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Hi Guys,

I've posted here for quite a while, and I am an intermediate recording engineer, and I wanted to show you the roots of a series of articles that I am going to create to help answer some frequently asked questions for newbies about recording. I am by no means an expert, but I have been doing this for long enough that I've seen a lot of basic questions get asked that we have to continuously answer over and over here.

The series I am starting now is going to be called "Ghetto Recording 101". It's going to be aimed at those who don't have a multi-million dollar recording studio, but just a garage, a extra room, some cheap mics and a computer to show that you can make really decent sounding mixes using the most basic of equipment. I wanted to get a few ideas from people of what topics might be useful to have as FAQ type things with pictures and
possibly some video.

The first drum "faq" type page that I created a long time ago about recording drums has been moved to my website at:
http://www.slantview.com/node/3

This is not going to be the first article, it will be much more involved than that. So please, if there are things that are common questions on here (guitar, bass, direct boxes, drums obviously, etc) let me know, and I will hopefully be able to post the articles here as well for the enjoyment of all and peace on earth for all mankind. :)

if anyone else is interested in participating in this, please feel free to hit me up.

steve

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Comments

anonymous Fri, 07/14/2006 - 13:11

how bout how to get good guitar recordings. and i don't mean for distortion, but how to get clear sounds, like if you had to record any other string instrument. and how to record it w/o a 57 or 609/906. like how to use condensers and ribbon mics and different techniques for each.

or how to record a piano with only two mics. like make up a scenario with only two dynamic mics and one with only two condensers, and one with one of each.

sounds like a cool idea.

anonymous Fri, 07/14/2006 - 13:41

Well, here are a couple:

In one FAQ you should discuss proper preparation of drums for recording; tuning, new heads, dampening, etc. Maybe call it "Less is More" and discuss how the 4-piece basic kit with a couple nice cymbals is going to sound better recorded that the 9-piece with 12 crashes two chinas and 34 rototoms. Maybe discuss size of drums, metal or wood, and how to best hit them in the studio (which I find to be LESS than full velocity. I have never bought in to "hit them as hard as you can" in the studio thing. I think it kills the tone and resonance...anyway, I digress).

In another FAQ you might discuss acoustics, and simple solutions to less-than-perfect rooms. Obviously, you can have great sounding drums, but put them in a crappy garage with low ceilings and sheet-rock and you're gonna have all kinds of problems. And watch out for the puddle of oil!

These issues should be considered before you even open the mic cabinet, right?

Then maybe move on to micing the kit with ONE mic. Then with three mics....etc, building up like that.

Whaddya think? :shock:

anonymous Fri, 07/14/2006 - 14:32

I like it. Here is an idea for the layout...

DRUM RECORDING:
1. Proper Setup
a. Playing the Drums
b. Gear, Heads, Cymbals
c. Tuning Drums

2. Micing Drums
a. Kick
b. Snare
c. Overheads
d. Room Mics
e. Toms
f. Popular Micing techniques
i. Recorderman Technique
ii. ??

3. Tracking Drums
a. EQ
b. Compression

4. Mixing Drums
a. EQ
b. Compression
c. Drum bus
d. Levels

Anyone else ?