Starting up (like everyone else)

[Lomas]

Hello everyone!

I just bought myself a sm57 mic and a mixertable (is that what people mean by preamp???) to start recording at home. I've tried this set up before (borrowed stuff) but then I just kept playing around, didn't pay much attention to eq and stuff.
I'm gonna want to record accoustic guitars and add some keyboard stuff, bass and occasionally some electric guitar. I'm very much into stuff like Elliott Smith and I guess that's the kind of stuff I'll be going for.

My question is this, and forgive me if this have been asked a million times before: When recording accoustic guitar, in this kind of mix, should I go for a very neutral sound on what goes into the computer, or should I do a lot of stuff with it on the mixertable (except getting the sound levels up)?

I guess organic and tight is what I want. I don't like "big" and perfect soundscapes.

Thanks!

 

[Stealthtech]

expirimentation is the key
mic placement
play with the eq's
find the sound you like

 

[DigitalSmigital]

mixers have pre amps in them...

yes. To control the strength of the signal before you record it. But stand-alone pre's are better for the quality of the signal, but you won't need one until you really get serious about recording.

But pre's and mixers are different things.

 

[oh_the_blood]

elliot smith is god, his recordings are very raw and to the point, its what i love about him

 

[adamo_musica]

elliot smith was god.

 

[Lomas]

Yes, Elliott Smith was incredible in every way possible. I really don't wanna try to sound like him or anyone else, but I guess that's the kind of sound of recorded music that I like the most. The raw but balanced sound.

And yeah, I am prepared to expereiment a lot. It's just that I've been writing songs forever without ever recording a whole song 'cause I never bothered to buy stuff to do it.

Thanks!

 

[ralph mellish]

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "mixertable." In order to do what you are looking for, you'll need some sort of multi-reacking recorder. For the style you want, you'll probably want to have a stand alone analogue multitracker, not the computer. An analogue multi-tracker will probably give you that warmer sound that you are looking for, while being cheaper. Digital multi-trackers are great, but many tend to find them a little "cold" sounding. I use both, and prefer the analogue unit for acoustic stuff. Check out a Tascam 488 - you can find them really cheap on eBay. It's an 8-track unit, so you'll have room for a couple of guitar tracks, a couple of vocal tracks, and plenty of room to add other instruments.

Hope this helps!

*As an aside, a pre-amp is a component that goes in the signal chain between the microphone and the recorder that boosts the signal coming in from the mic. It is not a recorder in and of itself, but something that helps recordings sound fuller by enhancing the volume range of the mic.

 

[Lomas]

Yeah, I mean I'm mostly after putting my songs on disc as demos, so I think I'll have to start out with the stuff I have (just a sm57 and a cheap mixer + computer). But thanks for that input about the Tascam. I'll definately check it out later on.