DIY recording for band, is it recommended?

[AIexiLaiho]

Hello people!

I'm Aiden, and i have a lifelong dream to be a guitarist and all.
I'm in a band and have written a few songs and i would like to do some recordings. But as i went around searching for record labels(that may wanna give us a contract or something, im still pretty unsure about the 'real stuff') and what do they do, 'SOFT' gave me a link that goes to David Byrnes guide. And i must say,
record labels seems pretty mean to us musicians as they eat up most of the profit.. so i was thinking of doing a DIY recording capable of releasing our album with GOOD sound. Any advice from fellow softies?
As you can see, my current gear is pretty budget-ed.
We're still really young (im 15, 15-18years old) and dont have our personal income.
Please give some suggestions!


My Current gear
-Guitar-
Alexi Laiho Signature Model (switched the pickups to TESLA Plasma 3)
Gibson Les Paul Studio

-Amp-
Marshall MG30

-Drums-
Drums is no problem for a have a friend that could lend us his drums for recording.

-Mikes-
(very very old) Kenwood Dynamic Microphone MC-K600 (for Vocals?)
Sennheiser Headphones. (FOR RECORDING. okay dont diss me, but i have no other forms of capturing bass and guitar tracks so i just reverse the signal by plugging the headphones into the microphone jack.)

-Computer-
Compaq Presario V3000
Specs: Core 2, Windows XP, T5600 @ 1.83GHz, 0.99gb RAM.
(the comp's pretty laggy at times)

-Software-
I currently use Audacity to mix all the tracks that i record together, then try to minimize the noise, the feedback and all. I'm still looking around for Software. Have found out a few recently, Mixcraft, Beats Craft, Toontrack's Drumset from hell (EZdrummer expansion).

My dad has some Wine to trade off, approximately worth 5k+/-
Wondering if mixers and whatevers are needed for he approached me.
I do not know of my budget just yet, but any suggestions is welcomed!
SOFTIES! PLEASE HELP!

 

[soft]

How ready are you guys for the recording? If your band can play perfectly, you can do a 1 take in a proper recording studio.

That is if your band REALLY plays that well.

Try one of those jamming studio that provides a simple 2 track recording while you jam kind of deal. At least listen to how you band 'performs'.

 

[super_punk]

Don't think about labels or label interest or whatnot until maybe after youve recorded a demo. and even then it's a long way to anything that resembles a record contract, especially in Singapore. Just do what you want cos you love your music, not cos you wanna make it big.

 

[smurfpiss]

Home recording is becoming a very viable option now, much more than before. With the advent of technology the tools you need come cheaper and better as well.

There are tons of guides to home studios and one really good one is www.tweakheadz.com practically everything you need to get started and more is in there!

If you want to hear some pretty decent home recordings you can listen to some of my band's stuff @ www.myspace.com/quickquickdanger. Our setup is really simple and we basically recorded and produced everything in our bedrooms!

 

[l0u5y]

if u are looking for commercial standard sounding songs, dun bother. production is a skill, much like ur guitar playing, which has to be steadily practised. But in commercial sounding records, they have skills, as well as having top end equipments which u will never beat that sound unless u have a load of money. if u are serious about your band and want to compete with commercial bands out there, you'll probably won't be able to afford all the equipments yourself. Best is that u find a good producer to produce your songs. Its always better to have 1-2 great songs than 20 lousy ones.

 

[futures]

When you're good enough, people will want to pay you to record. Its good to have dreams, but try not to lose touch with reality. I don't believe that being in Singapore means that our opportunities are limited somewhat. You're still young, so work on your act first. You sound confident of yourself and your band, which is a good thing. But let's let the record labels be the judge of that alright.

That said, you might wanna try out the POD stuff. All the best with your music!

 

[firethorn]

[QUOTE=AIexiLaiho

Personally, I find that most local studios are not to my liking. I also find that my own DIY stuff from home is subpar (but then again I have subpar equipment - but it should still be better than what it currently is).

If you want to record your stuff, say as a demo:
If you are on Windows, try out Cubase. I find that to be one of the best.

If you're on Linux, try ardour (software) or Ubuntu Studio or 64 Studio (both are complete linux-based operating systems designed for audio).

If you're on Linux and want to try ardour, you should read up on alsa (sound server) and JACK (low latency driver).