"Live in the Studio"

[Yorg]

Ahoy.

Excuse me if this is an incredibly stupid question, but me band and I want t do a live in the studio album, ie no overdubs, every song done all at once. Would this be possible with a 4 track recorder? We have a lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bassist, drummer, and vocalist. I count a minimum of 5 microphones required, does that mean I need at least 5 tracks?

I'm on a rather tight budget, so I'd like to save as much money as possible.

I don't have any equipment yet, so I'm open to any suggestions.

 

[davidscull]

If you goto radio shack you can pick up a small mixer (volume control only) and send the Lead and Rythm guitars into one track!

 

[Yorg]

Thats exactly the kind of suggestion I'm looking for.

How much would this mixer cost, that seems like the perfect idea.

Also, would I get any signal degredation if I'm doing this?

 

[nkiner]

It's doable, you'll just need some sort of mixer, and two members (bass and drums perhaps) will have to share a track. And really, you're gonna need a mixer anyway to get a submix on the drums, cause you'll have a real hard time getting a good drum sound with just one mic.


My band actually just made a 'live in the studio' type recording using just a mixer, a bunch of sm57's, and a vcr. It takes some experimenting to get the mix right, and of course once its recorded the mix is set in stone, but the end result was really good (vcr tape is higher quality than 4track cassette tape).

-Nate K

 

[Yorg]

nkiner, I'm assuming your just using a plain old VCR, no funky equipment...

that implies that the recording would only be stero, right?

I'm glad to know that this can be done, and fairly cheaply at that. Thanks for all your help.

 

[nkiner]

Yes, just an ordinary vcr and yes only stereo. Thats why I say the mix is 'set in stone'. For a live type recording thats all you really need though.

-nate k


[This message has been edited by nkiner (edited 10-31-1999).]

 

[Yorg]

Nate,

cool, I'll probably end up doing that... that would be cheaper than buying a 4 track deck because I have a vcr and it's all rigged up to my stereo.

How much would a 4 track (or possibly 8 track) mixer cost. I just need a portable one, because I'm not going to be starting a professional studio or anything... whichever one is cheaper.