starting a recording

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bluetruck

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I want to record a demo, and don't know how to start. Should I sing a vocal track acapella, then go from there? I've got a drum machine, should I sing with that for my first track.

Thanks
bt
 
can we get a lil more info? such as what style of music, what instruments are you going to have on it, and what your recording to?
 
No, you can't have any more information.............

You have to use your telepathy skills!:D
 
I want to record a rock/country song with vocals, guitar, bass and drums. I'm using sonic foundry software (sound forge, and acid music) on my pc.
thanks
bt
 
well, if you want to use a drum machine, then you better record it first, unless you are a human metronome. Otherwise your timing will be out, but the drum machine will stay in perfect time. = sloppy recording.
 
also

while I'm at it my mike sounds weak,
do I need a DI box to boost it?
 
need way more info: what are you recording onto? what kind of mic? what is the mic plugged into?
 
weak mike

I'm plugged straight into a mixing board. I've tried hitting the 40 watts of phantom power, but it still sounds weak. I want to record into my pc

thanks
 
What type of mic is it, and how are you recording with it?

Hitting the Phantom power isn't going to do anything to the level- you either need it or you don't. You need phantom power for condensors, but not for dynamic mics. Turning it on for a dynamic won't do much, but having it off for a condensor will mean that the mic won't be powered, hence it won't work.

You might also find that your problem lies in how you are using your mic- some of them have pretty rapid drop-offs etc.

As for how to record, if I'm not using a drum machine, then I try to do an "area record", where I get the entire band to play and record a mixed-down version of the song.
Then, I play that back to everyone as they play- giving them a reference. This will generally work (depending on the calibre of the musicians-heh). Then, I record each track individually, which gives a nice, "clean" sound.

I dunno- maybe this is a shite way to do it, but it seems to work for me...
 
Recording

He's right about needing to know the details of the equipment but the grneric answer here, IMO, is:
#1. lay a drum track at the tempo you want the song at.
#2 Play it loud enough for the whole band to hear while they are playing ( either with head phones or) with out headphones and record the band on a seperate track.
#3 best to track drums now, then bass and then the rest of the insturments. Vocals last.
After you get most of the stuff down make sure you are satisfied with it before wiping out the recorded band track (scratch track). I never remove the click or tempo track when I am finished, and I also make sure its muted when I get to mixdown by marking that channel so it doesn't get accidently put some where in the back ground of the mix. I may want to go back at a later date and put another insturment on the recording.

Hope this helps.
 
try running your mic through a pre-amp. That will boost the sound a bit and decrease a lot of your line noise.
 
I just had another thought on your mic problem- where are you connecting it onto your mixer? Is the mixer new, or second hand?
I've known of mixers where one channel has died for no apparent reason- maybe a service is in order.

Alternativley, are you plugging the mic into a line level or High-Z input? I remember training this one guy who kept on complaining that his mics weren't working, only to find that he was trying to plug a mic into a line-level input....

Just thought I'd add that- sometimes it's one of those obviosu things that you just don't notice until somebody else points out to you (hell, I've been there so many times I've lost count...)
Later
 
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