RE: [Harp-L] Recording a demo

[<RichBeau@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Michael Fugazzi
> Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2005 9:41 PM
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Recording a demo
> 
> I know very little about recording, in fact next to nothing.  My band is
> trying to record a demo that is good enough to have on a website and good
> enough for possible bookers to hear how good we are.  The band had
> discussed shelling out some big money for something nice, but then we
> realized we might be over doing it.
> 
> Can anyone suggest some rather specific ways to record drums, harp,
> vocals, guitar, and bass?  I think we'd rather try to record the
> insturments individually rather then trying to record with one mic in the
> middle of the room.  It would be fine coming up with something that would
> be done with the computer.
> 
> Guitar Center gave us some options all  well over $500, and we're hoping
> to keep the process to around $200.
> 
> All advice is appreciated!
> Thanks,
> Mike
> 


Mike your asking a lot!

I've got a lot of opinions ( and probably in direct opposition to the
do-it-yourselfers) on this so let me just say that in most cases I recommend
just spending your cash on the studio time. Having to worry about both sides
of the microphone is a definite interference. And yeah it is possible to
great professional sounding CDs at home using a good inexpensive setup. It's
been done, there's only one catch... You have to be really into engineering.


Now with that said, and the fact that the members of this list have a lot
good opinions about mics and gear, (I'll leave it for them to suggest some
of those items) here's some recording tips...

A good room is a must you don't want to be in a room with buzzing windows
and someone stir frying dinner. First off eliminate every buzz and noise you
can otherwise the mics will pick it up. 

That means the amps need to use good grounded outlets and you have to spend
time eliminating those hums from the amps as much as possible. It's a sure
indication of an amateurish recording when there is audible hiss, hum or
buzz. Any noise is crud.

The drums are a bear... In the studio the drum set always arrives a couple
hours before anyone else in order to eliminate the nasty buzzes. Tighten
every screw and nut on the drum set. If it's on a hard floor (concrete,
tile, wood etc) Tape down everything on the drum set so it doesn't slide
around or put it on a close-cut rug. Otherwise the sound will be ruined
because it's the drum sound you want not the cymbal stand sliding across the
floor. 

For the other stuff -you could mic to the board but for you mic-ing the amps
is probably the way to go. With that you got two choices - you can mic close
or from a distance.

Mic-ing close means you can place your microphone 6" from the speaker and
pointed directly at the center of the speaker. Or aim your microphone about
1" or 2" in from the outside rim of the speaker while maintaining the
distance of 6" from the speaker.

When the your microphone is within a foot of the speaker, the room sound has
is basically eliminated from the recording especially if the amp loud. You
can add distance (ambience) to by adding it later in the mix.

Mic-ing from a distance can make a dull sound bounce to life. As you move
the mic back more than a couple of feet from any amp, the room sound becomes
part of the overall sound being recorded. 

Now with two mics you can this create some great recordings. Put one mic
within a foot of the amp and one mic back in the room several feet away from
the amp. Now you can blend the sound of the mic closest to the amp with
sound captured by the mic farther away. 

If you have minimal tracks then you can combine the 2 mics to 1 track as you
record. If you've got good digital recording software you've probably got
more than you need; so you record each mic to a separate track and save the
blending for mix down.

There's lot's of theories on drum mic-ing. Here's a couple of setups that
use 1 and 2 mics

Put a single mic directly in front of the kit - point it at the set, about
6' off the floor. 

With two microphones you have two options: you can use one mic for overall
sound while using the other for a specific part of the set or you can use
both mics together in a stereo configuration.

In the first option you set one mic directly over the kit with the second
mic on the kick drum (or possibly the snare). You'll get some great punch
and definition in the mix. The problem is you are limited to a mono sound
and you'll need to position the drums in the center of the mix. It's still
more flexible than the single mic technique. BTW choosing what part of the
set to close-mike (the kick or the snare) is purely a musical decision.

Now the stereo trick uses 2 mics directly above the drum set, at a distance
of approximately 3' above the cymbals, pointing down at the drums. Place
them on booms so their side by side - one points down and to the left and
the other down and to the right (kind of an 'X'). So what you end up with on
the recording is a stereo spread. 

There's way more to it then I can write in a single email so get yourself a
good book. Above all remember to enjoy yourself.

--Rich