How should I do this.

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maddrummer

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Ok, so i'll be recording drums, bass, guitar and a keyboard, all at the same time. I have 10 tracks available to do at once, so I was going through my options.
6 drums.....1 bass.....1 guitar........2 keyboard
6 drums.....1 bass.....2 guitar........ MIDI Keyboard and do it stereo afterwards


It's like a funk/jazz group, I wasn't sure if I should have 2 mics on the guitar, close and distant, and pan them seperate. and i wasn't sure if i would run into problems recording the keyboard MIDI and recording it later.

I use Pro audio 9/sonor (i just got sonor so im not sure how well it holds up yet).

Now they don't plan on playing to a click, but i don't plan on messing with the keyboards midi track at all so that wont' make a difference right.

Thanks
 
I almost forgot this part. If i do record the piano MIDI, then would it have to be in the same room as me, meaning will long (like 50 to 75 ft) MIDI cables cause a problem.

Thanks
 
maddrummer said:
I almost forgot this part. If i do record the piano MIDI, then would it have to be in the same room as me, meaning will long (like 50 to 75 ft) MIDI cables cause a problem.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Finding 50-75' midi cables would be a pretty big challenge. They don't exist. I think midi is only rated for about 15' without some type of distro box.
 
I do a very similar setup to the first choice you gave. I works fine for us. Our keyboardist has MIDI, but would rather just track audio through the mixer like everyone else. I think this and your guitar micing question have to do more with your (or their) personal preference. If you want stereo guitar, you'll need two mics unless you want to have him retrack the identical part later. If you want stereo keys you'll need the left and right inputs or do the MIDI thing like you suggested and stereo later, though it sounds like you'll have a cabling problem. Is it necessary to have 6 for the drums? Micing a kit with kick, snare and two ambients does a great job and that would leave two more inputs for you. Hope this helps some :cool:
 
I agree with the above advice. You didn't say if it was electric or acoustic guitar, so I'll assume electric.

If the guitarist is using stereo effects he wants recorded, you're stuck with giving him two tracks.

But if you want to maximize your available drum tracks, give the bass one track, the guitar one track (you can stereo-ize it or reamp it later), record the keyboard as midi - then you've got 8 tracks for drums.
 
For what you are recording (jazz) I'd try to get two good room mics up. So I'd want to do
4 mics on drums
2 room mics
1 bass
1 guitar
2 keyboards
I'd try to work on getting the room sounding as good as can be, then find the room positions using headphones probing with the band playing as loud as they can or do.

Unless you have a friend. I mean 2nd engineer!:)
 
Hey thanks for the advice. Using room mics really won't do alot of good since we are doing this is the tiny tiny practice rooms down the hall. It's more funk slash groove oriented, i know i said jazz, i don't know why i did. Yes it is an electric guitar. So how would i "stereo-ize" it? He definately could not record a second guitar track because it's so open that no one could play it the same twice, but we'll see.

So i am guessing that really long midi cables is no good. That' why they don't make them that long.
 
Stereo guitar can be done with two mics placed to get the desired frequencies in each. That's about all I know and I just play around with mic placement, one on the amp of course, but maybe one placed to the side or at a short distance. For me the most important thing is to get things sounding as close to the way you expect to hear it recorded as possible. That way there's less messing around to do in post. :D
 
I understand that but I think littledog was refering to taking a mono track and doing something to it and making it stereo. I know you can put it through any kind of stereo effect but im just curious with what else there is to. Thanks
 
maddrummer said:
Hey thanks for the advice. Using room mics really won't do alot of good since we are doing this is the tiny tiny practice rooms down the hall. It's more funk slash groove oriented, i know i said jazz, i don't know why i did. Yes it is an electric guitar. So how would i "stereo-ize" it? He definately could not record a second guitar track because it's so open that no one could play it the same twice, but we'll see.

So i am guessing that really long midi cables is no good. That' why they don't make them that long.
Click to expand...

I think you should consider maybe micing an amp for the keys at least if you aren't going to use room mics, but I agree that for this type of music I would probably want some kind of room mic.

Scott
 
maddrummer said:
I understand that but I think littledog was refering to taking a mono track and doing something to it and making it stereo. I know you can put it through any kind of stereo effect but im just curious with what else there is to. Thanks
Click to expand...

Sorry 'bout that :o
 
Reamping involves running the signal from a tape track back into a guitar amp, and rerecording the result. That's one way to get stereo from a mono track as well.

But also, if you are on a DAW or have a pod or other effects box, there are many plug-ins or presets that take a mono signal in and give you a stereo out.

And unless you are using an old vintage rhodes or wurli (or of course, B3) or something similar, you don't gain much by mic'ing an amp for the keys, especially in a tiny practise room, unless you are going for that claustrophobic sound. Just record with a DI and add your preferred ambience later.
 
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