Strryder said:
If I'm understanding the way you want to put these songs onto the 4 track, it sounds like you've got the whole concept of the multi-track recording process all wrong.
Okay.
For what I think you want to do, you NEED mixer with at least 8 channels,
ch 1 singer
2 GTR
3 GTR
4 Bass
5 kick drum
6 snare drum
7 drum over head, one is fine if it's gonna be mono anyway
8 drum over head ? (pan 'em L/R if you come to your senses and record at LEAST in stereo)
For the MONO method..
If it's a stereo mixer, turn ALL the channel pan controls to "left" then plug the left output from the mixer into channel 1 on the 4 track, arm track 1 and hit record, play the song, rewind the tape and listen, if the instrument balance isn't right, re-adjust the mixer volume settings, rewind the tape, and do it again, repeat until you're happy with the results.
To do the second song, repeat all of the above steps EXCEPT plug the mixer into channel 2 of the 4 track and record onto track 2.
Doing it this way will leave you with 4 mono songs on 4 seperate tracks of the 4 track, whether or not you can squeeze any more songs onto the tracks will be determined by how long the first set of songs are, be careful not to accidentally record over anything thats already done.
For the STEREO method..
You would get better results if you set up a stereo mix and recorded it to tracks 1 and 2, panned left/right, then recorded the next song onto tracks 3 and 4 panned left/right, this would give you at least 2 songs per cassette, maybe even 4 (if they're short enough) and they would be in stereo, to do stereo, use both the left AND the right outputs from the mixer, and pan your instruments accordingly.
The whole idea of this is making me crazy... you could have saved the money on the 4 track and used a stereo cassette deck plus a mixer for this.
If you want to have any reverb on the tracks, you will need a reverb unit patched into the mixer's aux send/return and balanced correctly.
It'll be a "live" recording, that's for sure.
Remember, this is a live recording, you have to keep doing the songs over and over until you get a take that kicks ass, there will be absolutely no fixing anything in the mix, because you are recording the mix.
Huh?
Why would s/he want four mono mixes on four separate tracks? You're quite clearly as insane as s/he is.
Listen up Greykitkat.
THIS is how you're going to do it.
1: Gather together as many mics and D.I. boxes as you can: including large and small diaphragm models, and Condensers and Dynamics (note: you'll need Phantom Power with the condensers).
2: Stick two small diaphragm condensers (such as
the Oktava Mk-012) on separate tall boom stands. Place one two drum sticks high over the snare and the other two drum sticks high over the drummers right shoulder. Then, using a piece of string adjust them until the kick and snare drums sit nicely in the middle (you'll know when that is because if you assign the kick and snare to two tracks both meters will should show the same level).
3: Stick a large diaphragm dynamic (such as an AKG D112) on a very short boom stand and place it (the mic) in the kick drum. Adjust position and distance until you hear the sound you like.
4: Put a small diaphragm dynamic (such as an SM57) on a medium height boom stand. Place this mic over the snare, about two inches up and two inches in. Make sure it's not somewhere the drummer will hit it.
5: For the Rhythm Guitar you can either go direct (just plug it into one of the channel strips) or you can mike up a cab. Ditto for the bass.
6: Okay. Now that's all miked up we're going to record the rhythm section. To do this you need to do the following
i: . Set all Input Select switches to Mic/Line
ii: Push all Channel faders plus the Stereo Master Fader into the shaded area
iii: Put a tape (C90 or c60 will work, as long as you use a high quality brand ) in the recorder section. Arm tracks 3 and 4
iv: Have the musicians play their instruments (one at a time is best) and turn up the trim controls in each channel until you get a healthy signal (about +6 on the meter is acceptable)
v: Pan the instruments to where you want them in the soundstage (usually that's bass, kick and snare: centre, overheads: far left and far right and rhythm guitar: off centre in either direction).
vi: Adjust the trim controls and channel faders until the relative levels are satisfactory.
vii: Record the rhythm section for as many songs as will fit on the tape you're using (just two tracks, remember). Then put a new tape in and record some more. Repeat until finished (don't forget to label the tapes).
Now we should have
Track 1: Blank
Track 2: Blank
Track 3: Rhythm Section Left and Centre
Track 4: Rhythm Section Right and Centre
On all the tapes.
Tell me what else you want (just a lead vocal and guitar? Or lead vocal, backing vocals and lead guitar)
