Home Recording Studio Equipment for Drums

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
 
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!
 
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!
:)
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
I've used the following gear and successfully recorded drums in my home.
Audient ASP800 (preamps). 1st 2 channels offer iron transformers... kick/snare are thick.
I use the remaining channels for toms and overheads.
I use SM57s for snare/toms, beta 52a for kick, Rode NT5 matched pair for overheads.
 
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