What to do????

  • Thread starter Thread starter YesZep Lick
  • Start date Start date
Y

YesZep Lick

New member
I am a big time newbie when it comes to recording. I am looking to buy some recording equipment and would like some advice.

I currently play in a band .. 3 guitarists, a bass player, and a drummer playing classic rock. We have an old four channel pa system but I would like to be able to make some live recordings. I need to be able to record 8 tracks at once. At first I was leaning toward analog, but as I have read more digital seems very interesting. What equipment would be best to go with?? I will also be doing some recordings on my own where I would need to record 8-12 total tracks per song.

I have no computer (well I have an old 486, and I need a new one) and currently and the equipment I have is Shure58, guitar, amp, drum machine, alesis nanoverb and various effects pedals. If I did go with digital what exactly would I need and can you explain what each piece of equipment does. My budget is about $2500.

I also have a question, which is probably very silly: While the band is recording all 8 tracks at once, would we monitor the room with the nearfield studio monitors, or are they only for mixing down???

This is a great site! I would really appreciate any help!

Thanks,
YesZep Lick
 
As to what to record on, I'd just start reading everything I could get my hands on to see what looks like a format you can deal with . As for the monitors, while tracking you'd use headphones for all and mix thru your nearfields.
 
YesZep Lick, welcome to our world! Sounds like you've got a good amount of money to start with. It would take an extensive conversation to tell you what kinds of things you might need. I'm also pretty new at this thing, so, I'm no expert, but I'll tell you what I know. I've been doing this for two years and I have really enjoyed using my digital unit. It's a Korg D8. I'm a singer/songwriter and it works great for what I do. With tape units(analog) equalization is a big thing because tape boosts the lows a little and cuts the highs a bit. You have to get the feel of compensating for that effect on the sound. In digital units, though, the sound lacks the warmth of analog. It's a bit thinner but you get a fairly "true" sound of what's being printed(recorded).

For the matter of recording all the instruments at once, I'm not for it so much. Not that it isn't easily done, but, doing the parts one or two at a time allows more concentration on the sounds of the instruments individually. Not so much going back and saying, "man, that sounds kinda 'nasal,'" and whatnot. Of course, you could always go back and re-record that instrument. I'd also have to say that your microphones would have to be fairly "high quality" to record that many people in ONE room without sounds bleeding into other mics. You know, like, having the singer/guitarist's guitar amp haunting under the main vocal. Of course, if you're going for that, it could sound really cool(wow, that's an idea...).

I'm gonna say that for $2,500 you probably won't be able to afford a piece of equipment that records eight inputs at a time and a mixer and microphones and some other toys that will be neccessary. That does not mean, however, that you won't be able to afford some equipment that will serve your needs. Most units that will be more friendly to you as a beginner will usually record only two inputs at a time. And if you learn to command your equipment, that might be all you need. Good luck, Brother.
 
Thanks Prophet_81 and Track Rat. I have another question for each of you:

Prophet_81 : Your advice is well taken. I really appreciate it! If I did go the digital route, I am guessing the equipment I'll need is software, a computer, a sound card that can record two tracks at once, a mixer, a compressor (from what I am reading), and a good quality mic.
Am I missing anything?


Track Rat: Thanks for taking the time to reply! With respect to my questions on monitors, can I record 4 tracks at once, lets say two guitarists, each with a mic, and have each person tracking thru the headphones. So basically, can I be using multiple headphones while recording? Don't most machines only have 1 headphone out. This may be a dumb question (thanks for bearing with me). Also, let me know if you have any suggestions on equipment.

YesZep Lick
 
YesZep Lick, if you do take the digital route, it doesn't mean you have to buy computer software. There are some pretty good units that stand alone. And units that combine a number of units that are generally individually working. Like, the things that a studio will usually consist of are:

Your "tape" or recorder- a computer's hard drive, cassette tape, minidisk, CDRW, DAT, etc...

Mixer- has two or more channels with things like EQ, pan, gain(trim), inputs(XLR, 1/4" phone, etc)... you know the deal...

Effects- any effects unit. In the studio, a multi-effects unit can be helpful.

Compressor- evens out a sound that has volume and intensity changes. Not completely neccessary, but it made my life easier when I got one(and it takes longer than I have used it to really understand and master).

Gate- reduces noise in a signal. Kind of an on/off volume switch in the signal. When it activates is determined by the threshold setting. It doesn't eliminate noise, it turns off excess noise when it isn't higher than the threshold. Again, not completely neccessary, but really makes things easier. You should probably have one.

Your microphone- picks up the sound(obviously). This is a major decision. This depends on what you're recording. For a guitar amp(or piano) or percussion I like the SM-57. It's frequency response is in the ranges that those instruments generally fall into. It's something you'll have to study.

Metronome- "click". It just keeps time. It keeps your recordings even tempo-wise.

A lot of small home recording studios combine some of these things. My unit combines a recorder(mine uses a small internal hard drive), a mixer, an effects unit, and a metronome. Initially, you'd consider the unit a recorder. Some recorders don't have a mixer or effects. Some companies combine some of these things I've listed above.

Also, you're probably gonna begin a collection of microphones. I like the results I get from miking my amp with two mics. You don't have to do it that way, but I think it's easier and sometimes richer. You'll wanna have a few mics for your studio, but your 58, a 57 and some large diaphragm condenser will be fine to start out with.

A studio that isn't computer-based is really helpful in your situation(I'm assuming you don't a fully sound proofed room). I gotta tell you, my home studio is really small and really PORTABLE!!! It's great. This guy that I had record some drums for a few of my songs had a kit that barely fit into my car. Also, he had a room that was "the drum room" and it was completely lined with styrofoam. It was perfect for recording drums. And I packed my car up and went over there. No muss, no fuss. You know what I mean?

A couple of units I will recommend you research are:

A Roland VS-880
A Korg D8
A Korg D16

These are but a fraction of what's available to you. You'll probably wanna buy a four or eight channel mixer along with one of these.

I know you're gonna have some wonderful adventures. And remember, it's pretty much an artform. THERE ARE NO RULES!!! Only what sounds good to you. And no matter what you think of the first sounds on tape, it can probably always get better. I hope you find what you're looking for.

P.S. You can buy devices or adapters that split the headphone signal into two, four, and so on.
 
I would also like to recommend a book:

"Hot Tips for the Home Recording Studio" by Hank Linderman.

It really helped me understand some things.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top