Recording my drumming

Do you realize the 149 price is for the interface alone and nothing else....right? Unless there's some miraculous deal on your side of the pond which I'm not aware of? No mic, cable, headphones, etc. Add another 100 for the package which includes the other items.

So for the same price, one could buy an AudioBox USB, 2 condenser mics. a few cheap stands and cables. I would imagine you already own a set of headphones.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Presonus-i...d-2f81-4403-837b-cd4c98a81448&pf_rd_i=desktop
 
Do you have any examples?

https://www.studiospares.com/Studio...s/Audient-iD22-USB-Audio-Interface_201000.htm

https://www.studiospares.com/Studio-Gear/Audio-Interfaces/Focusrite-Scarlett-18i8-2nd-Gen_392240.htm

https://www.studiospares.com/Studio...s/Audient-iD14-USB-Audio-Interface_201090.htm

I'll grant you it is quite a lot more money - but if you look at where it says 'optical' that'll provide you with quite a lot more I/O potential. That sort of feature used to be a bit more common...

The last one there is the best 'budget' option with ADAT input - in my humble opinion. I've been using Audient gear at work for the last couple of months and I'm thoroughly impressed with it. Really clean, efficient and excellent quality design. I'm under the impression that the little Audient interfaces use the same preamps that are in my work desk. They're incredible preamps if so and well worth paying a bit for - although there are a lot of other factors that go into recording before the preamps become important!

This is only a suggestion really. I like that Presonus offer a full package deal and it's definitely compelling. If you were a guitarist/vocalist I'd recommend it wholeheartedly but given that you're a drummer and drum recording inevitably expands quite rapidly, you might be better off buying a small interface that will do everything you want for now but also be expandable in the future for what you might want to do then. £149 for a basic interface/mic/cable package is an excellent deal, though.

With that said the Audient is more money and that doesn't include microphones - so it does add up quickly. I'm just very conscious of the market at the moment. I have an old 8-in/8-out interface that is only one or two OS updates from being unsupported so it's in my mind...

I love that we have a market that's capable of catering for everybody now. Some of these interface options are incredible compared to when I started doing digital audio - and that was only just over a decade ago!
 
Many thanks for all the suggestions and narrative. I'll check them out, price them up and let you know how I get on.
 
That's odd. The one I find is $249 USD with $149 as the interface only. I guess it is a UK only deal.

That may be the case. Whilst this set-up is not ideal and would initially only give me one mic to play with, it is a pretty good deal eh? All I'd need is a mic stand I reckon.

I could add a second mic, perhaps a dynamic for the snare, or even buy a pair of AT2020s in the future?

:)
 
That may be the case. Whilst this set-up is not ideal and would initially only give me one mic to play with, it is a pretty good deal eh? All I'd need is a mic stand I reckon.

I could add a second mic, perhaps a dynamic for the snare, or even buy a pair of AT2020s in the future?

:)

Yes, that's decent deal. The mic included I've seen available at $49 USD, so you could get another for a matching pair. I have no idea if these mics are good or not as I have not looked into them.

Also, if using only 2 mics, I think you're much better off with 2 condensers as opposed to one condenser and a dynamic on the snare drum. The 2 condenser overheads will pick up that snare drum without any issues and provide balanced stereo imaging. The weak link in a 2 mic setup is the lack of a kick drum mic. Although this can be compensated for to an certain extent when adjusting the recording in the DAW.
 
I could add a second mic, perhaps a dynamic for the snare, or even buy a pair of AT2020s in the future?

Also note... When we say "AT2020", we mean "The best $100 Hi-SPL LDC you can find". It might be an AT2035, it may be a P220, etc. There's quite a few good ones on the market now.
 
Also note... When we say "AT2020", we mean "The best $100 Hi-SPL LDC you can find". It might be an AT2035, it may be a P220, etc. There's quite a few good ones on the market now.

I was looking at the AKG P220. Very versatile mic and with the -20db kill switch can be used on a kick as well. Plus the bass roll-off feature is nice if using as an overhead. Although my AT2020's are doing a nice job as my overheads.

The next mic however on my shopping list is probably a Shure Beta 91A as I've heard great things about this mic. Just lay this sucker down on the Evans pillow inside the kick and get the best of everything from the low end. Possibly next month as I've been buying a load of stuff lately.
 
I was looking at the AKG P220. Very versatile mic and with the -20db kill switch can be used on a kick as well. Plus the bass roll-off feature is nice if using as an overhead. Although my AT2020's are doing a nice job as my overheads.

The next mic however on my shopping list is probably a Shure Beta 91A as I've heard great things about this mic. Just lay this sucker down on the Evans pillow inside the kick and get the best of everything from the low end. Possibly next month as I've been buying a load of stuff lately.

I'll likely start a new thread about this at some point, but several of my studio friends have given the same basic advice to me:

If you're 'really' going to get into recording... You should own one 'real' microphone... Like a $1500 Royer or Avatone. Work this mic into everything you do, even if it's just a room mic.

I have great trouble rationalizing this advice. It's as if this 'one mic' defines the engineer in the same manner the brand/model of kit/cymbal somehow defines the drummer.

I only found it interesting because it was recommended by several professional engineers, and completely independent of one another. Multiple Pros giving identical advice warrants looking into it.

Here's a youtube guy saying close to the same thing. The super-duper mic is the starting point of the mic collection, etc.
 
I'll likely start a new thread about this at some point, but several of my studio friends have given the same basic advice to me:

If you're 'really' going to get into recording... You should own one 'real' microphone... Like a $1500 Royer or Avatone. Work this mic into everything you do, even if it's just a room mic.

I have great trouble rationalizing this advice. It's as if this 'one mic' defines the engineer in the same manner the brand/model of kit/cymbal somehow defines the drummer.

I'd find it impossible to rationalize blowing $1500 on one mic, unless, possibly, if I were doing this professionally, which I'm obviously not. With $1500, I could make some drastic changes to my drum room itself to improve the acoustics overall. IMO, this option would be money spent more wisely. At least for me.

Mart61, didn't mean to hijack the thread. I do apologize.
 
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eventually obtain snare and tom mics that are comparable to Shure SM57
I know this is old, but I don't see it mentioned already- Those Pyle things the OP was considering will surprise the hell out of you. They're similar enough in tone, but the clarity and sound quality are nothing like the low budget dynamics of yesterday. I don't know how they managed to pull it off for as cheap as they are. The cabling is probably their weak point as they ship unbalanced with cables that reflect their price, but they aren't hard to rewire. Any fans of the 57/58 should try one.
 
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