Money on monitors or interface?

  • Thread starter Thread starter A.D.Ryan
  • Start date Start date
A.D.Ryan said:
Cheers mate. I just want to record a decent demo. It doesn`t have to be perfect, but it won`t hurt trying to achieve that:)
Guitar and vocal are my priorities. Thank you for the advice. For the first 2 weeks I`ll be reading a lot. How to use reaper , how to....etc. I`m new to al this. Then I`ll try to record something.
Click to expand...

As soon as you're able to get the very basics of recording, start. It won't be very good (unless you get lucky, or you're a genius). But keep doing it. Practice makes perfect. I'm sure every person in here who's any good these days, started off with some awful recordings :)
 
Struggling

Cheers Phil,
Today I was out shopping for cables, adaptors etc. I think I`m ready to go. The interface is connected, the monitors are connected to the interface, etc. They`re both on now. I`ve been staring at them for 2 hours now. The soft is also installed. I`m planning to make a list of of the words I don`t understand , and check them out.I don`t even know the difference between input and output! But... they say patience is a virtue:))
 
Input is where you plug in (as in 'put in' = in put) your mics, leads, whatever sound source is going in.
Output is whatever signal or sound is coming out, via leads, cables, speaker wire, whatever.
That's kind of a basic way of looking at it in my mind. There's probably better explanations on the way.

As a kid my mum used to say to me;
"Patience is a virtue, have it if you can
Found in a woman, but never in a man"

My sisters loved that one ! It wasn't true then, either. :rolleyes:
 
Yo AD! I'm way too late to get in on the chicken or the egg deal. Is it more important to record something that sounds bad, or to make it sound good first? I appreciate the value of a good room and monitors, I do so much field recording that I often have to deal with less than desirable acoustic spaces. If we started out knowing that we were committed to building a top notch studio, we would probably deal with the room first, but mostly we don't. Yeah, I heard the birds chirping too, and sometimes I really miss those windows! They're gone. Now, I can't hear someone start a Harley in my driveway. You can't hear a heavy metal drum kit with the big toms and heavy sticks three feet from my house! That is so damned useful. Frankly, I did some of the room modifications before I even started, and much more later.

If you live in Japan, and all you have coming in your window is bird songs, you are very lucky. And you need better cats. You'll do fine. You've listened to everybody's advice, taken it all in stride, and tried to see everybody's point of view. My only real advice- you've invested some effort and some money in being able to do that demo with real acoustic sound in real acoustic space. Guitar and vocals, and you want to add the other instruments at a professional studio? Works for me. Drum samples or drum machines are good to keep your rhythm honest when you are tracking guide tracks. Then delete that scratch track and get a human drummer! You are in a country with some of the finest percussionists in the world. Want a better demo? Find a human. You've got enough to learn about recording sound with a computer to keep you busy for a while. I believe that combining sound made by a computer with sound made by a human usually sucks. That's just my opinion. Find a human that plays drums. I'd be looking for a traditionalist, to take advantage of that old folk sound of Dai Nihon.

It's also somewhat easier to learn to record hand drums in the beginning, as they don't require the ton of mics and cables often used on a trap set.
-Richie
 
Thank you!

Richard Monroe said:
Yo AD! I'm way too late to get in on the chicken or the egg deal. Is it more important to record something that sounds bad, or to make it sound good first? I appreciate the value of a good room and monitors, I do so much field recording that I often have to deal with less than desirable acoustic spaces. If we started out knowing that we were committed to building a top notch studio, we would probably deal with the room first, but mostly we don't. Yeah, I heard the birds chirping too, and sometimes I really miss those windows! They're gone. Now, I can't hear someone start a Harley in my driveway. You can't hear a heavy metal drum kit with the big toms and heavy sticks three feet from my house! That is so damned useful. Frankly, I did some of the room modifications before I even started, and much more later.

If you live in Japan, and all you have coming in your window is bird songs, you are very lucky. And you need better cats. You'll do fine. You've listened to everybody's advice, taken it all in stride, and tried to see everybody's point of view. My only real advice- you've invested some effort and some money in being able to do that demo with real acoustic sound in real acoustic space. Guitar and vocals, and you want to add the other instruments at a professional studio? Works for me. Drum samples or drum machines are good to keep your rhythm honest when you are tracking guide tracks. Then delete that scratch track and get a human drummer! You are in a country with some of the finest percussionists in the world. Want a better demo? Find a human. You've got enough to learn about recording sound with a computer to keep you busy for a while. I believe that combining sound made by a computer with sound made by a human usually sucks. That's just my opinion. Find a human that plays drums. I'd be looking for a traditionalist, to take advantage of that old folk sound of Dai Nihon.

It's also somewhat easier to learn to record hand drums in the beginning, as they don't require the ton of mics and cables often used on a trap set.
-Richie
Click to expand...

Richard,
It`s not too late! I did buy the interface and the monitors, but I find your advice very helpful! I agree with you. A drummer would be better. As my wife was saying,I need to get out more often:)) I`m not planning to rebuild my room etc, since we`re gonna move in a year or so. (in Osaka). You know, my neighbour who is a Buddhist priest and who happens to be my friend, can play the drums. The traditional style, of course. You know that all Buddhist priests are required to perform that during the ceremony. I dunno how good he is, but my music is easy to play, I think. Thank you for your suggestion! Will give it a try!
 
Start with the condenser, pad on only if necessary, about a foot away angled down at the head. Moving it from the rim to center, or in between, will change the tone a lot. If the drum has a throat, like a Conga or Djembe, put whatever dedicated low frequency mic you have, or even a cheap dynamic pointed right up into the center of the drum and let it move air. Remember to reverse the phase on one of the mics, not a bad idea when you have two mics basically pointed at each other.
Then use mostly the head mic, and mix in a bit of the bottom mic until the feeling is right. A Buddhist priest, eh? I bet one of those suckers can play a Shakuhachi, one of the the haunting flutes of Japan. I would die to mic up a Koto. Be... where you are. Try writing some music with the Japanese drums in mind, or shakuhachi, or both. The acoustics in some Buddhist temples rock. Imagine "cathedral" reverb in a cathedral! It makes recording a challenge, but it beats any digital FX on the planet- because it's real. Now take your toys and go play. Don't worry about the demo. Worry about learning to record things, lots of things.

As the ancient Buddhist Master said in a popular martial arts parable, "If you have one eye upon your destination, you have only one eye with which to look for the path."
Good luck-Richie
 
Cheers

Thank you Richie! I envy you for your knowledge! Haha, dunno! I`ll ask the sucker if he can play the flute. I`m not in a hurry with my demo. First I`ll learn more about this and then I`ll do the demo. Cheers!
 
Well, A.D.- not really. I am on old ex-yippie. I'm a hack. I know how to select and place mics, after a fashion, but my tech is elementary level. What I do know how to do is jury rig a bunch of gear so it doesn't blow up, which keeps the executive producer/wife happy. There are more than a few working engineers on this board, and I'm not one of them, but I do record things, sometimes for money. Does it make my opinion less valid? In some cases yes. But- I won't generally steer you wrong on a piece of basic gear. I was honored when I was asked to do listening trials in a mic shootout. I told them I was hearing disabled, which is true, but I did it anyway, with mild arm twisting. Never mistake a wordsmith for an expert, except at wordsmithing. There are about 18 people on this board that I would go to with a PM if I had a problem. That's the *real* rep counter. I'm just a semi washed up psychedelic fogey. I'm a storyteller, not an engineer (Jim). I do try to tell tales that are true, and those that reveal truth.-Richie
 
Richie,
You and I both know how important it is to keep the wives happy:laughings:
If my wife is not happy, I`m not happy:(
Modesty is a good thing:) As I said before, I`d love to have your knowledge!
With the help of nice people like you, maybe I will....one day
Cheers!
 
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