Recording in an Apartment

[AddleHeart]

Is it possible? I was considerring moving into a studio apartment... Should I record my amps just quietly? seems kinda lame, need some help

[Bigduggieface]

You can record anything you want in your 'studio' apartment! A prog-rock band? Go for it. An 11-piece funk band? Hell yeah!

Seriously, if you're interested in making music without getting yourself evicted, you WILL need to keep volumes at a minimum, and sometimes this is difficult.

What instruments do you anticipate recording? Harmonica is no problem, but rock drums may be troublesome.

I started out recording my extremely loud rock band at our rehearsal space. Eventually, when I developed a home studio of my own in my apartment, I was forced to keep volume levels down. My songwriting style had to adapt to this quieter environment I found myself in. I found myself directing my purchases towards gear that would lend themselves towards lower-volume situations. 100-watt Marshall stacks suddenly seemed less appealing or pragmatic.

Finding innovative and good-sounding direct injection methods suddenly became important. As a guitarist, I became more reliant on drum machines and synths. I feel this experience has enriched my musical palette and I'm a better engineer and songwriter because of it.

If you could supply more information about what instruments, musical styles, and equipment you intend on using, perhaps I or one of the other members can supply more specific advice.

Congratulations for advancing to a new apartment. Now do what you gotta do to make the best music you can given your volume restriction.

[mindundermatter]

Good stuff. I'd add that it's perfectly okay to record a guitar amp at a low volume.

[ibanezmix]

Just started recording in an apartment not too long ago and I really only get a chance to record at night (usually very late). Recording at lower volumns is a possibility, but usually I record straight through my board (when playing electric guitar/bass - of which I'm primarily playing an acoustic guitar). However, when I'd like to throw in one of my pedals - mostly my distortion pedal - I find that I get this really nasty sound. Any suggestions as to how to "clean up" my guitar. Being that I'm still learning the ropes of recording instead of just playing and all (don't want to over EQ my sessions). It seems that there are just multitudes of reasons that this could be happening.

Is there a good method to recording distorted guitar by plugging straight into the board or will my best sound come from a mic to the amp?

[Joe Gilder]

Originally Posted by ibanezmix

Just started recording in an apartment not too long ago and I really only get a chance to record at night (usually very late). Recording at lower volumns is a possibility, but usually I record straight through my board (when playing electric guitar/bass - of which I'm primarily playing an acoustic guitar). However, when I'd like to throw in one of my pedals - mostly my distortion pedal - I find that I get this really nasty sound. Any suggestions as to how to "clean up" my guitar. Being that I'm still learning the ropes of recording instead of just playing and all (don't want to over EQ my sessions). It seems that there are just multitudes of reasons that this could be happening.

Is there a good method to recording distorted guitar by plugging straight into the board or will my best sound come from a mic to the amp?

It sounds like you could benefit from some sort of amp/speaker emulation. A distortion pedal without an amp can sound pretty incomplete. I use the Sans Amp Character Series Blonde pedal, and I just love it. Might be worth taking a look at. It emulates several different Fender amps. You would just put it between your distortion pedal and the mixer.

[Bigduggieface]

Originally Posted by Joe Gilder

It sounds like you could benefit from some sort of amp/speaker emulation. A distortion pedal without an amp can sound pretty incomplete. I use the Sans Amp Character Series Blonde pedal, and I just love it. Might be worth taking a look at. It emulates several different Fender amps. You would just put it between your distortion pedal and the mixer.

Absolutely! Amp modelling has changed the world of direct injection for guitarists and bassists. Several companies are making good-quality boxes that you plug your guitar straight into, and connect the output of the box into a line in (or two for stereo effects) of your recording device. They sound like well mic'd amps in the studio.

Boss sells a couple of pedals which are modelled from a '65 Deluxe Reverb and a '59 Bassman that (like the Sans Amp box that Joe Gilder suggested earlier) sell for around $150 bucks. Companies like Line 6 and Digitech make fancier boxes with multiple amps and stereo effects. These even model some bass amps, so you can plug your bass straight into it, and have more versatility. Companies like IK Multimedia and Waves even make software versions that sound great. If you record with a computer, you basically just plug your guitar into the soundcard, start up the software and choose from dozens of amps and effects.

If someone is into sequencing on their computer, there are amazing drum samples, orchestra samples, ethnic instruments, you name it. All of which can sound utterly authentic and convincing if you perform/program them properly.

Don't forget that an electric drum kit can, via MIDI, trigger any sounds you like. Jam with a drummer, keyboard player, bassist and guitarist using only headphones!