Newbie - Techique questions

[rwalkerphl]

Hi All,

I'm somewhat new to recording, having assembled equipment to record, and am using samples and loops to build up tracks. I play trumpet, and have found the quality of recording to be generally not too good. Here is my set up:

- Soundproof room in my basement 12' x 8' (Homasote second layer on walls, ceiling and floor, etc)
- Dual AMD Opteron PC
- Cakewalk Sonar Homestudio
- Echoaudio Layla24 DAC
- Behringer MIC2200 Pre amp
- Behringer B1 Condensor mic
- M-Audio Radium 61 midi controller
- Alesis power amp with Mission speakers for monitoring

The sound of the trumpet with this set up is rather dull. Based on research, I have just picked up a Beyer Dynamics M500 Ribbon mic. I also read around that using a ribbon mic and condensor mic can work well.

Has anyone tried this? I assume you use 2 channels to do this with the ribbon mic in front and the condensor further away to catch the ambience?

Does anyone have any other ideas I could try? By the way, in terms of style, I am trying to record Salsa and other latin music right now, so I want some sizzle to the horn sound.

Thanks!
Robin.

 

[sixways]

I would say updating your mic and adding a tube preamp would help.

Off the subject, I'd like to collab with you.

6

 

[rwalkerphl]

Thanks, the behringer is a tube pre-amp as far as I know, and the ribbon mic is on the way.

What are you interested in collaborating on?

Regards,
Robin.