some skills to get the best of a cheep mic please!

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Sanjanjoseph

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I am using a "Labtec Verse-504 Desk Microphone for PC Voice Access" as a recording mic and "Cool edit pro" as recording and editing software. Yes i am ashamed of myself, who wouldnt be if the had such a mic (though cool edit pro isnt so bad). If are not familiar with the mic, google it, its about 14$, and isnt meant for recording. I am , or sould i say my band-mates and i are purchaseing a recording mic to be used as a full band recording mic (vocals, guitar, bass, drums) its about 40$(not sure what it is, im not the one who ordered it) we obviously have a low budget, we are just trying to get our music out. We record in my room which is roughly 15x30 ft. any comments, suggestions, mic placement pointers, anything at all.....please help us out.
 
Sanjanjoseph said:
I am using a "Labtec Verse-504 Desk Microphone for PC Voice Access" as a recording mic and "Cool edit pro" as recording and editing software. Yes i am ashamed of myself, who wouldnt be if the had such a mic (though cool edit pro isnt so bad). If are not familiar with the mic, google it, its about 14$, and isnt meant for recording. I am , or sould i say my band-mates and i are purchaseing a recording mic to be used as a full band recording mic (vocals, guitar, bass, drums) its about 40$(not sure what it is, im not the one who ordered it) we obviously have a low budget, we are just trying to get our music out. We record in my room which is roughly 15x30 ft. any comments, suggestions, mic placement pointers, anything at all.....please help us out.
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Welcome to the board! I love your sig quote (BTS is one of my faves). Unfortunately, getting a great sound out of a cheap mic is difficult. You can certainly get a unique sound that may be useful for certain things, but recording an entire project with one cheap mic is usually not advised. That being said, if that's all you have, then use it. It will allow you to document your songs, at least.

I am not sure which mic your friends ordered, so I cannot comment on that. I would say, however, that if it's not a Shure SM57, you should probably return it and get the 57 instead. For <$100, the only mics I would recommend would be the SM57, MXL 990, MXL V67g, and Studio Projects B1. Of those, the 990 is the cheapest ($60 at Musician's Friend), but the 57 is the most versatile ($70-$80, new -- probably around $50 used). Others may offer different opinions.

Depending on what other equipment you have, you would probably get the most sonically pleasing results by recording one instrument at a time (multitracking) into CEP. If you record the whole band through one mic, simultaneously (live), it will probably sound like a muddy mess and will be impossible to mix.

For tracking advice, close miking of amps, etc is probably the best bet for now. Distance miking requires nice equipment and a good room. Run the bass direct (rather than miking the amp). I would record a scratch track of the band playing together, or at least the rhythm guitar and vocal, with a click in CEP. Then, retrack each instrument/voice separately, using the scratch track as a guide. Then, mix the tracks together (mute the scratch) as best you can.

Sorry I don't have any other super secrets to share. Good luck.
 
OK you're on a budget. Nothing to be ashamed of because you have desire and that counts too ya know. ;)

I don't know what your sound card is so I'm a bit limited to suggestions. I'll assume that you can record two channels at once. I'd suggest that you use two mics. You'll get better sound. Why? Because we have two ears and our brains tell us where things are out there in space because of it. We have stereo hearing so if you record in stereo, even with cheap mics, it'll sound way better than a single or mono mic recording.

If you can only go with a single dynamic then try this. Get the band setup and playing. Now walk around the room and listen with your eyes closed at a few spots in the room. Start in the middle of everything. What you're listening for are notes that seem to resonate. If you hear really shrill notes in a particular frequency it may be a resonate spot in the room. This is undesirable. Move a little to find a location that sounds good and flat overall. Put the mic there pointing up at about chest level.

I use two MXL 990's in my studio set up as a concident pair. I got the pair for $100. They need a preamp with phantom power which means more money, but they do the job nicely for little investment.

Experiment. Listen back... repeat. Have fun.
 
thanks scrubs and birdhouse, i am defidentally going to take your advice my computer's sound card:
Manufacturer: Analog Devices, Inc.
Model: SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio

is this decent, half decent, good, i have no idea?

and what did you mean when you said you shouldnt close mic a bass amp.

thanks again,
sjj
 
Sanjanjoseph said:
and what did you mean when you said you shouldnt close mic a bass amp.
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I meant that, unless you have kickass gear (bass amp/cab, mic, preamp, etc.), you will probably get better results from recording the bass direct -- i.e. running a line from the bass directly into your mixer/preamp, then into your soundcard. A cheap mic on a cheap amp will not reproduce bass in an acceptable way. Even with great gear, bass is often recorded direct.

If you don't have a mixer and/or preamp, and were planning on just running the mic directly into the soundcard, then this becomes a less viable option. You could plug the bass directly into the soundcard, but I doubt that would sound very good, either.
 
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