Professional Recording

[Blor007]

I find a lot of site's with home-recording tips, but i can't really find guides for professionals (not that i am one, just interested in reading that stuff).

On one hand i hear people saying: SM57 on the snare is all you need, best mic , used everywhere... Shure Beta 57 for kick drum is one of the best etc.. etc...
Then on the other hand if i want a really clear sound most of the people say:
buy a condensator mic.
So my question is: what are the best way's to record drums?
And for example the snare: should i record with a condensator mic? a sm57 ? both? should the overheads pick up the signal? what can i do to make the snare sound louder in the overhead mic's? etc...

Then for the Guitars: What is the best : playing the song 2 times, or copying the track with delay.
What is used in professional recordings to create that really ''in front of the speaker sound'' (like sum41, Metallica, and lots of things i hear on this forum).
What is the most important thing? Aiming the mic? Using 2 mic's? The panning? The doubling with delay? Playing it 2 times?

I realize the most answers on this question will be : it depends.
But any tips will help...
Expeccially for guitar wich sounds too much on a distant.

An example of a recording is this :

And i'm not quite satisfied with it.
The guitars sound too far away...


Thx in advance

 

[manning1]

search underr my name. lots of tips posted in past year including drum micing. for in your face guitar tracks put mic up close to amp grill but be carefull not to overload the mic itself. its also how you mix the tracks to make guitars up front. you could try a amp modeller like the jstation as well
in combination with micing the amp speaker.
its all experimentation. YOU MUST EXPERIMENT !

 

[lpdeluxe]

You Must Experiment !

Another way of saying, there IS NO BEST WAY. There's NO "best" computer for recording, there's NO "best" microphone for bouzouki, there's NO Santa Claus and there's NO Easter Bunny. It's all your ears, and how much work you put into recording.

Magic bullets only work in video games.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

The only real way to get the sound you are describing is a solid *expensive* recording, mixing and mastering chain. From mic to preamp to mixer to converters to storage/playback medium to eq to compression to fx to mixdown to master.

 

[geet73]

It's condensor. Not condensator... Unless I've just been horribly mistaken for the past few years.

 

[blackdiscoball]

bouzouki...are you greek? just wondering I had a greek friend who played one of those and he let me mess around with it alittle pretty cool instrument. also close miking is not always the best way to get good guitar sound I personally like it when their is a little air in the guitar

 

[KevinDrummer]

The only real way to get the sound you are describing is a solid *expensive* recording, mixing and mastering chain. From mic to preamp to mixer to converters to storage/playback medium to eq to compression to fx to mixdown to master.

And let's not forget the musicians!

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

And let's not forget the musicians!

Of course not, or the engineer. Both have the greatest impact in sound.

Most of the bands I record aren't the greatest, unfortunately that can sometimes reflect on your engineering skills when in actuality you did an amazing job considering what you had to work with. My wife is usually stupified when she hears the rough tracks compared to the mixdown and then compared to the master.

Anyone that wants to up their skills should record crappy bands. Seriously, it will test your mettle.

Almost anyone can get a great sound recording the likes of Led Zeppelin or The Who... because they are marvellously effective *bands*. Not too much challenge there (of course, the challenge lies in making it GREAT).

There is nothing better than when you find a great band to record--they make you sound like an amazing engineer. I recommend that everyone try to find one band they think is really awesome and record them (for free if need be) just to have something impressive you engineered.