How to record this setup on a budget?

[littlemorechaos]

We have 2 lead guitars, 1 rhythm guitar, 1 bass, 1 singer, and a drum set. We'd like to record this using the least amount of money possible.

Which way would be the cheapest? Multitrack recorder? Mixer, audio IO, etc.?

Ask any questions if I didn't give enough information. Thanks!

 

[Jeff_D]

8 channel audio interface plus a bunch of mics to cover the drums- then you can overdub the other instruments and vox. If you actually want to record everything at the same time, you'll probably want 2 of those interfaces and even more mics. Interfaces are ~$300 to $800. You can get a decent collection of mics to cover a set of drums for about ~$600 to $750. Add monitors, cables to connect it all and the misc stuff, I'd say you can get started for around $1500.

Too much? There's plenty of other options, but all with compromises in my opinion... I mean, you can put one mic up in the middle of the room and connect it to a cheap usb interface for a couple hundred bucks, but you dont get the control and benefits of multitrack recording.

do you have a budget in mind? I know this stuff is expensive- most of us didn't goi out and just buy everything at once...

 

[littlemorechaos]

Thanks, I'll research prices for these and how it's all gonna work out. As for a budget, we'd like to do it all under $1000, but if we need to higher, we can.

 

[bdenton]

Keep in mind that, even with the best equipment, you can't just plug it all in and get a good recording.

There are a whole lot of technical skills, along with a great deal of artistry, involved in getting a quality recording.

You might be better served by using your money for time at a professional studio...

 

[Richard King]

You might be better served by using your money for time at a professional studio...

I suspect you may be able to find someone to come out and record you also. These are all songs that I recently recorded at a gig for a local band: Richard King's sounds on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

 

[james_the_music]

Before you book that expensive recording studio get some practice recording yourselves so you have an idea what you want. Studio time costs money, so don't use it for rehearsing. I would suggest a quality stereo condenser mic with the best reel-to-reel tape recorder you can find. Rule of thumb - the bigger the reel the better the machine. It will also give you a good idea how you sound to your audience.

 

[grimtraveller]

I flung this little reply together for someone yesterday;

Are you totally sold on the idea of using a computer ? I will admit, that's far and away the most popular and probably the most efficient method, interface and computer with recording software.
But it's not the only way. If you are at the beginning of recording and you don't claim to be in any way experienced, a 4, 8, 12, or 16 track standalone might be worth considering. Tascam, Zoom, Fostex, Yamaha, Boss, Roland, Korg and Akai all made them and although most are no longer in production there are still standalones doing the "used" rounds.
I'm not sure what country you're in but check ebay to see what's around. I guess most people will come out against standalones and it's not hard to see why. But like everything else, they do the job and you'll learn much of what you need to know about recording.
I hope a few others chime in and give you other options so that you can make up your mind from a balanced perspective.
In the meantime, this article and this one may be of some use to you.

It seems to me you want to do your own recording so unless you're open to the standalone recorder route, I'd say go with Jeff D's solution. I hope the guy to whom I replied is reading this thread too.

 

[littlemorechaos]

Wow, a lot of replies. Let me just say we have had someone recording for us for a while but we want to do this on our own. The most recording we've done by ourselves, though, is a Zoom H2 recorder.

We'll try our luck with a standalone recorder right now. But what would be the best option in the future? Again, budget preferably under $2k.

 

[Jeff_D]

The last time I used a stand alone recorder was several years ago, and granted I wasnt using the best out there, but WOW those things are a pain in the ass to use. Complicated layers of menus and controls. Screw that! For ease of getting started and ultimate flexibility, nothing beats a computer with a simple usb or firewire interface. If you need the portability of a standalone, check out one of these- it does both Zoom R24 | Sweetwater.com

I think if I were starting today (and I knew what I know) I'd go for...
$550 Motu 8Pre
$500 Your choice of current popular 8" monitors
$250 AKG D112 kick mic
$99 Audix i5 for snare
$200 ~ $300 on a pair of small diaphragm condensers for overheads- something by MXL might be a place to start
$80 Three es57s for tom mics
$200 ~ $400 on a decent large diaphragm condenser for vocals

You can get some double duty from some of those mics- the i5 is a fine guitar cab mic too (I prefer it over my sm57). The d112 is good for bass cabs, although I always just go DI from the bass amp. Add cables and mics to the list above and thats right about $2k.

The biggest thing that list neglects is acoustic treatment for the room. If/when you get serious about recording, you'll want to treat the room. Once you have, you'll wonder how you ever accomplished anything in an untreated room. When you're ready to get into that, you'll be another $300 ~ $500+ to get started.

I'm sure people will be along to make other recommendations or tell you why they wouldn't use the mics I listed (I'm actually interested to hear the feedback) but I figured I'd through some stuff out there to get you a place to start looking...

 

[grimtraveller]

I'd be inclined to agree with Jeff D for the most part. He generally weighs in with concise practical sets ups for people wanting to start up in home recording. The only thing I'd disagree with is

WOW those things are a pain in the ass to use. Complicated layers of menus and controls.

only because having used them for years, I find them no more complex than anything else and I'm pretty techno~dimbulb. That said, some are more user friendly than others but it's impossible to say which because one person's simple is another person's nightmare. But as far as a long term future option, well, you can't go wrong with his suggestion.

 

[Jeff_D]

I'd be inclined to agree with Jeff D for the most part. He generally weighs in with concise practical sets ups for people wanting to start up in home recording. The only thing I'd disagree with is

Thanks buddy. And, I knew someone would disagree with that statement. .
My experiences starting out were very briefly a tascam 4 track, then a Sony MD8 minidisc recorder. After that I was in a band with a guy that had this little Boss digital 8 track- that was probably one of the cheapest they made. I'm sure they make more intuitive and flexible standalones now, but at this point, I really just need to see everything on the computer screen. I'd consider myself above average as far as computer literacy though- I build my own and I'm *kinda* the it guy at work (not bragin, just sayin) so, I'm already really comfortable using a computer. If I wasn't a standalone might be more of an option.

 

[littlemorechaos]

Thanks so much for your answers, guys! I think, until we get more money, we'll get a ZOOM R16 or R24 to supply recording right now. After some more gigs, we'll go ahead and get an iMac, audio interface, mixer, etc.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[AbuseTheMuses]

zoom R16 and a couple of mic packages. I am all for the standalone idea. The R16 has 8 inputs and doubles as a controller but can do it internally too. for mics, if you want to go all-out with 8 inputs I would think a stereo pair of condensers and the rest dynamic could get a pretty full jam if you are skimpy on drum mics. Trouble is you have 3 guitars and a bass so that's 4 channels already and guitar amps sound so much better stereo mic'd. Kick out a guitarist? Okay seriously though you can get your rough sketch track playing together with a bunch of crap mics and then have everyone overdub to it using a few 'good' mics. I would think monitors would have to fit in that budget too. figure on 200 for monitors, 400 for recorder, leaves 400 for mics. an SM57, a MXL2003, use your H2 for stereo room mic too, and fill up the rest with cheap dynamics whatever you can get and you can fit it all in about $1000

good luck

 

[mjbphotos]

Cheapest??!! An old used cassette boombox with built-in mics!

After defining your budget, what are you trying to do wiht the recordings - release cds, use for gig demos, ...

 

[RAMI]

T I knew someone would disagree with that statement. .

I'm sure many people disagree with it, but couldn't be bothered to post. I'm one of them....though I bothered to post.

Anything's a pain in the ass to use if you're not used to using it. I find editing in my TASCAM 2488 actually easier than editing in REAPER. Not because it IS easier, but only because I've been doing it for years on my TASCAM, and only a few months in REAPER.

 

[littlemorechaos]

After defining your budget, what are you trying to do wiht the recordings - release cds, use for gig demos, ...

Album tracks, mainly. For our press kit demo, we just used the H2.

 

[grimtraveller]

Cheapest??!! An old used cassette boombox with built-in mics!

When I first started jamming I always recorded the jams, me on my three string fourth hand "Kay" bass, my mate on his falling to bits fifth hand drumkit, and we recorded for a couple of years on one of those. Funnilly enough, it picked up the kick (and the Hitachi tape deck we used after) better than I've ever been able to since proper recording ! It's always baffled me. But they couldn't handle loud sudden rushes of volume. On a wild bit the volume would suddenly disappear for a second before getting back to speed.
I can't say I miss it !

 

[TeyshaBlue]

Thanks so much for your answers, guys! I think, until we get more money, we'll get a ZOOM R16 or R24 to supply recording right now. After some more gigs, we'll go ahead and get an iMac, audio interface, mixer, etc.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

The R16 is probably more cost effective for your situation unless you want the drum machine capabilities of the R24. The cool thing about the R16 is it will double as an audio interface as well..so on down the line, no need to pick up an interface to start out with.