R
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
First, find out what that cool Shure mic in the kick shell *is*. It's quite likely to be the Beta52 previously mentioned. If so, it'll work. You want to be a recording enjooneer? Learn the specs of every unit you own.
There is no guarantee that a 57 will sound any better than the Audio-Technica mics you have right now. Try to borrow or rent one for cheap before you buy. If you like it, buy it. ? What AT mics? See- you need to know the model # of every piece of equipment you own.
It sounds like you have a fairly small kit. Unless you are playing Death Metal or something, 4-6 mics is fine. For overheads, the Nova's should be OK. I might choose MXL V67G (same price), just because I am familiar with them. I've never used the Nova, but based on reviews, it's probably an OK mic. Studio Projects B-1 is usable. People will tend to steer you toward small diaphragms for overheads, but bizzillions of great recordings have been made with large diaphragm overheads. Be happy.
Whatever gear you end up with in the end, you may find yourself hampered by USB 2.0. Firewire would be a better choice, IMHO, even if you need an external card. Be damned sure before you buy anything, how many *simultaneous* tracks can it record or send to the computer. You will need 6-8, minimum. Transfer the audio files as WAV. files, and all the gear everybody in the project uses must be able to read WAV. That part isn't that hard, it's a standard format.
The next question is- Who's the mixing engineer(s) for this project? If you are all recording noobs, I suggest you look for a guy with a placard around his neck that reads "will mix for food". There are a lot of those these days. As Kurosawa wrote- when the villagers, threatened by bandits, went to the old guy outside of town, he said- "You need Samurai". They said, "we are only simple farmers. We have no gold, only some rice!" The old man replied, "Find hungry Samurai." Trust me on this- my first CD project was made possible by hungry Samurai.
Ha! The learning curve begins here. It's not just the drum tracks. Somebody has to be the photographer, Artistic Director, etc., and somebody has to deal with recording contracts. You can also trust me on this- *Don't* record an album without first agreeing, in contracts that will stand up in court, what is to be done with this music, and who gets the money if it makes any. That is a dark path. In short, if you are going to make a serious CD, a producer would be real good. That doesn't mean you need to hire Randy Jackson, but in the end, on any project, there's always some guy or gal who will step up to the plate and make the hard decisions, artistically. You need to agree on who that is.
Producing? One of the hardest things is to look at an old friend, and have to say, "I'm sorry, we couldn't use your tracks. They just didn't sit well in the mix. Thank you for your contribution." That's how a friend says, "Your tracks sucked." The producer should not be a tin plated god. The whole band should sit in on listening to mixes. This gives everybody some input into artistic decisions, but in the end, there can be only one. The second part is that if you are producing *yourself*, you'd better be a realist about who you are, and what you can and cannot do. If you aren't, you need a producer to point out that you are not a superstar. I'm available (will produce for food).
Yes sir-now that you've achieved "producer", you are hit with a blind side- the dreaded executive producer. This is the person that allocates funds from a theoretical budget. Of course, if your budget is nonexistent, they should do what executive producers do- find one. At that level, executive producers are just confidence men, looking for marks, er, investors. But even if you have no money, an executive producer can find stuff to annoy everyone anyway such as: work for hire agreements if session staff are used, copyright submissions, mechanical royalties, residuals, etc. Damn! Executive producers- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
And there's my point. Most folks where you are, Drum, are thinking small, but if you make a decent CD, it may grow in ways that you hadn't planned on- or you can think small all your life. If you are going to go through the extended effort of making a good CD, do it for real. Have a release party and sign some copies. All of the above is just a warning that a CD production can get out of hand, and aieeee! You have become a ... label.
So what to you do right now? Either deal with the room, or find another one. If you buy equipment that's fairly portable, you can find acoustic space. Practice at home, but record the final tracks in the rented drum room of some real recording studio. It'll be some of the best money you ever spent, and will save you the expense of trying to deaden your glass cube. Before you lay down a single rimshot, know- who's the producer, do you have a mixing engineer yet, and is there an executive producer you need to avoid, and finally- if it makes any money, do you get any, and can you see that in writing, preferably notarized. If anyone wants you to sign any document, agree to do it, of course, after it has been read by your entertainment law attorney. Be prepared for the eventuality that if you do your work well, the baby you sweated over for a couple of years can become- a product. Best of luck-Richie
There is no guarantee that a 57 will sound any better than the Audio-Technica mics you have right now. Try to borrow or rent one for cheap before you buy. If you like it, buy it. ? What AT mics? See- you need to know the model # of every piece of equipment you own.
It sounds like you have a fairly small kit. Unless you are playing Death Metal or something, 4-6 mics is fine. For overheads, the Nova's should be OK. I might choose MXL V67G (same price), just because I am familiar with them. I've never used the Nova, but based on reviews, it's probably an OK mic. Studio Projects B-1 is usable. People will tend to steer you toward small diaphragms for overheads, but bizzillions of great recordings have been made with large diaphragm overheads. Be happy.
Whatever gear you end up with in the end, you may find yourself hampered by USB 2.0. Firewire would be a better choice, IMHO, even if you need an external card. Be damned sure before you buy anything, how many *simultaneous* tracks can it record or send to the computer. You will need 6-8, minimum. Transfer the audio files as WAV. files, and all the gear everybody in the project uses must be able to read WAV. That part isn't that hard, it's a standard format.
The next question is- Who's the mixing engineer(s) for this project? If you are all recording noobs, I suggest you look for a guy with a placard around his neck that reads "will mix for food". There are a lot of those these days. As Kurosawa wrote- when the villagers, threatened by bandits, went to the old guy outside of town, he said- "You need Samurai". They said, "we are only simple farmers. We have no gold, only some rice!" The old man replied, "Find hungry Samurai." Trust me on this- my first CD project was made possible by hungry Samurai.
Ha! The learning curve begins here. It's not just the drum tracks. Somebody has to be the photographer, Artistic Director, etc., and somebody has to deal with recording contracts. You can also trust me on this- *Don't* record an album without first agreeing, in contracts that will stand up in court, what is to be done with this music, and who gets the money if it makes any. That is a dark path. In short, if you are going to make a serious CD, a producer would be real good. That doesn't mean you need to hire Randy Jackson, but in the end, on any project, there's always some guy or gal who will step up to the plate and make the hard decisions, artistically. You need to agree on who that is.
Producing? One of the hardest things is to look at an old friend, and have to say, "I'm sorry, we couldn't use your tracks. They just didn't sit well in the mix. Thank you for your contribution." That's how a friend says, "Your tracks sucked." The producer should not be a tin plated god. The whole band should sit in on listening to mixes. This gives everybody some input into artistic decisions, but in the end, there can be only one. The second part is that if you are producing *yourself*, you'd better be a realist about who you are, and what you can and cannot do. If you aren't, you need a producer to point out that you are not a superstar. I'm available (will produce for food).
Yes sir-now that you've achieved "producer", you are hit with a blind side- the dreaded executive producer. This is the person that allocates funds from a theoretical budget. Of course, if your budget is nonexistent, they should do what executive producers do- find one. At that level, executive producers are just confidence men, looking for marks, er, investors. But even if you have no money, an executive producer can find stuff to annoy everyone anyway such as: work for hire agreements if session staff are used, copyright submissions, mechanical royalties, residuals, etc. Damn! Executive producers- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
And there's my point. Most folks where you are, Drum, are thinking small, but if you make a decent CD, it may grow in ways that you hadn't planned on- or you can think small all your life. If you are going to go through the extended effort of making a good CD, do it for real. Have a release party and sign some copies. All of the above is just a warning that a CD production can get out of hand, and aieeee! You have become a ... label.
So what to you do right now? Either deal with the room, or find another one. If you buy equipment that's fairly portable, you can find acoustic space. Practice at home, but record the final tracks in the rented drum room of some real recording studio. It'll be some of the best money you ever spent, and will save you the expense of trying to deaden your glass cube. Before you lay down a single rimshot, know- who's the producer, do you have a mixing engineer yet, and is there an executive producer you need to avoid, and finally- if it makes any money, do you get any, and can you see that in writing, preferably notarized. If anyone wants you to sign any document, agree to do it, of course, after it has been read by your entertainment law attorney. Be prepared for the eventuality that if you do your work well, the baby you sweated over for a couple of years can become- a product. Best of luck-Richie
