sound card for drums

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Joejoe

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i have a regular turtle beach sound card which i want to record live drums with ...i have 1mono left and 1mono right which gives me 2 seperate mono tracks live..i havn't successfully gotten a great drum sound with 2 mics.i would like to have it panned with the toms asswell.do they make cards with 4 mono inputs or more that arn't crazy expensive...or whats the best way to mic up drums with a soundblaster card.thanx a million
 
Well, yes they do make many cards with more than 2 inputs. Aardvark, Delta, Echo etc. 8 Input configuration is the common one.

So, either pay the coin for the inputs you need or:

If you using a mixer, mic up your kit with as many mic's as you need and submix this, to two L/R outputs and record that. Will take some trial and error but can turn out just fine.
 
submix

in the drum submix i should be compressing, noise gating reverb etc. every microphone input. ??
 
well, the first question I'll ask: What mics are you using?
 
well of course im low budget so i have an sm 57 & 58 and a bunch of 3 for the price of one area mics..
 
Joejoe -

Here's the setup that I use to get a good stereo recording in my computer:

4 drum mics (snare, kick, 2 toms) - I have the AudioTechnica drum micing kitpack
2 overheads (rode NT3s)
Behringer 12 channel mixer (4 mono channels w/preamps)
Presonus Bluetube 2 channel tube preamp

I run the 4 drum mics into my boards 4 mono channels w/preamps; I run the 2 overheads into the bluetube and then into 2 seperate channels. I then take the stereo out into my stereo line-in in my computer (SB Live Platinum)

I've managed to get some pretty good drum sounds using this setup - as Emeric said - it takes some trial and error to get proper levels (set initial levels - record - listen back - tweak levels - record again) - but once you have your levels you are set. You can also fiddle with the individual EQs as necessary. Here's how I do it - record just the snare on computer; loop the recording; take your speaker out into a channel on your board; hook your boards tape out into an amplifier hooked up to some speakers (hopefully some decent reference speakers if you have them) - then play the sample on your computer and tweak the EQ until you get the sound that you want

If you want to add compression, reverb, etc. to individual drums (eg. compression on the kick) - that can be done before the line goes into your computer - you can use inserts (if your board has them) for compression and you can use the effects loop for any reverb to be added

hope this helps??
 
when i do the stereo auxilary return and sends i can control how much i want on each track..but i cant pan the effects with the track..as if the reverb stays in the mittle and not panned with the track.also how can i have the drums in perfect timing so i can loop the drums or add samples .all albums have to be in perfect timing? .appreciate the info..it all helps
 
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I agree almost 100% with what Pratt said with one exception...try not to rely on the EQ to "fix" the sound of your drums. That's probably not what he meant, in fact I'm sure that he didn't, but I thought I'd mention it anyway because that practice can get you to develope a terrible habit. Learn to adjust microphones and your instruments before reaching for the EQ knob.
 
I never meant to imply that you should use EQ to "fix" your drum sound - only to "tweak" it - for example I normally boost the highs a bit on the snare to bring it out a bit more in the mix (give it some more presence); I also boost the highs a bit on my overheads to give my cymbals what I would call a bit more "shimmer"

EQ should be used VERY sparingly


now Joejoe - I have a question for you - what kind of mixing board are you using?? the pan on each channel should pan the effect as well for that channel

- as far as drums and timing - if you want to sync your live drums with some midi later on you should be playing to a click track - I think that most multitracking programs should be able to generate a click track while you are recording your drums - your just going to have to run some headphones and wear them while playing
 
im using a behringer 4 mono xlr and 2 stereo inputs.i have if im correct 2 auxilery effects loop..i have knobs for 1 and 2 aux inputs..the effect will stay in the middle and the instrument will be panned hard left..i'm using sawplus32..i dont know how to do a click track with this program..is it smpte or another term.thanx
 
smpte (aka 'timecode') isn't what you want - smpte will allow you to sync audio with video or other audio devices (midi, eg.)

I don't know anything about sawplus32 - but I'm sure that it can generate a click while in record mode - just check the "help" maybe and do a search for "click track"? Every multitracking program that I've worked with has had this feature
 
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