Home Recording Studio Equipment for Drums

[mhanon13]

Hello guys,

I've been playing drums for so many years now, and I am working on a new band, and about to record some covers and original songs. I got a TAMA Starclassic set, and I play in an excellent room for music/recording.

I want to build a Home Recording Studio so that we start recording our songs, but I am totally lost about this topic, I do not have any idea of how to build a Home Recording Studio (I want to do it Computer based).

I just bought a Samson 7kit mic set. But what else should I buy? A mixer.. etc..
Can you list me the equipment I need to buy to build it. The necesary equipment (the must have) and the complementary (to help recording better for a better sound)

I would so appreciate it, cause I am really motivated with this idea!

thanks guys!

[aydee]

Paging Dr. Duncan............Dr. Duncan?

[stasz]

Cue a novel from mfb.

Let's see how many members can shy away from the question and refer to duncan before he gets to the thread.

[wert90]

youre going to need an 'audio interface'

firewire is best, and youll need at least 7 channels to get all those mics in.

its a box that you plug all the mics into and then you plug into the pc/mac. when you record with the right software it will record each mic on a seperate track and then when you come to mix it youll have a much easier job.

thats pretty much all you need to get started now. i think.

[Interitus]

An Audio interface is probably the cheapest and best way to go. I recently picked up a Presonus Firestudio Project, which has 8 mic inputs. It comes with some software to record with, CubaseLE. My copy was toast, but a dl'd version seems to do the trick. You'll need a decent computer for recording, the one I've got just barely runs it all, and I think its whats limiting me to only recording 5 tracks at a time. But the whole thing was quick and easy to setup and get going, definately would recommend it.
Check out the recording section of your music store and see what they've got there.

[diosdude]

Welcome to the 21st century, a time where major label artists have won grammy's and sold multiplatinum records using their home studios. Before we can point you to a specific product, we need to know how much is your budget. Also, if you're going PC based, what are your comp specs?

[bojangleman]

well, you have mics.
do you have stands for the over heads?
if not..

1 - stands.
2 - audio interface. preferably Presonus FireWire. or FirePod.
http://www.music123.com/PreSonus-FP10-10x10-FireWire-Interface--Firepod--242036-i1368483.Music123

FireStudio is a step up from the FirePod, and a better option, but also more expensive.
it all depends what you are planning to do.

if you plan to have more than 8 channels at 1 time, your options are to buy another FirePod, or buy a seperate Mixer.
it all depends.

the FirePod comes with Cubebase. its a good program.
and last you'll need an audio card that can work with the Presonus.

but Duncan will have to help you out with that...lol

i could point you in the right direction, but he'll know what you need..ha

Alex

[mhanon13]

I may spend about $700. (I got microphones and stands already, Samson7kit).
And I got a nice computer.. Specs: HP a6230n (model)
3 GB RAM
AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5600 + 2.8 Ghz
400 GB Hard Drive.
Graphics supported by an Nvidia Card.
It's a desktop HP.
(I don't know what kind of Audio Card it has,
I dont't know how to find
out about that)

You can google the model and it appear better it specs.
If I need to buy an audio card, how much is it? and a good one based on my budget?

I guess the mics, the audio interface and computer is what I need? I will start first with what I need to start, then, I will be buying more equipment to better my sound. (like a compressor).. but what else should I be buying little by little, after I get what I need.

Who is Dr.Duncan btw?

Thanks!

[bojangleman]

MFB. he's a member on the forum that knows his stuff..

Alex

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

First of all I just want to say that any Doctorate I may have is entirely honourary and only applicable to this forum.

The first thing to establish is the necessities, as you've said. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the Samson Microphone kits, but they will get the job done for certain and will probably last a while if you look after them properly.

You say you want to do it on a computer. This is the easiest, most flexible and cost/effective method so a wise decision there. What you need first of all, as has been said, is an interface of some description. Interfaces convert the mic-level inputs into a FireWire or USB protocol that can be read by the computer, as separate channels. The vast majority of commercially available interfaces have preamps built in, so there is no need for a mixing desk as such (although there are reasons why people use them - which I've been into before on other threads) so the interface and the microphones (as well as the obvious mic stands and leads) are the only bits of hardware you need for input. As for output, you'll need a pair of monitor speakers - I recommend KRK and Yamaha as two excellent brands to look at - although there are plenty of others.

As for the interface, eight channels is a reasonable starting point, seeing as you've got the mic set. I recommend the MOTU 8Pre and Presonus FirePod or FP10 (a slightly newer model) as high-quality but relatively (relatively) inexpensive interfaces. The MOTU runs on a USB connection (if I recall correctly) and the Presonus devices use FireWire. If you're running a desktop PC and are looking at a FireWire interface, make sure you have or purchase a FireWire PCI card in your system - preferably a FireWire 800, although 400 is actually very fast anyway.

As for software, there is plenty of choice and it depends on your preferences and budget. ProTools is an option, but an expensive one that I would not recommend for anything less than £2,000 (your hardware choices are fixed to the software and for under this sort of money, it represents poor value compared to other software packages). Logic Pro 8 is also an option, but only an option if you run an Apple Mac (I'm a Logic guy, I run a slightly older iMac). For PC users, there are plenty of applications available, such as Cubase (some interfaces come with a stripped-down version called Cubase LE which is actually pretty reasonable) Digital Performer, Sonar and a whole host of others. I'm most familiar with Cubase, ProTools and Logic, although I haven't used Cubase in years - so I'm a bit behind on the technology there!

As for recording tips: I'm just going to go ahead and paste what I wrote in another thread...



Now, I have no idea what your room is like. So, I'm going to assume it's reasonably good. If that is the case, then you shouldn't have to worry about reflections from walls, but in terms of kit placement, you want to keep it away from walls and preferably under a high ceiling. If you have any walls that directly face each other, and any right angles for that matter, I would recommend throwing some treatment in. I often find a blanket works. Or an old mattress or anything soft and porous - Auralex foam is ideal (and designed for the purpose). If you haven't got access to any of this, a quick solution to prevent dodgy reflections in the overheads is to drape a blanket or duvet over the back of the capsules and drape it between them, so you've effectively covered the back (NOT THE FRONT) of the capsules with a blanket. The bass drum and snare are less critical, because they'll get more direct signal because of their proximity to the sound sources.

When you get the recording into your computer, obviously assign each microphone a different channel. I tend to work overheads, bass, snare, snare. Some work bass, snare, snare, overheads. Do it as you feel is fit, just make sure it makes some sense to you! Pan each of the overheads left and right, and pan the snare into the correct place of the stereo field. If it's slightly to the left of you, pan it, etc. Bass is usually central (there's an historical reason for this as well as the obvious stereo field reason, but it's just a nice factoid. Basically, bass takes up a bigger groove on vinyl, so having it central made sure it took up as little space as possible. Dull fact, I find it interesting).

EQing is a tricky business and you have to think in terms of SUBTRACTIONS as well as additions. Seeing as your overheads are probably going to be used for everything to some extent, it's necessary that their response is relatively even. Listen to the recordings and if anything is ridiculously wayward, first of all play with the mic placement. Getting a good recording in is the most important thing - trying to fix it with EQ is a work-around and doesn't produce as good a results. EQ is there to shape the sound, not to correct it - unless something has gone drastically wrong and there's nothing you can do to re-record.

Without being in person, it's hard to tell you what to do with the EQ, but generally speaking, a cut around 250Hz helps prevent muddiness, and a slight boost at the top end helps add some sibilance to the sound (and makes it sound a little 'airy' if you like). Seeing as tom toms work over the range of sounds, I'd suggest taking a little out just below the top (15Khz) and keeping the rest relatively flat. Obviously, small alterations can be made to the low-mid and high-mid as you feel fit, but it's very much a case of feel rather than giving you specific instructions. I tend to work on subtractions more than additions, because it gives you a greater scope for contrast. If you're only adding EQ, you're effectively just using half of its available range, right?

What also might help (and this is where things get interesting) is a little compression on the overheads, just to take the edge off the peaks. A low ratio is probably good, say 2:1, but be prepared to just drop the level of the overhead channel slightly, as compression can make it 'louder' overall. I say can. It's often misused to do just this... maybe a little reverb too if the sound you're getting is very dry (ie. you have the blankets over the backs of the mics!).

With the bass drum mic, you'll want a peak in the EQ below 100Hz, a dip at 250Hz (I'll explain this in a minute) and you'll probably want a slight rise around 2.5Khz for the attack of the beater. It's quite simple. When I say drop the 250Hz, there is one good reason for this - most instruments tend to have something happening at 250Hz or thereabouts - guitars do, drums do, bass guitars do, cellos do, pianos do. Just go through the list and think of an instrument that doesn't have 250Hz and you'll struggle. Unless we're talking about hammered dulcimers (micing those up is fun!). So, in short, the 250 can get very crowded. When you get a 'muddy' recording, it's usually around that kind of range that gets over-powered, so if you hear any muddiness, drop the 250ish and see what happens.

A little compression is good on the bass drum too. More compression than the cymbals, say 3:1 or more. Just play with it and see what you like - it helps make it more 'punchy'.

The snare is a little trickier. Basically it's EQ to preference as to tuning. Subtract what you don't want as opposed to adding all of what you do want. The top mic will probably sound reasonably ok with a bit of compression, maybe some reverb, but not too much! The relationship with the bottom mic is a tricky one and I would say that if you can get the sound you want out of the top mic, use that. A lot of the snare will be in the overheads too, so you'll want to use some of the overheads for the snare - using the snare mics just as embellishment, effectively. The bottom mic is tricky because first of all the sound it produces can be just 'rattly' and secondly, the phase relationship is tricky. Basically, phase is when the same signal reaches two different microphones at different times and when put together, cancel each other out. If you introduce the bottom snare mic into the mix and the snare starts sounding very weird (like a reduction in volume, or choked) invert the phase of the bottom mic. There's usually a button on the desk to do this, or on your interface - or even on Cubase. That should help. Again, slight EQ to preference, cut the 250. If you don't feel you need the bottom snare mic, don't use it. It just adds a little depth.

Now, when you've all got them sounding good individually (solo each one when you're playing around, forgot to mention that) it's now a job to get them sounding good together. By using subtractive EQ, this is more likely to happen straight away. Basically, the overheads are the bread and butter of your mix and the other mics are just embellishments or 'accent' mics to add a bit extra to what's already there. So, usually a little bias in favour of the overheads is in order. Just work to where you feel the sound is nicely balanced and don't be afraid to play around with the EQ on each individual piece if you feel something is too prominent. Remember as well, the louder you mix, the more the bass will be obvious, so work at a sensible level of volume! It might help at this point to group the drums together so that one slider controls the overall level. Also, sending the drums to a buss (a group send) might be a good idea, then you can add compression, reverb, etc to the overall group. Basically - you can start to treat the drums as two channels (stereo) rather than as a collection of individual instruments.

With the bass and guitar, there are various ways of doing it. You can choose to record directly into the desk using a DI (direct input) box or alternatively you can usually plug the guitar right in using a jack and actually increase the gain there to get a good signal level. I've used that method a few times and it works. Most Bass amps have a DI built into them with an XLR output - you could use that and if it's available, do. All this can go directly into the desk. One of my guitar amps actually has a 'line out' on it - if your guitarists' does, use that - it should provide a decent signal and you might not need any extra gain.

Alternatively, you could mic the individual cabinets. This is slightly trickier, because you're likely to get the drums into the sound if you're all playing together and it's probably simpler just to DI it all, even though it doesn't always sound as good as micing. If you are micing the cabinets, a dynamic mic (Shure SM57, etc) placed about 4 inches from the cabinet and slightly off-centre and below the cone is probably the most standard practice.

With regards to mixing the bass and guitar, it's really a matter of playing around until you get what you want. Don't be afraid to really compress the bass and make it work - but also be careful of muddiness - avoiding reverb helps with this. It might also be a good idea to record the band 'live' and then record the guitar and bass tracks over the live drum recording, taking away the original guitar and bass tracks. This is the method usually used when a Click track isn't being used. If you're recording as a band, you as the drummer ought to have the click in his ear, Cubase produces its own click, so it's simply a case of hooking up some headphones to the outputs on the Aardvark (via the mixer probably, just put the click into a separate channel). Remember my advice on subtractive EQing, it works wonders. It might also be preferable

When you're trying to record into Cubase, select the right input for each sound source according to the channel on the mixer. For instance, channel one on the mixer should be plugged into channel one on the interface and this will be selected as 'Input 1' on Cubase. (Or the equivalent). This will help you organise everything properly!

I'm not going to talk about mastering right now, because I could literally could go on all day about mastering, but suffice to say, when it comes to putting your mix to a stereo output, make sure that it doesn't clip. That is to say, the output is too high. Otherwise it gets bothersome and won't sound good. If necessary, reduce the volumes of each of the other instruments until you get it within reasonable parameters.
You didn't mention if you had vocals or not. If you have, tell me and I'll fill you in on the basics there. Seeing as you didn't mention them, I kept them out deliberately to avoid confusion.

There's other stuff over in that thread regarding microphone choice, but this is fairly irrelevant. Hopefully this might help shed some light on the matter.

EDIT: FireWire PCI cards are not expensive. Probably around $40-$50. The PC you've listed should be more than adequate for your needs. These interfaces are around £300, which will work out to roughly $350 (exchange rate is irrelevant) so in terms of your budget, you're doing fine so far. You can probably pick up a decent set of monitors for around $300 - at least good quality ones (although the professional level ones start at $1,000 a pair) so you budget, considering you already have the microphones and you say your room is good, is pretty much dead on. I would say, expect to spend a little more and if you can afford it, buy the best you can. Keep an eye out for second hand gear as well.

[Trip McNealy]

Yay MFB!!

Related question - and this can be complete nonsense that I read - but on any kind of small DAW (like an Alesis Multimix, M-Audio box, etc etc) is there a difference between a USB version and a Firewire one? Somewhere, somebody made a review comment on a device that a USB-type recording interface takes all your inputs and sends them to your recording program as one stereo track versus a Firewire, which can place each input on a separate track??

And let's just say for arguments sake, I would be using an interface with a Macbook Pro running either ProTools LE or GarageBand.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Well the DAW is specifically the software, not the interface. Just making that little technical point first off.

Usually interfaces are either USB or FireWire. Very few run both - but either way, they output with as many channels are as available. So, no, I haven't heard of any outputting in only stereo via USB or FireWire, the protocol is irrelevant. A lot of them have analogue stereo outputs for latency-free monitoring, but that isn't transmitted via the connection protocol into the DAW.

The confusion lies with the outputs available. They will all output into the DAW with the stated number of channels/tracks, but some have a different number of analogue outputs from the interface. Often, these are foldback, so the connection protocol is actually inputting AND outputting at the same time.

Hope that hasn't confused you.

[mhanon13]

Hey MFB! thanks so much for ur reply! One question.. How do I know if my computer has a FireWire PCI Card? I know it has a FireWire port with a number (1394) on its bottom. If i need to buy one, where can I buy it? a recommended model?

Also I am very confused about the audio card. Should I buy one? What would you recommend me? In what online store can I buy it?

Thanks so much again.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

No need to buy an audio card. The interface is all you will need.

If you have a FireWire port, then you don't need to buy the PCI card, as it's already installed. Looks like you're pretty lucky - most PC's don't have FireWire ports. It should look a bit like a USB port, but with a more triangular top and slightly wider.

[mhanon13]

I meant a Sound Card, sorry :S

[Trip McNealy]

Well the DAW is specifically the software, not the interface. Just making that little technical point first off.

Usually interfaces are either USB or FireWire. Very few run both - but either way, they output with as many channels are as available. So, no, I haven't heard of any outputting in only stereo via USB or FireWire, the protocol is irrelevant. A lot of them have analogue stereo outputs for latency-free monitoring, but that isn't transmitted via the connection protocol into the DAW.

The confusion lies with the outputs available. They will all output into the DAW with the stated number of channels/tracks, but some have a different number of analogue outputs from the interface. Often, these are foldback, so the connection protocol is actually inputting AND outputting at the same time.

Hope that hasn't confused you.

Nope, not at all. Thanks for the clarification.

I had my eyes/research set on maybe an Alesis Multimix USB (the white one) or a Berhinger XENYX 1204FX. Not gonna go balls out crazy at home for now, just 4 mics for now. I think both use USB cables to the PC/Mac.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

I meant a Sound Card, sorry :S

You don't need to buy a sound card.

Trip - the Alesis looks ok. Personally, not for me - I'd get something with fewer features because I don't like the look of the preamps in that one. When you're buying gear with that sort of specification at that sort of price, then something has to give and it's usually in build quality and the preamps. Of the two, I'd go for the Alesis; but ideally probably neither, personally. See if you can try them out before you buy them!

[mhanon13]

Hey MFB.. you really know your stuff. You are incredible man. :)

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it! :D

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Hey MFB.. you really know your stuff. You are incredible man. :)

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it! :D

Nothing incredible about it mate. I'm nothing compared to some of the people I've met here at Uni.

[mhanon13]

hey MFB! I got one more question! Sorry about this.. I am already ordering some of the recording stuff. i bought the Presonus Firestudio. but where u plug in the microphones is very weird.. what kind of cable do i actually need to buy? Any recommendation?

Thanks a lot bud!

[Trench.one]

hey MFB! I got one more question! Sorry about this.. I am already ordering some of the recording stuff. i bought the Presonus Firestudio. but where u plug in the microphones is very weird.. what kind of cable do i actually need to buy? Any recommendation?

Thanks a lot bud!

The mic input you are talking about is a multi purpose input, very common on todays interfaces. it will allow you to use a 3 pin XLR mic cable to input your microphones as well as using 1/4" jack line level sources into the same inputs.

what sources are you looking to input?

cables you need: 1/4" jack cables (elec guitars/keyboards/drum machines etc)
& 3 pin XLR cables (microphones)

hope this helps.

[eddiehimself]

The mic input you are talking about is a multi purpose input, very common on todays interfaces. it will allow you to use a 3 pin XLR mic cable to input your microphones as well as using 1/4" jack line level sources into the same inputs.

what sources are you looking to input?

cables you need: 1/4" jack cables (elec guitars/keyboards/drum machines etc)
& 3 pin XLR cables (microphones)

hope this helps.

Also the 1/4 inch input is higher impedance and lower gain due to the fact that these sources are louder than mics (and hence don't need balancing like a mic cable). You want to make sure you don't use an XLR-Jack microphone adaptor cable for recording as this will result in lower gain and higher noise from your microphones.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Yep, you're going to want 3-pin XLR. Your microphones should have a male XLR output on the bottom of them (those three pins) and the interface will have a combined 1/4 Inch jack/XLR input (female). Against all political correctness, signal flow is usually male-female (and you can work out why each bit is named as such). Hope that makes some sense!

Good choice on the interface. Top bit of kit, that.

[mhanon13]

so you guys think I should get a Female XLR-Male 1/4''??? Is it better to record with that cables?

Thanks! :)

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

so you guys think I should get a Female XLR-Male 1/4''??? Is it better to record with that cables?

Thanks! :)

If you're running mics, something like these (http://www.keene.co.uk/electronics/multi.php?mycode=KLD54) should do the trick. Obviously not from that store, but the connectors are what you're looking for. Just look for the three pins.

[eddiehimself]

so you guys think I should get a Female XLR-Male 1/4''??? Is it better to record with that cables?

Thanks! :)

NO! I said you should NOT get those sorts of cables, get XLR female-XLR male cables for all your mics! It is MUCH better to record with these cables as they are balanced which practically doubles your signal to noise ratio.

[mhanon13]

Alright guys, I almost set. I already got the mics, cables, the Presonus Firestudio 26x26, and I am trying to buy the Monitors and a good software. My PC is windows vista.

what software would you recommend me to buy? I am between cubase and Sonar. but there are many models of cubase and sonar. Does Sonar work well with the Firestudio?

I don't really know what to buy. :( (I am also planning to do my own music, MIDI)

so what would you recommend me? I may spend up to $500 on a really good software.
also, what kind of some cheap monitors can I get? I can spend up to $150 on some good monitors.

thanks!

[eddiehimself]

Alright guys, I almost set. I already got the mics, cables, the Presonus Firestudio 26x26, and I am trying to buy the Monitors and a good software. My PC is windows vista.

what software would you recommend me to buy? I am between cubase and Sonar. but there are many models of cubase and sonar. Does Sonar work well with the Firestudio?

I don't really know what to buy. :( (I am also planning to do my own music, MIDI)

so what would you recommend me? I may spend up to $500 on a really good software.
also, what kind of some cheap monitors can I get? I can spend up to $150 on some good monitors.

thanks!

I reccomend you get Cakewalk SONAR studio version 8. Then you can spend the rest of the money on some monitors.

[diosdude]

Alright guys, I almost set. I already got the mics, cables, the Presonus Firestudio 26x26, and I am trying to buy the Monitors and a good software. My PC is windows vista.

what software would you recommend me to buy? I am between cubase and Sonar. but there are many models of cubase and sonar. Does Sonar work well with the Firestudio?

I don't really know what to buy. :( (I am also planning to do my own music, MIDI)

so what would you recommend me? I may spend up to $500 on a really good software.
also, what kind of some cheap monitors can I get? I can spend up to $150 on some good monitors.

thanks!


I think that the presonus products already come with like Cubase LE, don't they? That might be all you need to get started with. If you like it, you can probably upgrade to full version cubase.

For monitors... buy used. =)

[mhanon13]

This is awesome, all you guys have been great!

I'll start off with Cubase LE I guess. I have seen that peeps use Cubase and Pro Tools because they are very popular. The other time I saw in another thread (not drummerworld) a post from a sound engineer that i will just copy paste. It just gets me to think about it:

Comment by RealSoundEngineers on July 3, 2007 @ 1:21 am

The studio I work in is industry standard, and we record many mainstream commercial music / where all of us engineers use protools & cubase for multitrack recording. I have encouraged the studio to set up a rig with SONAR on many occasions, but the owners are brainless caught up in a “Industry Standard” bubble. I also do work at home with my personal setup where I use nothing else besides SONAR. And everytime I share one of my tracks from home recordings with the boss he says “Why don’t you produce this level of quality here?”. It is because the fools force me to use ProTools and Cubase, which beleive it or not can not top SONAR (with the right DX plugins SONAR kills everything). I have been doing this for 15 years, and im tired of protools and cubase. They are subpar.

[diosdude]

This is awesome, all you guys have been great!

I'll start off with Cubase LE I guess. I have seen that peeps use Cubase and Pro Tools because they are very popular. The other time I saw in another thread (not drummerworld) a post from a sound engineer that i will just copy paste. It just gets me to think about it:

Comment by RealSoundEngineers on July 3, 2007 @ 1:21 am

The studio I work in is industry standard, and we record many mainstream commercial music / where all of us engineers use protools & cubase for multitrack recording. I have encouraged the studio to set up a rig with SONAR on many occasions, but the owners are brainless caught up in a “Industry Standard” bubble. I also do work at home with my personal setup where I use nothing else besides SONAR. And everytime I share one of my tracks from home recordings with the boss he says “Why don’t you produce this level of quality here?”. It is because the fools force me to use ProTools and Cubase, which beleive it or not can not top SONAR (with the right DX plugins SONAR kills everything). I have been doing this for 15 years, and im tired of protools and cubase. They are subpar.


Well, that guy is obviously a fool and a tool. "with DX plug ins, sonar kills..." That's like saying, "with a jet turbine mounted on the roof, my dodge neon will outrun a ferrari modena". Professionals use Pro-tools. Go to a REAL recording studio. Most of the major label quality studios use pro-tools HD not the semi-pro LE version. I seriously doubt any sonar rig is going to match 192 k sampling with 96 channels of pro-tools HD and an SSL/Neve/ API front end with apogee converters. Yes, plug-ins help to level the field and yes a competent engineer behind the desk can make even Garageband sound like a milion bucks but no system can match the power of P/T HD.

[randrade89]

I use the Delta LT it has 10 inputs, and its very cheap.

[eddiehimself]

Well, that guy is obviously a fool and a tool. "with DX plug ins, sonar kills..." That's like saying, "with a jet turbine mounted on the roof, my dodge neon will outrun a ferrari modena". Professionals use Pro-tools. Go to a REAL recording studio. Most of the major label quality studios use pro-tools HD not the semi-pro LE version. I seriously doubt any sonar rig is going to match 192 k sampling with 96 channels of pro-tools HD and an SSL/Neve/ API front end with apogee converters. Yes, plug-ins help to level the field and yes a competent engineer behind the desk can make even Garageband sound like a milion bucks but no system can match the power of P/T HD.

You make a good point however most audio software can handle 192khz, it's more about the audio interface. And to be honest the sampling rate is pretty irrelavent anyway seeing as it's all just gonna be mixed down to 44.1khz/16bit anyway.

[mhanon13]

Hey guys,

I got a pair of KRK RP5 or Rokit5! I got them for $230 after I offered a seller.. I bought the presonus firestudio also on Ebay, same my mics... Dude, I have saved hundreds of bucks buying on ebay. If any of you know what to buy... I strongly recommend you to buy on Ebay if you already know what to buy (if you already tryed them let's say on the store)...

It's not likr you are gonna guess... I am going to try it.. no.. I was convinced that the KRK is a good brand and was very recommended by lots of people.. so I went ahead and bought it...

:D

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

KRK's are good quality monitors. There are better and they have a distinctive sound - but they are well made and very usable. A good purchase.

[electricshed]

Hello to all. This is my first post to the forum. I'm looking to record my drums in home also. If anyone can help me understand this process and help me narrow down what I need to buy or in which direction to go for recording.

Here is what I have for equipment:

Full drumkit w/cymbals
16 channel Peavey PA board with gigantic speaker cabs.
7 microphones with stands and clips
Mac computer

Now I've learned from the forum that I need to get a good audio interface with 8 inputs if I want to record to the computer.

My questions are —

1.) Is the Peavey PA and board with the speakers even needed if I buy an audio interface? Would using the PA and board be going in another direction from the interface and computer way of recording all together? Which direction would you folks recommend going in.

2.) Is Garageband needed to record to the computer? It is on my Mac already.

3.) How are the drums actually "recorded." I know this may sound dumb to the people who know all about this but is there some kind of a "record" button or switch someplace? It's hard for me to understand how this works as I keep thinking that you need to hit a "tape rolling" button to start a recording. Where do the tracks go to and how do I start and stop a recording? Does my computer need to be where my drums are?

I appreciate any feedback on this as I would prefer to get some answers from the others drummers here rather than having to go to Guitar Center and be duped by some salesperson. Thanks.

[Calummordue]

If you already have the mixer then there is not point getting an audio interface as well. you can plug the mixer into the line in on your mac. so instead of the audio interface processing it your sound card will you this will allow you to use garage band. if you get an audio interface you wont be able to use gb. you wont be able to use gb becasue it can only talk to one sound card and the audio interface will be a "sound card"

Hope that helps

[eddiehimself]

^ actually there is every point in buying an audio interface as well. You will be able to record each mic as a seperate track meaning more control over the mix.

Hello to all. This is my first post to the forum. I'm looking to record my drums in home also. If anyone can help me understand this process and help me narrow down what I need to buy or in which direction to go for recording.

Here is what I have for equipment:

Full drumkit w/cymbals
16 channel Peavey PA board with gigantic speaker cabs.
7 microphones with stands and clips
Mac computer

Now I've learned from the forum that I need to get a good audio interface with 8 inputs if I want to record to the computer.

My questions are —

1.) Is the Peavey PA and board with the speakers even needed if I buy an audio interface? Would using the PA and board be going in another direction from the interface and computer way of recording all together? Which direction would you folks recommend going in.

2.) Is Garageband needed to record to the computer? It is on my Mac already.

3.) How are the drums actually "recorded." I know this may sound dumb to the people who know all about this but is there some kind of a "record" button or switch someplace? It's hard for me to understand how this works as I keep thinking that you need to hit a "tape rolling" button to start a recording. Where do the tracks go to and how do I start and stop a recording? Does my computer need to be where my drums are?

I appreciate any feedback on this as I would prefer to get some answers from the others drummers here rather than having to go to Guitar Center and be duped by some salesperson. Thanks.

1.) no, don't bother with the PA system. Some of the dynamic mics might be okay to mic up the toms with but apart from that there is really no use for it in recording unless it's a digital mixer.

2) There are other programs out there but garageband is pretty good for the purpose.

3) there should be a button in the software which you press to record.

[Calummordue]

^ actually there is every point in buying an audio interface as well. You will be able to record each mic as a seperate track meaning more control over the mix.

Very true, but if you are good at mixing you should be able to mix it on the board. Also if he didn't want to spend a ton of money on a 8 channel interface then he could use that method

[eddiehimself]

Very true, but if you are good at mixing you should be able to mix it on the board. Also if he didn't want to spend a ton of money on a 8 channel interface then he could use that method

I thought you would say this. However you have to remember that what you hear on the drum track will sound very different when you add all the instruments. Besides what about effects? What if you want a huge reverb on the snare drum but you want to keep the kick drum really tight sounding? To acheive this you'd need to buy a load of outboard FX so you'd have spent more money than the cost of an audio interface and it won't sound as good because the mixer is geared towards live use whereas the interface is specifically designed for recording so yeah if you want to make a PROPER recording an audio interface is well worth it.

[Calummordue]

I thought you would say this. However you have to remember that what you hear on the drum track will sound very different when you add all the instruments. Besides what about effects? What if you want a huge reverb on the snare drum but you want to keep the kick drum really tight sounding? To acheive this you'd need to buy a load of outboard FX so you'd have spent more money than the cost of an audio interface and it won't sound as good because the mixer is geared towards live use whereas the interface is specifically designed for recording so yeah if you want to make a PROPER recording an audio interface is well worth it.

Well thats the way i did when recording on my other thread, it is a better way of doing it but it does cost more. The stuff about effects is very true but he will have buy some more software, unless it come if the inferface

[eddiehimself]

Well thats the way i did when recording on my other thread, it is a better way of doing it but it does cost more. The stuff about effects is very true but he will have buy some more software, unless it come if the inferface

Okay yeah interfaces don't come with FX mostly but the software does. I got cakewalk for £200 which is loaded with professional quality HD fx. That's considerably cheaper than even one decent quality rackmounted FX unit. Also it's not nesacerilly cheaper, you can get a good audio interface these days for the price of a decent mixer that doesn't say "behringer" on the back!

[joshisaces]

Why doesn't MFB just create a Q&A thread? Lawlsssss

[mhanon13]

ok guys, i got it all, i am really happy! I started recording some stuff already... and still learning new hints ans tips..


but i found myself 1 problem: when I am recording over an audio track. I am playing (recording drums) and listening to the audio track on my headphones and sometimes the audio goes away and come back in 1 second.. like it stopped working for 1 sec.

after i recorded.. and i play it all... it happens the same on my monitors.. sometimes de audio goes away for 1 sec and then come back.. and i really hate that.. how do i fix that problem?

Thanks!
:)

[electricshed]

Thanks a bunch eddie and calmu for the feedback. Now I know my options. I don't know anything about mixing (too many knobs and I have no clue what any of them do), so I will probably go for the Interface. Any recommendations as far as good Interfaces? I'm looking at a Tascam with 8 outputs for $400. After I pick up an Interface are there any special cords that I need to buy also? Again, this is routing into my Mac. Thanks again.

[eddiehimself]

Thanks a bunch eddie and calmu for the feedback. Now I know my options. I don't know anything about mixing (too many knobs and I have no clue what any of them do), so I will probably go for the Interface. Any recommendations as far as good Interfaces? I'm looking at a Tascam with 8 outputs for $400. After I pick up an Interface are there any special cords that I need to buy also? Again, this is routing into my Mac. Thanks again.

No the outputs are irrelavent, you want an interface with 8 inputs because you're routing it into your computer. Just make sure whatever you buy has a firewire output and you should be fine. You'll obviously need XLR-XLR cables for the mics. I'd reccomend spending as much as you have left over from buying the mics and interface for this as they are an important part of your setup. Perhaps a firewire cable as well if the interface doesn't come with one. These are pretty cheap from any good computer store, just make sure you get the right length.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Inputs are the key. I bought a Line 6 TonePort UX8 the other day and it's a pretty great bit of kit actually (once you get your head around the fact that the XLR inputs are in reverse order to the gain knob that controls said input). Eight inputs is what you're looking for, outputs beyond stereo are a bonus. My Line 6 has eight inputs and eight output, as well as two dedicated instrument jack sockets that double as inputs one and two.

[mhanon13]

Yo MFB,

How you doing?

I already started messing with the recording gear, I have recorded my drums. I am using Cubase LE. But i dont know crap about EQ and compression. Any ideas? On the EQ section it has low shelf, middle band pass, middle band pass and high shelf. 4 EQ's... any ideas or any website that could be helpful on EQ and compressing my drums. Thanks a lot dude!

[eddiehimself]

I already started messing with the recording gear, I have recorded my drums. I am using Cubase LE. But i dont know crap about EQ and compression. Any ideas? On the EQ section it has low shelf, middle band pass, middle band pass and high shelf. 4 EQ's... any ideas or any website that could be helpful on EQ and compressing my drums. Thanks a lot dude!

Well it should have a few presets that you can use to give you an idea of a desired sound, I personally learned doing FX simply by having a go and getting stuck in with it and seeing what it sounded like. As for the EQ, i'm assuming it's a parametric EQ. They usually are when they're software based. sounds to me like the knobs you described control what frequency you want to boost/cut. Are you sure they're the only knobs on the EQ section? I'd imagine there are also knobs for controlling the range or spread of how many frequencies it covers as well as most important imo which is how much you want to actually cut or boost the frequency. With a lot of these software based eq's you'll find that there is a graph where you can graphically choose a band which is say a dot then place it somewhere in the frequency/volume spectrum and it will then show you how that affects the frequency response as a whole.

As for compression, there should be a couple of settings. The first is the "threshold" which is basically at what volume should the compressor kick in, usually for heavier compression you would put this to a very low volume. Then there's the ratio or how much it compresses by compared to without the compression. Again, for a heavier compression you would go for a higher ratio. Then there might be a thing called the "knee" which is how hard you want the compressor to kick in when it hits the threshold, you can make it go up more smoothly with a softer knee or just go straight into the full ratio if you put a hard knee. What you should also get is "attack" and "decay" time parameters. These are basically how long the volume should be over the threshold before the compressor kicks in and how long the volume should be under the threshold before the compressor stops respectively. I personally don't like having any attack time at all, i just think it sounds pretty unpleasent the way it comes in too loud then suddenly goes straight into a lower volume.

As i say i would give you some tips but i really think you ought to just try doing it for yourself, see how you like it. If you get REALLY stuck though then do ask.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

There are three kinds of EQ. Shelving, semi-parametric and parametric.

Shelving EQ affects everything above or below the frequency - something like a low cut filter would be an example of a shelving EQ, with everything below 100Hz (for instance) cut according to the gain (which is essentially a volume control, there's more to it than that, but it helps just to think of it in those terms). The frequencies that are affected are fixed (usually a three-band shelving EQ reads 'High, Mid and Low' or something to that effect).

Semi-parametric EQ allows you to determine the frequency and the gain, so you can 'sweep' and find the specific frequency you need to alter. It does not let you choose the bandwidth.

Parametric EQ allows for bandwidth ('Q' factor), frequency and gain. Bandwidth is essentially the part of the spectrum that is being affected. When you raise the level of a certain frequency when EQ'ing, you will always raise surrounding frequencies as well, so if I were to increase at 600Hz, I would also increase, say, 550Hz and 650Hz to a lesser extent (a gentle curve, like a hill). With a parametric EQ you're able to actually choose the extent of this effect, so you can be much more precise with the frequency you're altering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equalization

The Wiki article explains a lot, but it doesn't go into the full details of it all. You can only really learn how to do it by fiddling around and seeing what happens, but usually you'll find that instruments tend to exhibit similar frequencies, particularly around the 250Hz mark. You'll soon learn what sounds good and how to separate instruments in a mix (if you so desire) just remember that one instrument does not equal one frequency, it equates to many! That is what defines the tone of the instrument along with the envelope it exhibits.

Compression is a huge topic and not one easily covered here. Mostly it is subjective, but it is used just to narrow to dynamic range of instruments or sounds and in doing so, raise or lower the overall volume of that sound. So, if I wanted to make my bass drum hits sound more consistent volume-wise, I would use a compressor. Compressors are used on a wide, wide variety of instruments and often vocals. Most of the music we listen to is heavily compressed. Again, fiddle and see what you end up with. Cubase LE is a good platform for the inexperienced to get that experience.