas on tape in the beginning. Years back playing with my band in high school we used to rent a 4-tracker for a weekend and tried to create somewhat of a decent demo. That was many moons ago, but its still exciting to hear my ideas and creations when I hit play back. For the younger peps here... the jump in possibilities from say an old Tascam portostudio to todays software gives you a lot at your finger tips. My only advice is to keep it simple, to help keep your sound clean.

 

[juan162]

As a professional singer and voice teacher, I simply wanted to be able to make recordings that accurately represented what I and my students sounded like with a simple piano accompaniment. You know, something that my students could use for college auditions or for Christmas presents for their grandparents. This wasn't too hard at first, but the more I recorded, the better I wanted to get at recording. Since I started recording, many people have asked me to record them. After some years of trial and error (I especially remember a horrible night trying to record a violin soloist...you don't even want to know) I learned to stick with what I know, to be truthful to everyone about my abilities, and to continue to learn. I'll never know as much as a guy that spends his whole life in a recording studio, but that was never my intention in the first place. My abilities are more than adequate for my original needs and I plan to continue to improve. BTW, inadequate mics, a crappy room, and mic placement make for a bad violin recording.

 

[BruceM001]

Just to keep into music

I started recording in about 2000 with an Echo Gina 20 and whatever computer I had at the time. I had moved to a city from a place where I knew a ton of musicians and had gigged for years. I don't remember what software I used, but I'm pretty sure it was CoolEdit or Goldwave or something. I got into a job that made it impossible to meet new musicians, and was too busy to get another band together.

I taught myself recording, and have done it, sometimes sporadically, since then. Almost two years ago the company I was working for got bought and was shut down, and I got a severance package that allowed me to buy the instruments I always thought I deserved but couldn't afford. Over the next year I acquired a banjo, mandolin, keyboards, a few guitars and basses, mostly for their utility purposes rather than anything high end. That drove me further into recording to justify having the instruments. I stumbled onto this site and a few others, and have switched focus to upgrading my studio, still harddrive based. (Who knew what a preamp and studio monitors could do for you!) And, I've been trying to learn to do it right. Having only felt my way along over the years, I was surprised at how much I was doing 'right', and stunned at the simple things I could have been doing to make it sound better.

I never really considered the quality of the output as much as I wanted to play the instruments. To do that I needed a band, which, lacking musicians, turned out to be me.

 

[Everybody]

Ive dropped like 3 grand on recording equipment, computer parts, blah blah, and for the past 4 months, have been more frustrated and upset in a long long time. haha....

I havent even really been able to recording anything because right when I tried some scratch guitar and drums, my comp locked up and died.

I was under the impression that it would be fairly easy to get things up and running, then after that it was a matter of learning techniques and buying better equipment.

Boy was I wrong...I have no more money, and still havent been able to record anything.

But, I am still trying to get things to work out, it would be a lot easier if i knew someone in my area that could help me get on my feet