I'm a relative newbie to recording, and am recording my bands practice sessions. I don't have a lot of time to setup, record and mess with playback, etc. since we pay by the hour to rehearse.
Currently I'm setting up two SM57s about 6 feet high and about 6 feet away from drums pointing downward toward the drums/guitar on one side and another on the bass side. I then take the recording and in Presonus StudioOne, apply a compressor and limiter and mixdown the recordings.
Any tips on how to improve on what i'm doing? Recordings here:
https://soundcloud.com/darren-parsoneault/youmeanme
https://soundcloud.com/darren-parsoneau ... ions-42417
Recording Practice
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parsono10
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Recording Practice
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https://soundcloud.com/darren-parsoneault
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ajaxlepinski
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Re: Recording Practice
The secret to making quality recordings is.........
TIME... and more gear!
The more time you have to set things up, test the sound, move a mic, tweak the amps, etc., and to do the mixdown, the better the recording.
When recording live, with two mics, finding the sweet spot in the room can take quite a while... you could get lucky and find it right away but, more than likely, it will take about an hour to find a good spot for the mics - trail and error.
To make a better recording, you need to close mic each instrument & each piece of the drum kit & isolating each instrument by putting up sound barriers (gobos) or using separate rooms. But, that get's a) expensive and b) you need to convert a basement into a studio.
Nevertheless, your recordings sound pretty damn good for two mics!!!
TIME... and more gear!
The more time you have to set things up, test the sound, move a mic, tweak the amps, etc., and to do the mixdown, the better the recording.
When recording live, with two mics, finding the sweet spot in the room can take quite a while... you could get lucky and find it right away but, more than likely, it will take about an hour to find a good spot for the mics - trail and error.
To make a better recording, you need to close mic each instrument & each piece of the drum kit & isolating each instrument by putting up sound barriers (gobos) or using separate rooms. But, that get's a) expensive and b) you need to convert a basement into a studio.
Nevertheless, your recordings sound pretty damn good for two mics!!!
Last edited by ajaxlepinski on Thu May 04, 2017 12:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
1969 Sunn Solarus ● 2x 1980's Randall RG-80 ● 2013 Hi-Tone HT103-DG (Best Rig 2014) ● 2015 Mortatone 12/15 Cab w/EV SRO's ● 2017 Jubilee ● 2019 Ceriatone Model Tee ● 2019 Randall Diavlo ● 2020 VHT D50 Dumble Clone
Walt wrote:But when the hour is nigh, and the lights are low, and I got a little toothpick of a shwag joint in my teeth, and my friends want to hear me play "Into the Void", or "TNT", "or "Cemetery Gates"...I plug my 600 dollar guitar into my 150 dollar amp, and I am a Rawk gawd.
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parsono10
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Re: Recording Practice
Thanks Ajax....I know, I know I sound like a pr!ck that doesn't want to put in the effort. I do want to take the time to do some quality recording in the future (or get a professional demo going) but right now I'm really just looking for any glaring omissions that might be obvious to more experienced folks.
________________________________
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Fender American Stratocaster SS?
PRS SE Custom 22
Marshall DSL100H
Friedman 2x12 Extension Cab (Celetion Vintage 30s)
Fulltone Full-drive2 MOSFET Overdrive
CryBaby Wah
WayHuge AquaPuss Delay
https://soundcloud.com/darren-parsoneault
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CptCyanide
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Re: Recording Practice
Like Ajax said, these sound really good for 2 mic recordings! Band is really tight too, I'm digging it!
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ajaxlepinski
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Re: Recording Practice
parsono10 wrote:Thanks Ajax....I know, I know I sound like a pr!ck that doesn't want to put in the effort. I do want to take the time to do some quality recording in the future (or get a professional demo going) but right now I'm really just looking for any glaring omissions that might be obvious to more experienced folks.
Nah, you're not coming across like a prick at all!
Nothing glaring either.
There aren't too many two-mic-recordings that sound any better.
1969 Sunn Solarus ● 2x 1980's Randall RG-80 ● 2013 Hi-Tone HT103-DG (Best Rig 2014) ● 2015 Mortatone 12/15 Cab w/EV SRO's ● 2017 Jubilee ● 2019 Ceriatone Model Tee ● 2019 Randall Diavlo ● 2020 VHT D50 Dumble Clone
Walt wrote:But when the hour is nigh, and the lights are low, and I got a little toothpick of a shwag joint in my teeth, and my friends want to hear me play "Into the Void", or "TNT", "or "Cemetery Gates"...I plug my 600 dollar guitar into my 150 dollar amp, and I am a Rawk gawd.
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GuitarBilly
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Re: Recording Practice
Buy one of those Tascam/Zoom handheld recorders and set the mic level so it doesn't clip at your band's volume. That's the best way to record practices for reference. It's never a super high quality recording but it's clear enough that you can hear everything, work on new ideas and take notes etc, which is the purpose of recording practices.
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Depends on when you ask. I got tired of constantly updating this section lol
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'78 Les Paul Pro / '89 SG Special/ '04 Gibson Les Paul Classic 3 pickup / Jackson Star/ Endres Tele / Fernandes Rhoads/ ''74 Hohner MIJ strat/ 2 Partscasters
Amps:
Depends on when you ask. I got tired of constantly updating this section lol
Cabs
Marshall 1960A w V30s/ Seismic 2x12 w Redback and V30.
Questions about the forum: please PM here. Can't access the forum? Need a password reset? Please access our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GuitarGearForumOfficial and message me through it.
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BroSlinger
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Re: Recording Practice
GuitarBilly wrote:Buy one of those Tascam/Zoom handheld recorders and set the mic level so it doesn't clip at your band's volume. That's the best way to record practices for reference. It's never a super high quality recording but it's clear enough that you can hear everything, work on new ideas and take notes etc, which is the purpose of recording practices.
This. My zoom was a gamechanger.
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