Real drums or drum machine on Tascam 424MKIII?

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Tripp

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Hello. I just got a Tascam 424 Mk III a few days ago and was wandering what would be the best way to get a good drum sound? I know real drums are hard to record, however, with the 424, how would I go about recording them? Would I be able to get a good sound? Do I record stereo or mono. Also, would I have enough room for other instruments after recording drums with about four microphones? Would a drum machine be a lot easier than this? I would appreciate it if someone could tell me. Thanks.
-Tripp
 
You can't beat the sound of real drums-I don't care what anyone says. They can be hard to record but sticking a bunch of say SM57's and record them.

What do you mean would you have enough space for other instruments?, you can record the four microphones and condense them onto one track if you want-it depends on what device(s) you are using for recording.

The question on mono/stero-it depends what sound your after-with mono you are getting a single recording sound wheras stero gives you the scope to differientiate between the various instuments-this in my opinion being the better option-after all stero is in a way the upgrade of mono-it depends what you consider the best though.

A drum machine is a simplar form. It is easier to record but unless you have a good one it can sound pretty plasticy-don't forget the beat is the backbone to the music-if this sounds bad it will bring down the song.
 
real drums sound like real drums... fake drums may stay in time and not mess up, but they won't be real and they won't sound real... if you're a decent drummer or can work with a decent drummer and you have a couple mics really try to do live ones whenever possible (heh and it'll probably take you less time to record decently tuned drums properly than learn how to operate a drum machine)... i have the 424mkIII myself and i've recorded drums with it a lot... you can get 4 mics into, and you can get even more if you buy a xlr - 1/4" converter so you can use channels 5 &6.. but seriously, 3-4 mics is good to start with drum micing.. if you want to use stereo drums, you'd stick the mics in, pan them creatively, and for tracks 1 & 2 (or other tracks, it really doesn't matter) pan left and right coorespondently, you'll have 2 tracks and the drums will be in stereo which leaves you 2 tracks to do vocals/instruments... if you setup the mics the same, don't pan, and just buss one track left (or right, whatever direction you panned all your mics) and record.. that'll give you mono drums, and 3 tracks left to do vocals and instruments...

to give you my setup, i record a 5 peice drum set, with a billion cymbals cause my drummer is convinced he needs them all, with 3 mics... sm57 on snare, sm57 on kick (hey, i like it!), and 1 or 2 overheads, and i do mono about half the time.. let's say i'm doing stereo... then i record the 2 guitars on tracks 3 and 4, mix everything together, do an external bounce back to 2 tracks on my 4 track, then record bass and vocals... works fine for me, try it out or don't, can't claim i'm professional, but i can claim i'm happy with the sound
 
Your question was How do I do it?

I used to use a larger board. Make a submix and record that to 2 track inputs of your Tascam.

Then do the same with the rest of the band on the other 2 tracks.
Make sure you have a compressor in line with the line out of the large mixer. Otherwise you will die trying to maintain the levels.
Don't think that you can use the Tascam for signal. Rent or use your live board and the line outs.

Voila.... It is impractical to do this unless your chops are down.
 
Yo Tripp Over No One:]

You should have a drum machine to use for those moments in the middle of the night when the creative juices are running. You can't use a drummer unless your recording set-up is islsolated.

The Boss 770 will give you some sounds that will knock your tripping shoes off, especially some of the latin rhythms. If you buss your drums into two tracks, you have stereo drums and the sound is great.

The 770 is also programmable; the options for sounds are huge. There is also a nice A/B spin-off on most patterns, plus a break button, plus an ambience button with ten choices. Just a great box. Rent one and try it?

Real drums are nice but you can get many many things done with a good drum machine and the 770 is a good box.

Green Hornet
 
I wish I had a drum set but I have to contend with some fairly common constraints - budget, family, and neighbors. That meant a drum machine.

I agree with Green Hornet. I bought a a DR-770 and absolutely love it. It was a little more than the other low-end drum machines but it was a huge step up. It has very realistic sounding instruments, loads of memory, and extensive editing. You can come up with VERY nice drum tracks if you have the patience to program them well. If you want a groove box then you'd probably want to check out others but I liked this best for rock-based patterns.

If I had a different situation my first choice would be real drums but I don't feel like I'm settling too much with this unit.
 
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