OK, so our band wants to record some of our music.

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drummerboy_04AP

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What would a cheap and easy way to record some demos or whatever be?

I was thinking:

drums:

2 overheads, bass mic, snare mic ----> all to mixer

guitar---> effects/distortion----> mixer

bass ---> mixer

Vocal mic ---> mixer


mixer--->computer


will this work? How do I know if my sound card is good enough to handle this? How many channel mixer would I need? What would a good mixer and mics be?

Price limit: $350

Also, we dont have to do simultaneos recording i suppose, but that seems like it would be the easiast way.
 
drummerboy_04AP said:
What would a cheap and easy way to record some demos or whatever be?

I was thinking:

drums:

2 overheads, bass mic, snare mic ----> all to mixer

guitar---> effects/distortion----> mixer

bass ---> mixer

Vocal mic ---> mixer


mixer--->computer


will this work? How do I know if my sound card is good enough to handle this? How many channel mixer would I need? What would a good mixer and mics be?

Price limit: $350

Also, we dont have to do simultaneos recording i suppose, but that seems like it would be the easiast way.
Click to expand...

Not going to happen on that price limit. Not if you need a minimum 4 simultanious channel mixer/2 overhead condensors + to dynamics. The mics will run you over unless you get mics that are a waste of time. You're better off getting just 2 overhead condensors (SP C-1's.. not really overhead mics but IMO the best overall condensors for the price, you'll def get the most use out of them) and an SM 57. I suggest behringer (price range again), and you'll need an audio interface (Best bet is a Delta 44, they work pretty good). So here's a price for you roughly.

SP C-1 (2): $300
SM 57: $90
Behringer UB 1202: $70
Delta 44: $125/150 (or buy mine for $100!)
Mic cables (assuming you need like, 2): $20
Overhead mic stands: $50

Good luck, and don't let this get your hopes up!

Just as a note. In the past I have used 1 SM 57 to record a whole drum kit, almost like an overhead. Granted, it didn't sound great, but to save $300 for the time being, I wasn't complaining.
 
One way of getting the price down would be to mix on the fly, everything goes into the mixer as you describe and then you just take a stereo out from the mixer to your soundcard.

The downside to this is you have just one stereo track in the comp so you have to get all your levels and everything just right on the mixer before you hit record.

If you only have $350 it might be your only option, even the cheap shit isn't that cheap when you start to add it all up. :(

The mixer would need 5 mic ins and 2 instrument inputs, or you'd need to use DI boxes for the guitar and bass going to 2 line inputs. In your price range you're probably going to be looking at the Behringer stuff, never used it myself, doesn't have a great rep but it's cheap and it'll (usually) pass signals.
 
Your guitar is gonna sound like crap if you run a line out to the mixer. You really should mic an amp unless you are using some sort of modeling module.
 
So, it wouldnt even be worth it to get like some cheap overheads (behringer c-2 i think are what they are called), a cheap bass mic, and a sm57?


What about those like nady drum mic kits?
 
If you need to go that cheap, keep it super-extra-simple, as anything else will be needlessly complicated, for no improvement. Get a couple of Mshilarious' mics (2x$20), and a small mixer. Maybe add a dynamic mic for the kick, the premium stuff goes for <$150 used all the time, or maybe just get a cheap LDC like a SP B1, they are really useful. Three stands and cables, and a reasonable excuse for a sound card or USB line in, and you're about done. Walk around the room while you play until you find a good mix, put the MSH-1's there. Add the kick mic, if desired. Run everything through the mixer, and into the computer, as a submixed 2-track feed.

This will sound as good as anything you can cobble together for less than $1000 or so, probably better, since you won't be spending your time figuring how to make it work. If you want to spend more money, get decent monitors.
 
I suggest that you Not buy any equipment...For now, and just save up your money untill you have about $1500 to $3000 and then buy the equipment as you will need that much to get enough decent Mics and a Decent interface and Half descent monitors to get half way decent recordings......

I suppose if you got 5 MSH-1C Mics for the Drums($100) with 2 MHS-1O for overheads ($40) and a Delta 44 card ($150) and a Yahama MG16/4 ($250) and some M-audio Monitors ($125) and a 2CH Preamp and a couple SM57"s ($300) then you could get some OK recordings....

With a setup like that you would Mic all of the Drums through the Mixer and output from the Mixer to the Delta 44 in stereo Via Channels 1 & 2, and then Mic the Bass and Guitar with the SM57"s through the Preamp and out into the Delta 44 Via Inputs 3 and 4, then you could record Drums and Bass and Drums at the same time and then Overdub Vocals and any other tracks.....

Even with this most Basic of setups you are still going to need about $1000.....

Cheers
 
Minion said:
I suggest that you Not buy any equipment...For now, and just save up your money untill you have about $1500 to $3000 and then buy the equipment as you will need that much to get enough decent Mics and a Decent interface and Half descent monitors to get half way decent recordings......
Click to expand...


If he was talking about half decent recordings, I agree fully. It sounded to me more like he's thinking "I want to hear my band on a disc," which is a different goal than "I want to make a pleasant sounding recording," based on his/her/its use of "cheap and easy demos."
 
I pretty much use the same setup as you described with the exception of 4 mics for the drums and I mic the guitar and bass amps. If you are serious about making decent quality demos, you need to hold off on buying anything right now until you can save up a little more money. And, take it from me, you do not want to record simultaneously unless you know what you're doing. With a decent board and multitrack recording software, you can record individual tracks then bounce them into one. Before I BOUGHT my copy of Sonar 5, I sometimes used a Free program called Kristal. Its a free multitrack recording software that does a pretty good job.

If you already have a computer and decent sound card, here's what you'll need to get next:

- 4 Shure SM57's (for drums and guitars) ($50 each on ebay)
- 12 channel mixer (you can get a behringer for about $60 on ebay)
- monitors (try not to go the cheap route on this or you won't get a true sound for your recordings) do your homework on researching these. Should be able to get some for around $200
- A quality recording software will run you anywhere from $300 - $900, or you can go the Kristal route I mentioned earlier.

The next important thing to remember is no matter how much money you spend on equipment, if your room is crap, your recordings will probably sound like crap too.

I started out with pretty much the same setup as I listed and was able to put together some good stuff. You can too if you are willing to work out the kinks.

Best of luck
 
Another option is to take the money and find someone else who already has the gear to record you. Depending on how many tunes you want to record and how long it might take, and how hungry the engineer is to work, you probably won't even need to spend all of it. You can probably also get this person to come to your space (if they have a portable rig).

Just another thought, not at all trying to discourage the do-it-yourself route. But it also can get frustrating to try and wear the engineer and musician hats at the same time.
 
What is your actual goal? I mean, if you guys are just looking to play around with recording, or just want to use it as a audio "sketchpad" to record some ideas or work on songwritting, then that is one thing. In that case, I would probably recomend a behringer mixer, and some cheap mics.

If you guys are a little more serious about recording in the long run, then I would recomend trying to restrict yourself to purchases that you won't regret in a year or two when you realize that you wasted money on some cheap crap. In that respect, the Shure SM57's or 58's are great, and they will last you forever. You may find better (and much more expensive) mics down the line, but you'll always keep these around and will never regret buying them. You may not be able to get as much stuff this way in the same amount of time, but you'll be saving money in the long run, and giving yourself the time you need to really know the equipment you do have.

On the other hand, if your band is looking for a more immediate solution, like to record a 3 or 4 song demo cd that you actually want people to hear, whether it is a club owner you send it to in hopes of landing a gig, or to promote your band on MySpace or something like that. Then, I would strongly recomend finding a small but capable studio in your area and pay them to record you guys. The quality of the end result will be much greater, which will help you land better gigs, and you'll learn more about the recording process along the way.

Best of luck in whatever you decide!
-Tom
 
thanks everyone.

Im not looking to get great (or i guess really even decent quality :/ ), pretty much what ^ said, we want it to see what our music sounds like, maybe through some songs on myspace or whatever. We're not like big serious "lets get big" band, were three kids in highschool, not even old enough to drive, that like to play music, soooo ya...
 
drummerboy_04AP said:
thanks everyone.

Im not looking to get great (or i guess really even decent quality :/ ), pretty much what ^ said, we want it to see what our music sounds like, maybe through some songs on myspace or whatever. We're not like big serious "lets get big" band, were three kids in highschool, not even old enough to drive, that like to play music, soooo ya...
Click to expand...

I understand (not being able to drive myself), Buy 5 cheap nady mic's (4 for drums, one for vocals, I've done it and was surprised that it wasn't as bad as you may think. (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Nady-SP1-Microphone-and-Stand-Package?sku=277031), a used SM57 for guitar, and a mixer with enough channels. You can jack the bass directly into the mixer, a DI isn't really required but most bass amp's do have a DI out. Get a stereo RCA -> mini cable, download Audacity, and hit record.


And then do what I do, pretend to be good at what you do and charge other bands to record.



Thoes MSH mic's do look pretty good though...



-jeffrey
 
OhSh1rt said:
And then do what I do, pretend to be good at what you do and charge other bands to record.
-jeffrey
Click to expand...

This made me laugh out loud. I'd do that "rep" thing for you but I have no idea how.
 
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