Recording Drums

Mapex----Maniac

Senior Member
Hey everyone,

I just have a couple of questions about recording.

First off I dont have a huge budget (about $600), but I figured if I get the zoom r16(found one for $350, and comes with cubase), a mic($100), some cables($50), and a stand($20) then I could start recording my drums. Eventually I would add more mics(x-mas/b-day).

Is this all I need?
And what mic would you recommend for around $100?
 
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I own the R16.. if you Private Message me to remind me.. ill do a recording using the one mic (Rode NT1a) I place it about 1ft away from the kit approx 1m high.. Might help you get an idea of the quality..

Also for a cheap mic (dont flame me for saying this!) http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/C-1.aspx
its not half bad, its no Rode NT1a, but does its job.. Personally i'd save up for a few SM57's, a pair of C1000's and some kick mic.. but thats up to you!
 
I did all of my YouTube videos with an R16. Question is, you said it comes with Cubase, but you really don't need the software. It's stand-alone unit. My R16 coupled with the Zoom H2 stereo recorder makes a great recording deck and stereo mixdown device.

Although, I did take all the tracks off of a R16 SD card and import them all into GarageBand on my mac, that was freakingly amazing, but I don't have to do it.

To add more headroom and better EQ control going into the R16, I broke out my Mackie 1604VLZ mixer, and connect the eight direct outs from that into the either direct ins to the R16, much better headroom provided and I can have phantom power on all mic inputs. Nice.
 
Hey everyone,

I just have a couple of questions about recording.

First off I dont have a huge budget (about $600), but I figured if I get the zoom r16(found one for $350, and comes with cubase), a mic($100), some cables($50), and a stand($20) then I could start recording my drums. Eventually I would add more mics(x-mas/b-day).

Is this all I need?
And what mic would you recommend for around a $100?

If you have your own computer, there's a Tascam USB mixer that would be perfect for you and within your budget, can't remember the model number though! Anyways, that unit, a pair of condensers, and a mic for the kick and you're in business, with room to grow. You can find free software for mixdowns (Audacity and Reaper for example).
 
If you have your own computer, there's a Tascam USB mixer that would be perfect for you and within your budget, can't remember the model number though! Anyways, that unit, a pair of condensers, and a mic for the kick and you're in business, with room to grow. You can find free software for mixdowns (Audacity and Reaper for example).

First off thanks everyone for the replies!

Secondly, do you really need a software for mix downs if you already have a mixer? Im new to recording so bare with me :), Also how many mic inputs are there for the mixer your talking about?

I own the R16.. if you Private Message me to remind me.. ill do a recording using the one mic (Rode NT1a) I place it about 1ft away from the kit approx 1m high.. Might help you get an idea of the quality..

Also for a cheap mic (dont flame me for saying this!) http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/C-1.aspx
its not half bad, its no Rode NT1a, but does its job.. Personally i'd save up for a few SM57's, a pair of C1000's and some kick mic.. but thats up to you!

Thanks, I'll definitely pm you

And thanks for the suggestion on mics, I looked at some used c1000 for me to start off with and found some for around $100. I think I'm going to just keep buying mics one after the other until I have all I need, so I can start recording as soon as possible, even if it's only with one mic to start with.
 
Check out the Alesis Multi Mix 8 USB. With this, you would just record the stereo output of the mixer (and not the individual tracks).

For now, a recording interface might be beyond your needs, and there's a learning curve when it comes to audio editing software.
 
I did all of my YouTube videos with an R16. Question is, you said it comes with Cubase, but you really don't need the software. It's stand-alone unit. My R16 coupled with the Zoom H2 stereo recorder makes a great recording deck and stereo mixdown device.

Although, I did take all the tracks off of a R16 SD card and import them all into GarageBand on my mac, that was freakingly amazing, but I don't have to do it.

To add more headroom and better EQ control going into the R16, I broke out my Mackie 1604VLZ mixer, and connect the eight direct outs from that into the either direct ins to the R16, much better headroom provided and I can have phantom power on all mic inputs. Nice.

Hey Bo...I was wondering what you mean by "R16 coupled with the Zoom H2 stereo recorder makes a great recording deck and stereo mixdown device."

I recently bought an R16 and was just wondering how or why your H2 is needed since the R16 is hooked up to your drum mics and it records directly to a SD card. I have an H4N but not sure how or why I would need it to be coupled with my R16.

Sorry for all the questions I'm just a bit confused and hope you might be able to explain it a little better... Thanks!
 
Hey Bo...I was wondering what you mean by "R16 coupled with the Zoom H2 stereo recorder makes a great recording deck and stereo mixdown device."

I recently bought an R16 and was just wondering how or why your H2 is needed since the R16 is hooked up to your drum mics and it records directly to a SD card. I have an H4N but not sure how or why I would need it to be coupled with my R16.

Sorry for all the questions I'm just a bit confused and hope you might be able to explain it a little better... Thanks!

Sorry for the confusion. In the old days, you would record your tracks to the multi-track deck (in this case it's the Zoom R16), but then you'd have to mix it down to stereo so you can play it on a regular stereo. The Zoom H2 becomes my stereo two-track recorder, and from there I can dump that file into iTunes or something.

But in reality, I haven't worked that way in a long time. Now, I just take the card from the R16, and dump each track to a track in Logic Studio of GarageBand, and from there it all stays in the computer for further manipulation. So yeah, you could mix down to stereo to the H2. Or you could just dump each separate track to a new separate track in your computer-based recording software. I hope that clears it up a bit better.
 
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