Recording Metal in a Small Garage

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skumm bagg

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Alright so here it goes...

We play in a small garage.

We've got two guitars, bass, vocals, and a drummer. the drummers kicks are triggered and come out of the same PA's that the vocals come out of. the vocals run through a multi effects unit > small mixer > PA. hes using a Shure PG 48 mic.

We have all 3 amps set up facing the drum kit, with my AKG Perception 420 mic behind the amps recording everything, covered in like 5 t-shirts.

I am using a Lexicon Lambda recording interface, so I have 2 mic inputs, and 2 Line in inputs.

Can I use a 1/4 inch to have mics going into the Line in inputs on my interface?

We are planning on buying a feedback destroyer for the vocals, since we have trouble turning them up loud enough to hear them and not get feedback...will this help? Should we get a better mic for the vocals?

Basically my question is "how can I improve the quality of the recordings?" What would you guys suggest for getting better recording quality considering the set up that I described above? I have been thinking of micing the drums on another track at the same time, any tips on this?

You guys are very knowledgeable and I hope you can help me out!


btw, if you guys would like a sample of what the recording comes out sounding like, I will gladly upload it!
 
To start why don't you post some pieces in the MP3 clinic then we'll talk.



:cool:
 
My suggestion would be to get an interface that lets you record at least 8 separate tracks simultaneously. I would record the rhythm section 'live' with a scratch vocal, then overdub lead breaks, backing vocals if you want them, and the keeper lead vocal. Some type of drum isolation might be handy to reduce leakage into the other 'live' tracks and reduce your overall room volume, which may in turn reduce your feedback issues, and allow the other players to hear everything better. Having the drummer use the lightest possible sticks is also useful to reduce the overall room level, but in my experience, many of them want to play loud. Careful placement of your monitor speakers reletive to the mics is also important. Hope this helps.

DJ
 
Other thoughts--you would typically use a mic preamp to feed the 1/4" inputs, as they usually don' t have the proper impedence or gain for your XLR mics.

If you are limited to the mics and interface that you presently have, I would try doing a 'live' scratch track, then overdubbing all the individual parts using the the scratch track as a guide in some headphones. You might lose some of the vibe that you get when recording more parts 'live' but the control of each individual part would be greatly increased.

happy trackin'

DJ
 
Start simple.....


...turn down.



:)


Maybe then you can begin to hear what the heck you have...and how to adjust/fix it for a better recording.

Right now that's just a lot of loud noise....seriously over the top.
 
Can you do the guitars as an overdub (and DI the bass while you're at it!)? Your drums will sound 1000x better without live gtr/bass bleed. If the drummer knows the song inside & out, this might be easy!
 
Matt's live garage rock/metal recording 101:

1) Turn down.

2) Get an 8 channel interface, or even better, 16.

3) Position yourselves and your gear (including any PA speakers) in a way that best minimizes bleed... two common problems to try and prevent are... guitar and amplified vox bleed into the drum overheads, and drum bleed into the vocal mics. Exploit the mic polar patterns in conjunction with your new positioning within the room to minimize this as much as possible.

4) DI bass.

5) Always trigger kick, sometimes snare depending on what the snare is like and how the drummer plays it (+ toms if they are important to the song... sometimes you can get away with them being buried)

6) If you have decent amp modelling software available to you, it might be beneficial to take a clean DI from the guitars as well (put a DI box inline between the guitar and amp/pedals) and use this rather than trying to mic the amps. I don't usually bother with this, but if you are struggling with getting a decent mic'd tone then its another option to consider.

7) Wait for 24 hours until you even think about mixing any of it... even at sensible rehearsal levels, its easy to screw up your ears for a while. Wear ear protection if possible.
 
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WickedGtrTone said:
Can you do the guitars as an overdub (and DI the bass while you're at it!)? Your drums will sound 1000x better without live gtr/bass bleed. If the drummer knows the song inside & out, this might be easy!
Click to expand...

He doesnt. I am basically trying to utilize our rehearsal time and use it as recording time as well. thanks for the input though! it is much appreciated :)
 
wow

I kinda like this, it sounds so black metal its unbelivable, Varg Vikerness would be very proud to call this his own, but its not the sound you want.

Download Cubase SE - probably free if you look hard enough. I don't remember payin..

Record each instrument one at a time, or direct input bass with mic'd drums to keep the tempo even.

since you only have 2 mics, have the condenser above the kit, not too high, and the shure mic near the snare. Compression would help a lot with the drums.(one of the features of cubase SE)

Record the guitars one at a time, with the shure mic pointed on axis of the cone at a 45 degree angle, about 2-3 inches away from the grill.

Record the vocals with the condenser of course...with headphones. pop screen or old sock over the top of the mic, or new sock, any sock would do. set all levels reasonably to avoid clipping.

Test each input before recording.

if you have the money to get one of those acoustic shields for your condenser for vocals go for it, ive never used one, the shirts idea would work well enough for that anyway, seperate tracks is the only way to go if you don't have the instruments reasonably isolated from each other, and lots of mics.

Im no Andy Sneap, I don't have a lot of equipment either, or money to get any. But if you follow some of these instructions you will have a demo sounding song, nice and clear.

Good luck.
 
If you're on a budget and you want to minimize some bleed try using a styrofoam cup over the drum mic.keep the mic positioned so it's at the top edge of the cup and not really inside it.Take some tissues or a sock or whatever to stick inside the cup so it's not empty.

Basically you're just creating a slight shield around the mic to help with bleeding.Then position the mic above the kit as previously mentioned.Maybe try pointing the guitar cabs away from the drums slightly.

I've made a pop filter for vocals out of a cross stitch hoop and a pair of nylons for about 10 bucks.:laughings:
 
skumm bagg said:
Basically my question is "how can I improve the quality of the recordings?"
Click to expand...

are you trying to get a good quality recording or record your rehearsals? if you're trying to get a good quality recording, with the limited amount of inputs you have, i'd suggest recording the drums first, then tracking the other instruments after that.

skumm bagg said:
the drummers kicks are triggered and come out of the same PA's that the vocals come out of.
Click to expand...
why?
 
ez_willis said:
are you trying to get a good quality recording or record your rehearsals? if you're trying to get a good quality recording, with the limited amount of inputs you have, i'd suggest recording the drums first, then tracking the other instruments after that.


why?
Click to expand...

im trying to get a decent quality demo recording out of our rehearsal time. when we actually record an album or something, we will probably go to a studio. the last time i was there (i go every thursday), i got a much better recording by doing the PA line in (which the kicks and vox come out of) and the condenser mic turned down more so it wouldnt pick up so much noise. i dont have a sample because my laptop kept crashing and it was more important to practice than to record at the time.

and as for why the kick and vocals come out of the same PAs, why not? we have a left and right pa, and the vox/kick goes through a mixer into the PAs. that triggered kick sounds so awesome!

i REALLY appreciate all the responses ive gotten, you guys are awesome!
 
ez_willis said:
...otoh, that setup he described is way overkill for a garage.
Click to expand...

My point exactly.

If you play in a garage as though you were playing a real gig in a large club/hall...ain't no way to control the level then.
Like why bother running the kick through the PA in a garage?

I'm sure everyone is playing REAL LOUD...and there's no need for that in a garage. I hope you all are at least wearing some ear protection.
 
k

I had a crazy idea of recording like you once, to get a 'live sound' and be 'different' you could do that, and have the amps and p.a's all pointed in 1 direction, and have the condenser mic at the other side of the room turned down very low, would still sound awful though, compared to a simple traditional recording setup...you don't need to amplify your vocals..just capture them, same with the bass and drums, the guitar should be amped and recorded with the sm57 but everything else should just be recorded clearly, seperately, with no p.a
 
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