limited space and gear but my attemps have proved decent just looking for optimization and suggestions for better sound with what i have thanks
gear
drums:
standard 7 piece pearl
mics:
Shure sm 58 x 2
lower end Shure X 2
no-name low end X 1
amps:
crate 100 watt guitar head
yorkville 200 watt 15" bass combo - with XLR direct to pa
speakers:
crate 4X12 guitar cab
Yamaha 15" pa speakers X 2
mixer:
Behringer pmx2000 2X250 watt ; 10 channel powered mixer
two rooms available to me, i dont know whether to use one or both
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both rooms
13X11X8
concrete floors, 4 foot concrete surrounding walls and 4 foot wood
separated by
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i suppose my questions are these
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1) should i use both rooms
2) which mics would you use for the various gear and where
currently no vocals ; ie. mic distribution for the drum kit, how far
apart at what parts ; Micing the 4X12 etc ; room mics ;
- i just dont know limitations or optimizations for the mics and
distances relative to their respective insturments ;
3) any and all suggestions on setup - mic ing ; anything
- i am recording low fi to a tape deck but id like the instruments to sound as clean and crisp / loud as possible ; as little room / background hiss as possible and try for highest volume on the finished product when i play i back so i dont have to crank my pa master volume.
-sorry if this is unclear in certains spots; just reply and i will clarify if need be,
- i play dist punk rock ; poppy verse chorus verse ; loads of distortion ; heavy to clean ; pretty hard hitting drummer ; will not play so loud and hard if it screws things up ; open to all new suggestions and not a problem to alter live playing to tame it down for better results
-Kwin Cymons
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better start than most say your other later posting and thought
better start than most
say your other later posting and thought it best to reply to this one...
one thing to remember, above all else, is that recording is a learning process. when starting out, trial and error is the best advice you'll ever get. you'll know whether it sounds good or not. if it doesn't sound the way you like it, then move the mic til you do. you're the engineer, it's your band, so it's untimatly your decision where it should go. but it does help to get some tips to start you off. sooo.......
ideally, you'd track everything. but seeing that you have 5 mics and need to record everything at once, we're going grass roots!! right, so, one the drums, use one of your "low end mics" on the kick drum. use a shorty mic stand to stick it into the hole in the front of the skin. try to get it as close as you can without it sounding too overloaded. just move it around til your happy. the closer to the beater, the more clicky it'll be. if there's no hole, get it in front of the skin a few inches away. next, use a big mic stand to put one of the 58s above the drummer's head. this will hopefully catch everything else. the front of the mic need to be pointing as centrally as possible. this isn't a great way to do it, but it's good considering what you have.
when setting the levels on your mixer, DO let your drummer bang as hard as he nornally would. there's no need to tame it down. adjust the levels until there is no clipping. you should be fine.
i'm unsure what other instruments you have other than drums and guitar, but you can put the guitar amp along the wall with the cones facing the wall. this will help keep the racket down in the room. to mic it up, place a 58 with the pop sheild off on a stand and place it directly in front of one of the cones. feel up your amp if you don't know where they are. the face of the mic should be parallel with the cone, and ideally it should be about an inch away. again, set levels using your crunchiest, funkiest effects. that way you'll know you won't distort. if the noise in the room is too much, then try putting a blanket over the amp and mic. you'll contain the sound, but it may sound muffled or dead. try it out. you can always turn your amp down....
right, do you have a bass cab?
the next thing you need to do is set up the mixer. do you have enough room in one room for everything? if yes, stick the mixer in the same room as the gear. that way you won't have to run back and forth between rooms or worry about runing leads inder the door. no need for the speakers just yet. they'll just add more bad noise to the room. monitor with some headphones off the mixer.
what sort of outputs do you have for the master fader?
have a think about this for starts, play alittle and ask more questions. good luck!