What eqipment should our band use to record our first demo

[SunnyMuffins]

We have recorded a few bad sounding demo cassets and we are looking to make something more professional sounding recording. We really don't know where to start, and we can't waste our money experimenting as we have limited funds. We are looking to record guitar, vocals, saxophone, bass, and a basic drum kit. We would like to keep it under 250 dollars if at all possible. We know we need microphones for everything amd some kind of sound mixer, and some easy to use recording software or something. We think we would get a better sound if we recording everything live, but we can do otherwise if it will keep the cost down

 

[Harvey Gerst]

We have recorded a few bad sounding demo cassettes and we are looking to make something more professional sounding recording.

Where are you located? You might be able to find a nearby home studio that will do a better job without the steep learning curve that you're gonna run into.

 

[Shadow_7]

What do you need to record yourself live?

Just a stereo recorder like the H2. A full soundboard and set of mics for every instrument. Some magic man to sprinkle pixie dust. How much of that do you already have? Would a simple audience perspective stereo rig do your band justice? Are you looking for additional services like CD printing / design. Or just some bootleg looking CD-R by some kid with a boom box.

 

[SunnyMuffins]

Currently we have a 4-track tape recorder and our only mic, which was for vocals, got stolen. We're a pretty bare bones operation. A local music store has some microphones and recording equipment for rent, but we don't have a lot of money and if we spent it in the wrong places, it would take a while for us to save up enough to try again. We also have a Tascam US-122L, but i don't even know what it's for or how to use it. We don't need any sort of fancy disc printing for now, mostly just a demo disc to send out to venues and different artists to get shows. Once we have that down we are looking to record a full album, but right now it'd be a waste of time as we don't have the fan base to break even on that venture. If it would be any help to anybody, our myspace is http://www.myspace.com/sunnymuffinsband. Muddy Love is a song we tried to record each track individually with our friend who records solo stuff that comes out pretty good, but ours doesn't sound right at all. He had a laptop with some recording stuff on it and a few mics, but nothing specific for anything. The vocals didn't come out right, but most of that is we only did one take.

 

[SunnyMuffins]

Where are you located?

We are located in Mentor, Ohio. It's near Cleveland.

 

[ermghoti]

Oh yeah. Studio. Rehearse the hell out of your two best songs, book a full day, go in there and get it done. Ask around at the music stores and/or live shows for recommendations, check out the work the studios do, pick one. $250 isn't half of the budget required to make a shoddy demo, and it'll be a year or two before your recording chops will be sufficient to make something embarrassing.

 

[Farview]

You should use a recording studio. That way, you can get a feel for the process and decide if you want to take on the task or not.

 

[jab2980]

Hah - I grew up and lived 24 years in Kirtland. And ya.. in your situation its going to be more worth your while to find a cheap studio than to try to record it yourself at this point. If you want a quality live multi-track recording, you can't do that yourself for under $250.

We are located in Mentor, Ohio. It's near Cleveland.

 

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and tested suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

 

[darrin_h2000]

Im selling some stuff...lol.

Try Craigslist...there are plenty of multitrackers and microphones cheap...then go to youtube and watch all of the tutorials on recording...beats buying a bunch of books.

 

[Shadow_7]

Money spent is money not available for recording services or gear. Books and software can save you if you intend to do enough recording and stuff to make them pay for themselves. Or it's worth it just to satisfy your curiosity. If not, you'll never get that money back. At least not all of it. And if you end up hiring out, it was all a waste from a certain POV.

It really depends on what you call acceptable. Actually what you're clients are expecting out of a demo to be called acceptable. A lot of cell phones can record video and audio these days. So worst case scenario, you can go that route. If the client just wants proof that you exist, aren't dressed in bondage and won't land them in jail, that's probably good enough. But I'm not the person you're probably looking to hire you for a gig. Talk to your clients / potential clients, and see what they're expecting and deliver accordingly. Talk to the group that has your preferred job, ask them what they did to get there. And either match or one up their efforts. It's not always rocket science, even though it might be referred to as engineering on occasion.

As an instrumentalist, you sometimes have to do free gigs to get paid gigs. Especially if you're new to an area. And 9 times out of 10, it's not what what you know, but who you know.

 

[Richard Monroe]

OK, it's time for the patented clue-by-four. Understand that this answer is not a joke, and I'm not making fun of you. It's the truth. First, get on ebay or Craig's list and find a used Shure SM57 to replace your stolen mic, so at least you can practice. Then find somebody on this board that lives in Ohio. Next, practice your best 3 songs until you are so sick of them you could die. Learn to do it without moving, or tapping your feet, or moving a muscle that doesn't involve playing. When you get so you can't stand to play those 3 songs one more time, take a week off. Then send a PM to that guy in Ohio and beg him to do a 3 song demo of you for the $200 you've got left after buying that mic.
In short, your budget is not even remotely anywhere near the ball park. You aren't even on the bus to the ball park. You don't even have a road map to it. I've finally gotten to the point where I could take a pretty good stab at what you want to do, and I've got somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 sunk into audio gear. To even take a vague stab at it would set you back a couple of grand. Moreover, you don't have the knowledge to do a good job, even if you had the gear I do. Seriously, right now, the little money you do have would be far better spent on studio time than recording equipment, and your budget calls for cut rate studio time, not the high priced spread. -Richie

 

[dodgeaspen]

Try www.musicgoround.com they have some good used things for sale. If that's to much then I would try using a recording studio like some others have suggested.

 

[witzendoz]

"What equipment should our band use to record our first demo"

The easy answer: "A Recording Studio".

Not trying to be funny, but you have no recording gear and by the sound of it no sound engineering experience. You will find getting a good recording very frustrating. Leave the recording to someone that can do the job and concentrate on the playing / performance.

I do tons of demos for bands that have some recording gear but can never get anything better than a rehearsal recording fit for the band only, They say we wasted many days with our own gear and it sounded like s#it.

They come into my studio for a day and put down 4 or 5 quick songs live in the studio (vocal over dub), with a quick mix / master (remember this is a demo), and it sounds plenty good enough to give to promotors, family, fans, myspace, etc. And no stress.

Cheers

Alan

 

[darrin_h2000]

Do a nice live practice session...use a Zoom H2...decent results and an easy interface...and mine was $100

 

[hungovermorning]

As for microphones, go used. The absolute best buys right now are old EV (electro-voice) mics made in Buchannan Michigan. Buy some on ebay, play with what sounds good on what, buy some cables, and a shitty old stereo at home reverb unit. That's the most fun you can have with a four track and $250. If that's not your particular brand of vodka, find someone with a nice set up on this board. I personally would rather deal with someone considered "prosumer" or an "invested amateur" than the nightmare of dealing with a professional studio who just may or may not care. You might want to write The New Lou Reeds, they're from Cleveland and in the know. Best of luck!

scott!

 

[ThroneMonkey]

Well I'm a newbie to this too so I don't really have much to add in terms of actual discussion, I just figured since I'm from Chardon I'd give a Cleveland-area shout out. But from what I understand $250 is not really going to get you much of anything in terms of recording gear. I would say either go with the rent a studio route or get day jobs for a while. Also I think its BA that you guys are myspace friends with Daniel Johnston