How many units do you track with?

  • Thread starter Thread starter dobro
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I recently did a demo for my rock band using n-track,cassette 4 track,a stereo vcr and a 12 channel mixer.I miked snare,kick and stereo overhead.That's 4 for drums.That went to the tascam.bass,keys,lead ,rhythm and vocals were the other 8 mixed to stereo and sent to the vcr.All dumped to my hard drive and mastered (levels,eq,compression,verb and normalized)using n-track.
Tom
 
I'm glad Emeric posted, now I know I'm not the only one :).

Dobie, I think there is a difference between playing consistent and "holding back". My snare and kick mic gain levels are usually set at or close to the minimum. The problem isn't the peaks at that point, it's usually the dynamics. If they're really whacking the snare during the chorus but being subtle on the verses, then the quieter snare hits can get buried in the mix. That's when I add compression at the mix stage to even the volume levels out (and add a little more "snap" with the attack).

The kick and snare are the biggest culprits, so you might get by with just a couple of channels of compression/limiting. Overheads shouldn't be a problem in most cases, and most songs don't have nearly as much toms as kick and snare, of course.
 
Dobro,

Certainly a compressor on the front end would reduce my stress and time factor. But, I wouldn't sing any different. Having control at the instrument level is far more important than using a device after the fact IMO. That goes for any instrument. If the drummer plays like he plays live, unaware of the differences between recording and a live setting, it makes it tough. I think in that case, compression would be handy. I mean, in either setting it would be preferred(lightly), but not essential. I think if you can stay within a reasonable range of dB, then all is cool.

PG,


Yeah, kick and especialy snare. Overheads I don't let go beyond -5 or so, don't trust the digital metering. You are not alone :)
 
Dobro,I ran the drums 4 mics into an old beatup Yamaha board and had the drummer hit em as hard as he possibly would (not could) then adjusted just below the clip point and fed that to a single channel on my Mackie 1604VLZ adjusted to 0db (soloed),then out to my DR4D's.I didn't use compression until mix down and it sounded really good.
 
Okay, so a lot of you are getting by with few or no compressors, and you've explained how you get away with that. Useful thread, and reassuring for me. Thanks.
 
how do i get along with no compressors? ANALOG BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =) Red doesnt mean clip, it means compressssiooooooooooon. and a little distortion, but that is goood.
 
All instruments go to the soundcard via opticals from the Roland VM mixer - one track at a time. Most live micing is routed thru the 386 and recorded dry. Compression, efx and eq may be added once a good take is down. Sometimes I'll get a bug up my bum and experiment.
 
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