Tascam US 1800 recording & room importance

[Zach Frazier]

I have 2 questions that I am looking for some answers. First I am recording with a Tascsm US 1800 and I am also using reaper. I have noticed when I am trying to record that when I have my gain levels all that way down as far to zero as it will go I am still getting about any where from -6 to -10 on my fader levels in reaper. I find this kind of weird that I am still getting a signal in reaper when my gain levels are set to zero on the tascam unit. If any ideas why this is happening please do share thanks.

Second question is about rooms for recording drums. As of right now I know a room is very important when it comes to recording drums. I have been using my small bedroom that is not ideal at all for recording drums. I was wondering if the room could have a huge effect on tuning my drums? I have huge problems when it comes to tuning my 14 and 16 inch Toms, and my snare seems to be very squashed without a lot of body when recorded. No matter how many times I try to tune these drums with new heads or different tensions I cannot get that low canon sound I am looking for, and I was wondering if my room might never the reason why I cannot achieve what I am trying to get. I figured after 6 years of playing and tuning I would have gotten a sound that I like but no such luck yet. So any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mjbphotos]

Yeah, a signal will go through the Tascam even when the knobs are durned all the way down (happens with my US600). Not -6 to -10 - that is loud - you may not be reading your meters correctly.

On the drums - do the drums sound good to your ears when you hit them? If so, then you need to figure out how to record that sound. If not, then you've got to figure out how to get the sound you want.