How many mics, whats the situation? Meaning...gonna record the whole gig at once or are you going to take the drums down then the bass, then the guitar, then the singer...etc? The room(s) are going to play such a big part in the way this sounds.
Get an honest recording...stay away from effects, compressors, EQ's etc...you can put that stuff on afterwards..you can never take it away. WORD!
Drums...this is the tough part IMHO...keep it simple...two mics for beginners and pros for that matter. A great drum kit recording can be had with two mics...if you've got extra mics, assuming a kick mic, I'd add a kick then a snare...all else, forget it...otherwise, you woudn't be asking (no insult intended...I know where you're coming from). I favor the x/y set up over head as it minimizes phasing issues but many really like the separated pairs. IMHO, x/y is easier to set up and still gets good results. And oh poopies...tune the drums! Tune them, tune them tune them. This will take a beginner a couple hours...a pro...maybe more. Yup!
Guitar amp...1 to two inches from the front of the amp face and about half way between the speaker cone and the outer edge. But again, what's the genre of music, the mic's the sound you're after etc...
Bass...forget about mics...DI is the only way to go unless you've got some pretty serious mic gear. It's not impossible but the bass sound is so hard to get. DI's make it simple work. When talking DI's...bass POD or other is fine.
Singer...again, unless you're planning for a live gig recording, do the singer in a seperate room. If you have to do it live, have the singer face the band so that his/her mic is facing away from the band.
Man, these are some VERY generalized places to start with. I wouldn't even think about jumping into your situation without knowing a LOT more. This isn't a slam dunk question and answer session thing. If when you're listening to the band and you think their sound sucks...just wait until you listen to the recording! Take your time to get the band positioned, and playing in a way that's pleasing. You'll want to walk around and listen, cranked up amps don't always sound good in a studio...adjust acordingly and dare to experiment.
The guitar player is gonna want max gain...smack him! Turn it down and listen to the recording. Same with the drummer, if he's a gorilla, that's how it will sound...you don't want to squelch the players but I've seen it too often where you put a mic up in front and the band gets really freakin' loud and looses control. Encourage a warm up. This will help to get everyone settled in.
Control/tame the situation and help to bring out the best in the band...get an honest clean recording then polish the turd later. Forget about the effects and processing until later. Do a sound check...and do it again...the drummer is going to be about 6 to 10 dB louder when they play the first song (after the sound check) then he'll petre' out. The guitar...it will stay flat...same for the bass...the singer...will peak and dip. Don't worry about peaking the meters...worry about over peaking them...you can't fix a "too hot" signal.
Good luck~! You're gonna need it!
