i may be recording a heavy/rock band in a few weeks.......

[wjgypsy]

i may be recording a heavy/rock band in a few weeks and i just need to know if you guys have any tips, advice or bewares to pass on to me. you see this will be my first session. i would really love any tips on mic place ment for guitars, vocals, bass, drums, ect,ect that you could give me.

thanks,

zeke

 

[donkeystyle]

typically, for heavy music you need the mics closer to the guitar speaker and the bass speaker than with other music........also, it's a good idea to mic your bass and record direct through the bass amps line out(if the amp has one) that way you can choose between the 2 sounds because more often than not, bass players (in heavy/rock bands) have bad tone.

for drums
if you plan to mic the whole set, don't put the mics too close, i made that mistake on my first session becasue i was trying to eliminate as much bleed as possible....basically it sounds like crap and you still have bleed.
i normally put mics about 4 inches from the drums (toms/snare) but i've put them closer and farther than that.....6 is about the farthest and that sounded really good......

and the further away your over heads are, the louder the set will be.
at least that's what it seems like to me, but jsut like with the tom/snare mics, they can be too close........just try like putting them far enough away from the cymbals that they don't get hit when the cymbals move up and down.......then go from there

i'm very ametuer, but i have been getting pretty good sounds with those distances

i want to write more, but my riends and i are going to a movie

l8er

 

[KingstonRock]

The two biggest tips i can give you is double the guitars a lot and get the bass drum mic close up to the beater for a clicky bass drum. You also might wanna use delay instead of reverb on the vocals so the keep their "edge" instead of being glazed over ith reverb.

 

[donkeystyle]

i was being rushed when i wrote my last post, so i want to clarify.......i don't know what i was thinking when i said to record the bass w/ a mic and thru the direct out..........i gave the reason that a lot of heavy rock bassists have bad tone, but either way, ur going thru the amp, which is what is probably giving the bassist the bad tone.........

basically, waht i shoud of said was........try to mic the bass and see how that sounds and then try recording directly thru your mixer........... also if he has bad tone and you want the sound of a mic, your going to have to talk him into letting you change his settings........the ones he's worke so hard and long to achieve and loves.....it's not gonna be easy.........i've had to do it and no bassist will ever believe you that his tone sux.

 

[Wireneck]

heavy rock/metal

Zeke,
if heavy rock =metal or something close to it i guess i can offer a few tips. Drumwise, heavy music is usually less open (like say coldplays drumsound) and alot more up front and processed (pantera/ dimmu borgir). I would mic all the drums if you have the tracks/mics, maybe even gate them when you get ready to add your reverbs or whatever you want to use. The kick suggestion was good as well, get the mic a few inches off the beater for a nice click.
Hopefully you aren't dealing with a Nu-metal band (7 strings tuned down into oblivion) ive found it really hard to get a clear guitar sound from these types of players. If this is the case, try to get them to roll off some of the lows and use some mids or the mix is gonna be a mess later on.
Don't be afraid to use some heavy compression if you have a screamer, which is the case for a lot of heavy rock bands. Thats about all i have to offer.
good luck man, ive heard alot of your stuff, i think you will do well. OH yeah, dont be afraid to charge some money if you aren't. It took me along time to feel comfortable charging money, but your gear cost money and its hard to maintain/keep it in good shape out of your own pocket. Would like to hear a post when you get some stuff done.