Pre or Post recording

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Rustang

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I have a few questions that have been puzzling me and I'm sure someone here can answer them for me.

Questions:
1. Should I record to my adats from the pre's or posts of my Mackie 32/4 mixer? The mackie board has good eq's but they can only be used post. I can add other equipment in either way via patchbays. I just wanted to know the prefered method of most. Pre's or post?

2. Which two mics would be better for overheads on the drums, SM57's or PVM45i's? I also have two peavey PVM mini-condenser mics as well I could use if they would be better.

3. Which do most prefer, mic-ing the bass cabinet or running a line to the mixer or preamp and then to the adats?

4. When recording the guitar should I have the volume low or loud? I'm thinking if it's louder you could pickup more the the resonants of the cabinet than if it was at a lower volume.

Any help would be appreciated.

Mike
 
Some people like to mic a bass cabinet, some record it direct with a direct box or preamp or amp modeler, and some use a combination of those methods. Recording direct gives the sound a lot of definition on punch. Miking a bass cabinet captures warmth and the sound of the speaker and moving air- the microphone and preamp also contribute to the sound.

Do you have a direct box or preamp that accepts the impedance of your bass ?

The mini condenser mics might work better than the PVM45 and SM-57 dynamic mics.
 
hmmm let's see...

1) Pre means before the faders and the EQ too sometimes. So if you are recording PRE make sure your signal is not too loud or to low. Post will record any EQ you have, and if you touch the faders while recording, you are screwed. Remember, you can always EQ AFTER you record as well.

2) Try the condensers. They have a better response to high frequencies (like cymbals)

3) Do both. Listen. Keep the better one. Or both.

4) You should have it as loud as possible but without clipping. Recording at low volume gives you less room between your peaks and the noise floor. The more signal you get (within the sound you are looking for) the better.

Peace...

PC
 
Rustang said:
1. Should I record to my adats from the pre's or posts of my Mackie 32/4 mixer? The mackie board has good eq's but they can only be used post. I can add other equipment in either way via patchbays. I just wanted to know the prefered method of most. Pre's or post?
Click to expand...
Using the submaster/tape outputs on the back is likely the most common and that, technically, is post.


Rustang said:
3. Which do most prefer, mic-ing the bass cabinet or running a line to the mixer or preamp and then to the adats?
Click to expand...
It's fairly common to record a DI track along with a mic'd cab track and blend to taste at mixdown......


Rustang said:
4. When recording the guitar should I have the volume low or loud? I'm thinking if it's louder you could pickup more the the resonants of the cabinet than if it was at a lower volume.
Click to expand...
Get the amp sounding good in the room - it doesn't have to be loud if the amp gives you the sound you want at low volume.

If it's an open-back amp, try close-mic'ing the front of the amp as usual, and stick a condenser on the back of the amp (at least 3 ft away from the front mic to avoid phase problems.)
 
To amplify on Bruce's exxcellent post,
1. In addition to using direct outs on individual channels, the "inserts on the channel strip can be utilized as a direct outout that is just after the mic preamp/gain control and before the EQ/Fader section of the channel strip. I like these as the signal travels throuigh a minimum of circuitry on it's way to tape.
2. Very true. However I have rarely used the mic'ed track and relied on the D.I. for the more defined sound. YMMV. My favorite method for recording bass is to have the bass D.I'd (with the speaker disabled, playing through headphones) for the band when making the initial recording, getting the drums down and the bass as a scratch track. Then dub in the bass still going direct but now with the cabinet hot in the room so the guitar will "light up", ya know what I mean? It has the definition of a direct send yet it has sustain and growl.
3. I love mic'ing a guitar amp this way however I like to mic the back closer and just flip the phase of the back mic.
 
1.From the perspective of "audio quality"... the less circuitry of the Mackie your audio runs though the better off you are. "Pre" would be the perferred method from a strickly 'audio' perspective.

2. Which ever set of mics sound better in the context of the music are the mics that are best for the task.

3. Both. I generally record bass both "Mic" and "DI" and either run the "Mic" channel through a Littlelabs "IBP" during mixing... or just choose between the "Mic" and "DI" tracks. They're often two entirely different tones and textures and one will often be better than the other in the context of the final presentation... it's often difficult to know which will be the "right" tone/texture until the recording is pretty much completed.

4. Low or loud, big or small amps, etc. are all decisions that have to be made in the context of the music... you can often get either to sound like the other... but at the end of the day there are absolutely no rules other than your interpretation of what is appropriate for the music.

Best of luck with it.
 
Re: Re: Pre or Post recording

Fletcher said:
1.From the perspective of "audio quality"... the less circuitry of the Mackie your audio runs though the better off you are. "Pre" would be the perferred method from a strickly 'audio' perspective.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%...!
 
Thanks, all. The information you guys provided will be a big help.

Mike
 
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