What gear should I buy to suit my specific needs?

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indigojf

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Hopefully someone will be able to help me out here, because this is pretty confusing for a beginner.
Basically, what I want to do is use Cubase to record demos. They don't need to be incredibly professional, but I want them to sound good. Good enough to sound like they might not be crappy demos.
Currently, I have all the software and computer hardware I would need (I think), and two low quality dynamic mics. Probably in the 10-20 dollar range. I want to be able to mic a basic drum set, guitar, and bass, but I am on a fairly tight budget. I definitely won't be spending 500 dollars on each and every microphone, but I'm hoping that I won't need to.
I'm assuming I'll need a mixer/pre amp to do this? I don't know much about recording drums (or anything else, really), but I'm guessing you'll need more than one microphone feed. :P

I'll need something to mic my guitar cab with. It's usually a heavy, low sound with rumbling distortion, with emphasis on the bass and mid, but I was hoping to get something versatile enough to capture the searing higher pitches as well.
The bass will be fairly conventional. Your typical clean, low rock bass. Preferably something like you'd hear in a Stone Temple Pilots recording, for example.
My vocals are loud. I've read that this can be a problem with some of the cheaper condensor mics, no? They go in and out of mumbling low notes and piercing high notes/screams and I was hoping to find something that would work reasonably well for both.
As for a mixer, I was considering one of the Behringer models in the 100-200 dollar price bracket. Will 4 XLR inputs be good enough for micing drums? Are these Behringer mixers a good product, or just cheap?

Any help will be very appreciated. I have no idea where to start.
 
Thanks for the link, but I can't seem to find answers for all of the questions running through my head.
Right now, my highest priority is finding a way to mic drums for rock music that doesn't require 8 $200 microphones. Does anyone have any experience with this? I was hoping to find a way to cut back on the number of mics used for the time being. I don't need it to be a masterpiece of technology, so much as something I can afford within the next year.
 
What kind of a soundcard are you using? That will have a big impact on what kind of recordings (decent vs. crappy) you will end up with.

That being said, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but with $10-20 mics you will get shit. It's that simple. I am sorry but it's the truth and you can search here all you want but if there was a magical mic that cost 10-20$ that was any good we would all know about it.

For a decent recording you need better than a soundblaster card and you need some good mics....Not top of the line but at least good.
 
I'm using a soundblaster live, but I was only going to be going from the mixer to the stereo line in. I've done this before with other equipment and it's good enough to suit my needs for now.
I'm not looking for a "miracle mic" that costs 20 bucks. I'm looking for mics in the 70-150 dollar range that are well suited to my needs. That's why I described the sound of each instrument I'm attempting to capture.
Really, what I need to know is what kind of mixer I should be looking for with the intent to use it to record a drum set. I don't want to buy a mixer with 4 XLR inputs and discover that there's no good way to mic drums without 6, 8, 10, or whatever. The mixer is what I'm looking to purchase next and I don't want to make a big mistake that will cost me a lot of money further down the line.
I should probably also mention that I plan on slowly accumulating better microphones as soon I have a mixer. I was considering a Studio Projects B1. Does anyone know if this would work well with my guitar cab?
 
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From one newbie to another...

If you do some focused searching in the microphone forum, you will find all kinds of very useful information. It sounds like you need to make a next step from junk mics to good, versatile mics. The Shure SM57 surfaces repeatedly as one hell of a good, durable, versatile mic, used both for recording and live work. If you have nothing else, it seems to me that you should have a handful of SM57s to begin with, before engaging in the Great Microphone Hunt. They're available for about $80 new, and sometimes much less used on ebay. It's a no-brainer mic choice that will never go unused.

Beyond that, well, there are lots and lots of good choices (and some junk lookalikes lurking out there)... and the search function will help you learn. I also think it's a really good use of time to go through the mic forum SuperThread - the Mic polar pattern thread where Harvey Gerst delivers lesson after lesson to each of us. I literally printed that one out and refer to it often just to get up to speed on basic concepts.

You will see posts by Harvey, by Fletcher (of Mercenary Audio, a high end design / build / mod / serious recording outfit), by Dot / Dan Richards, Alan Hyatt, Richard Monroe and a number of other names appearing there. These guys are the real deal and are giving of their considerable expertise to help the rest of us. When you encounter personality clashes on the threads (kind of notorious in this business), ignore them and look instead for the substance. It's there.
 
You can do a 'not a crappy demo' sound on a drum kit using 4 mics: 2 overhead, one to highlight the snare, and one on the kick. For budget-conscious folks the MXL 603s and SM57 are both popular depending on your preference for dynamics or condensers and the B1 if you like a LD condenser (such as if you also want it to also do duty on vocals). Maybe get two of each to play around and see how you like to arrange them best. The condensers will need phantom power, so be sure that your preamps can provide it.

Now ideally you would take all 4 of those mics and track them separately, but that would require a 4-input sound card. So instead you are most likely going to send them to a mixer and track them as single stereo signal. You can either get a mixer that includes preamps or separate preamps. Be carefull as some mixers have awfull preamps.
 
You've already gotten some very good advice. Here's my take.-
It's entirely feasable to track drums on 4 tracks. Most of it is captured by a good pair of overheads, and the snare and kick are separately mic'd. To do what you need, you need 2 good overheads, 1 kick mic, a Shure SM57, and a main vocal mic. tHE 57 should do double duty as your cab mic. For overheads, I like Oktava MC012, I just bought a pair from Guitar Center for $140. A pair of Marshall MXL 603's are another good choice. For a main vocal mic, also usable on acoustic guitar, it's hard to beat Marshall MXL V67 for the price. A good kick mic will cost more, usually $150-200. Consider AKG D112, Audix D6, and Sennheiser MD421. The 421 is a little pricey, but is also a good vocal dynamic mic and good on stage.
Yes, you will need a mixer or a DAW (digital audio workstation). Either one will give you phantom power for condenser mics, at least the 4 inputs you need, and brick and mortar faders for mixing, and at least a rudimentary preamp. I don't think it will help much to get an outboard preamp, as long as you have to go into a mixer anyway, to get to that stupid mic input on the soundblaster. You really, really, need a better soundcard!
Behringer mixers.- Yes, they're cheap. The UB series have better preamps than the MX series, if you must. I believe you would do better to spook around on ebay and find a newer Yamaha, a Mackie, or a Soundcraft. I guarantee you that the preamps in any MX series Behringer mixer suck.
Remember to leave enough for mic stands, shock mounts where needed, good cables, and a steel pop filter, like the Stedman. Make sure at least one of your mic stands is heavy duty, like On Stage SB96+- $80 at 8thstreet.com. Get 2 sets of good headphones. I like Sennheiser HD280's but you can get cheaper ones that will work. When you start tracking other people, you'll find a small 4 channel headphone amp will become necessary, so you can give the person tracking a decent headphone mix. Start padding the drum tracking station now. Money and work spent improving the acoustics of a small area will pay off big time later. Good luck.-Richie
 
Thanks a lot, everyone, for all of the advice. I'll definitely try to keep all of this information in mind when I make any purchases. Wish I could go out and buy it all today, but you know... baby steps.
 
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