Okay, Here's What I've GOT, What do I NEED to do THIS...

[Robertt8]

Well, now that I've got a drummer, I want to record him instead of using a freakin' drum machine. How can I throw him in a room an have us play so he can still here us. I'd also rather not use a click track to keep the song kind of "free".

Is there a way that the rest of the band can kind of just be in one room (drummer in another) and play, and he could be all mic'd up yet still hear us (one mic on us?) and play along...record those drums, and then go back and overdub everything else?

How the hell do you do this?

THIS IS WHAT I'VE GOT
========================
Studio Projects C1
Studio Projects B1
Shure SM58 (2)
MXL990
Pre-Amp: M-Audio Audio Buddy
Outboard Compressor: Behringer Ultra Dyne Pro
Recorder: Roland VS-880EX (8 track)
D/I: Behringer Bass V-Amp (also has guitar capabilities)



Where would I use what mic, and what if anything would i NEED to get (i'm broke by the way).

I've only got one set of headphones...and one headphone jack. I'm guessing, for one that I'll need at least one more set of headphones and headphone amp thingy so I can plug more in? Not really sure how to do this...(cheaply i might add)...

thanks!
Tait

 

[Outlaws]

get a head phone spliter so that 2 people can use headphones. Then just have the drummer play with the guitar play. But the key is to have the guitar player going DI into the board so that there isn't the bleed from the amp. Then go back and re-dub everything with the amp and the bass and vocals to the drum track.

Low cost. Still not completely live, but like you said - You're broke.

 

[LRosario]

What you're trying to create is what is refered to as a cue system.

What it really does is create a seperate mix just for the musicians headphones.

So if you're trying to get your band in isolated rooms, you're going to need some type of cue system, along with wiring thats long enough to run it from room to room.

Higher end mixers have a built in cue system with a built in control room mic (talking from the control room to the studio). But if you want to go cheaper, you might to go with a head phone splitter (as was mentioned). The splitter would be connected straight to your mixer. From the splitter you can connect multiple head phones.

Hope that helps.

 

[Robertt8]

Okay, I've updated my equipment list a bit...cuz some of that might make a difference.

Everything we play is pretty much using acoustics, but I guess for the sake of recording I could DI through the Behringer Bass V-Amp...or since I forgot about it, record the remainder of us playing live in a different room on my shitty mxl990...that way he can hear what we're doing, and just have two headphones...1 for me (lead singer/and rhythm guitar) and the drummer...if that's the case, I can just use the acoustic, and we'll probably be able to hear the drummer in the other room anyway.

I don't have a mixing board I've just been using the Roland recorder for my recording purposes with the 8 different faders...but then again, I've never tried to record more than two tracks at a time...this would be like 4-5.

So I guess I just need a spliter, and maybe some extra cables for legnth?

 

[LRosario]

So I guess I just need a spliter, and maybe some extra cables for legnth?

Thats correct. Again, it depends on how much you can spend.

 

[smtcharlie]

Keep in mind that I am in the home recordist category with modest gear - and I'm not typically shooting for pristine studio sound, just a good sound that doesn't get in the way of the performance.

As people have mentioned above, you will probably get the best results if you get the drummer in a different room, mic everybody up somehow (try to have all other musicians squeeze together around one condensor and try to re-create how you sound when you practice as much as possible), then have headphones for everyone to listen to. Then you can add one instrument at a time and use the drums as a guide.

If you just want to make due with what you've got, you may want to try just putting mic's on the drums only and playing just as you practice (with everyone in the same room). Sure, there's going to be all the other instruments in the drum mics - it won't be just drums. But as long as no one makes mistakes and you all play your parts pretty consistently, this may get the job done. You can then go back and record the other instruments one by one. I don't know, this may actually work better for a mostly acoustic group then isolation....who knows?

Or another suggestion would be just to scrap the idea of doing drums first and other instruments separately. Just using 2 mic's on drums sometimes sounds just fine. Put one condensor about 6 feet above the kit pointed straight down, and another condensor (or maybe an SM58 in your case) on the kick drum (you'll have to play with placement based on the drummer and kit). Then just mic everybody up and record live.

It is important to note that I'm all about vibe of a recording, I will choose vibe over sound quality every time (unless the sound quality is so bad that it gets in the way of the vibe).


------------------------
www.smalltimecharlie.com
alt-acoustic music
or a Smiths hack artist
take your pick....

 

[Robertt8]

This is good stuff! thanks for the help guys!

 

[phlex]

Hey Im no expert but what i have seen from bands in pro recording is that (i think this is wot they did, do not quote me on that). they all jump in together and record a normla trak like they were playing it live then mix that down as much as possible, then run it through some headphones into the booth and have each member listen to the track and play along with it in a sense, then just mixdown with multitrack and normalize all te tracks...

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Hey Im no expert but what i have seen from bands in pro recording is that (i think this is wot they did, do not quote me on that). they all jump in together and record a normla trak like they were playing it live then mix that down as much as possible, then run it through some headphones into the booth and have each member listen to the track and play along with it in a sense, then just mixdown with multitrack and normalize all te tracks...

You are skipping the important part: the fact that in these pro recordings that are tracked in this manner the guitar and bass amps are in seperate isolation rooms off to the side. The band may be playing all in the same room with the drummer but their amps usually aren't. Otherwise you get a ton of BLEED.

On a less than professional scale I have the bands do the same thing to get the tracks to pump more. Normally we trash the guitar parts and re-record them, but the drums and bass are usually keepers.

Heck, last time I had the guitarist just play thru a POD and the singer lay a rough vocal to give us a guide track for the overdubs. The band really liked it because it was similar to the finished product from the get go.