Home Recording help please?

[prodigy8901]

Hello, i am new to home recording and i appreciate good sounding mixes. i have a band that just recently got back from a $10/hour studio that was decent but i would love to mix here at home. I want to record drums, 2 guitars, a bass, and 2 vocalists. they do not need to be recorded at the same time. For example, i would be fine recording drums first, then add in a guitar, then add in the second guitar, etc. The problem is i have no idea what would be the cheapest solution for good quality recordings at home. I am buying drum mics soon but I have no experience with what type of mixer i would need or if i would even need one. My mics will be 1 bass drum mic, 1 snare mic, 2 tom mics, and 2 cymbal condenser phantom mics. Can anyone please recommend exactly what products i would need to get good sound on a very low budget? Also, could you recommend a good vocal solution that can be used on the same mixer (if i need one)? I would like to record through my computer and i already have recording software installed. Thanks for any help!

[richiebee]

Although the audio world is full of hyped manufacturers that want to rip you off, there's a point at which you get better results by spending more money. That's at the budget end. So, to say you want a good sound on a very low budget is just not going to happen. You'll need an audio interface with multiple inputs. One with built in pre-amps will be your best bet to start with.

http://www.recordingreview.com/sound...t=Submit+Query

You should be good to go just with this, your microphone collection, your computer and your recording software.

[brandondrury]

i have a band that just recently got back from a $10/hour studio that was decent but i would love to mix here at home.

I'm guessing that a $10 studio is at someone else's home, right? It's not like this is a "real studio". You can do the same thing in your bedroom, more than likely without dropping a ton of dough (depending on how you define "a ton of dough").

Although the audio world is full of hyped manufacturers that want to rip you off, there's a point at which you get better results by spending more money.

I agree with Richiebee. There is a critical mass with recording gear where you need to spend $X to get anything any good. Once you reach critical mass, the difference between gear becomes extremely subtle even if the price tag goes up by thousands and thousands of dollars.

Step #1, read both articles in my signature.

Step #2, don't buy a set of "drum mics". I don't even know what "drum mics" are. The marketing creates the illusion that these microphones can differentiate between a drum in the room and a guitar or vocal or something. Then, with magical powers, the 'drum mics' only pick up the drums....completley ignoring the other sounds.

Well, this just isn't the case. Microphones are microhones. While some mics are better for certain tasks, I find that these drum mic kits are bogus most of the time. Sure, the fancy tom mounted mics come in handy in the live setting (I don't care for them in the studio) but that's about the only reason I can think of to buy these drum micing kits.

A buddy of mine has an Audix drum mic kit. (Which is lightyears past many drum mic sets because the mics are actually very good). The "floor tom" mic is a red color. Everytime we set up for live sound, people get really excited thinking that the red mic is really going to make a big difference and if the red mic ends up on the rack tom, then it's just going to sound terrible. This just isn't the case.

If I were you, I'd get a fun bass drum mic. I like my Shure Beta 91 quite a bit. There are other good options, but I wouldn't overthink it. the Beta 91 is a kick ass kick drum mic. Then, I'd get 57s for the snare and toms. (There is always some guy selling 4 Shure SM57s on Ebay for $250). Then, for overheads, I'd figure out what vocal mic I wanted. In fact, I'd probably get two totally different condenser mics for the overheads just to give you more vocal options.

2 cymbal condenser phantom mics.

I don't know what a "cymbal mic" is, but you would probably be best to get these two mics to pick up the entire drum kit. I have gotten decent results close micing cymbals a few times, but that really depends on the room and what you are going for.

Also, could you recommend a good vocal solution that can be used on the same mixer (if i need one)?

What mixer?
Why You Don't NEED A Mixer For Home Recording

Vocal solution?
Between your SM 57 and your one of your overheads you should have this covered.

Brandon

[prodigy8901]

thank you both very much. Now I'm at the point where i feel i am better off with a sound card for recording and do not need "drum mics" specifically. However, i did find a set of samson drum mics that are only around $200 that sound very good (same as the studio i went to). Is there anything wrong with those? And also, if i choose to go for a soundcard, can anyone recommend a decent sound card with the amount of inputs i would need to mic the drumset? i will have 2 condenser microphones, a bass microphone, and 3 other microphones for snare and toms. How would i go about wiring the mics to the sound card? I realize that i will probably need to spend more, like you were saying, for decent sound. Will i be able to achieve decent sound on any setup for less than $500 or so? Thanks again!

[brandondrury]

also, if i choose to go for a soundcard, can anyone recommend a decent sound card with the amount of inputs i would need to mic the drumset?

Use the soundcard wizard in my signature.

How would i go about wiring the mics to the sound card?

Actually, read the other link in my signature as well. Then post with more questions.

Brandon

[prodigy8901]

oops, sorry i forgot to read the pages in your sig. ok, i found the Alesis Multimix 8. However, all of the drum mics are XLR input and the picture appears to only have 4 XLR inputs. Is there a way around this? Thanks