recording for audio reference
- Thread starter sunkjob
- Start date
ankursamtaney
New member
My response would have started very differently if not for the second-last word in your post!
I'm sure you can record using anything from your iphone, built-in mac mic, camcoder, etc. but whether or not its usable for that 'someone' you mention, will depend on the quality of work the person needs to use it for. If its just a rough track for your grandmum to listen to, it'll work. if it's a demo for a record label or Power98fm it won't be anywhere close to usable!
Recording an acoustic drumset can be quite tricky, and while many people get decent results using as little as maybe 1 or 2 mics, most pro or even semi-pro drum tracks, i'd imagine, are recorded using atleast 4 mics. An ideal home setup might involve a decent sound-interface with atleast 4 mic preamps (or a simple mixer, if you're willing to forego the ability to edit after recording), some decent mics (eg SM57s) preferrably including 2 condenser mics (even simple ones like the Behringer C-2s should do), a well tuned kit, a decent drummer and most importantly, a decent sounding room. The final recording will only be as good as the weakest link in your chain
-- which for many beginners ends up being their room, since they're used to discounting the slapbacks and reverb when just jamming for fun, but mics, more often than not, can be quite unforgiving.
If you don't have any of the above gear, you're probably looking at spending at least 500-600 to bucks for a simple yet decent recording set up, excluding speakers / studio monitors. A few alternatives would be:
a) to do this at a studio, where you'd be able to get a decent drum track recorded for about or under 100 bucks.. OR
b) perhaps borrow some gear (I'm sure you could convince some fellow softies to lend / rent you some basic gear, and even help you record a track at home) and see what you're able to accomplish in your room.
c) buy a used Zoom H2 handy recorder (or any equivalent), and see if that gets you any usable results at home. It might. And is definitely a zillion times better than recording through a camcoder! If not good enough, do either (a) or (b) and sell off the recorder for around the same price you bought it for.
I'm sure you can record using anything from your iphone, built-in mac mic, camcoder, etc. but whether or not its usable for that 'someone' you mention, will depend on the quality of work the person needs to use it for. If its just a rough track for your grandmum to listen to, it'll work. if it's a demo for a record label or Power98fm it won't be anywhere close to usable!
Recording an acoustic drumset can be quite tricky, and while many people get decent results using as little as maybe 1 or 2 mics, most pro or even semi-pro drum tracks, i'd imagine, are recorded using atleast 4 mics. An ideal home setup might involve a decent sound-interface with atleast 4 mic preamps (or a simple mixer, if you're willing to forego the ability to edit after recording), some decent mics (eg SM57s) preferrably including 2 condenser mics (even simple ones like the Behringer C-2s should do), a well tuned kit, a decent drummer and most importantly, a decent sounding room. The final recording will only be as good as the weakest link in your chain
-- which for many beginners ends up being their room, since they're used to discounting the slapbacks and reverb when just jamming for fun, but mics, more often than not, can be quite unforgiving.If you don't have any of the above gear, you're probably looking at spending at least 500-600 to bucks for a simple yet decent recording set up, excluding speakers / studio monitors. A few alternatives would be:
a) to do this at a studio, where you'd be able to get a decent drum track recorded for about or under 100 bucks.. OR
b) perhaps borrow some gear (I'm sure you could convince some fellow softies to lend / rent you some basic gear, and even help you record a track at home) and see what you're able to accomplish in your room.
c) buy a used Zoom H2 handy recorder (or any equivalent), and see if that gets you any usable results at home. It might. And is definitely a zillion times better than recording through a camcoder! If not good enough, do either (a) or (b) and sell off the recorder for around the same price you bought it for.
@ankursamtaney
wow thats a lot of help,thx.but i dont think i'll be needing all of it tho.what im looking for is decent enough sound quality so that i convert to mp3 format den sendover to my guitarist eg. to work on a song.obviously if i wanted to do a proper demo i most prob do it elswhere.so . . . .if this is the situation, would a normal camcorder be enough?
@james
heheh.now im kosong
wow thats a lot of help,thx.but i dont think i'll be needing all of it tho.what im looking for is decent enough sound quality so that i convert to mp3 format den sendover to my guitarist eg. to work on a song.obviously if i wanted to do a proper demo i most prob do it elswhere.so . . . .if this is the situation, would a normal camcorder be enough?
@james
heheh.now im kosong
You can use a camcorder but must place the camera further cos most camcorder's microphone are very sensitive.
This is recorded with a Zoom H4n. http://www.soft.com.sg/music_sample/zoom_h4n/090502_ite_jazz01.mp3
This is recorded with a Zoom H4n. http://www.soft.com.sg/music_sample/zoom_h4n/090502_ite_jazz01.mp3
ankursamtaney
New member
Which would also result in shit loads of unwanted reverb and slapback from the room, I'd imagine? (depending on the room of course)
That's an awesome sample! Done LIVE or track-by-track? Quite fancy those little handy recorders
Might pick up one myself once the GAS builds up a little more!
sunkjob, this was done in their practice room.
ankursamtaney, ha..haa.. can play with the placement and lots of curtain/pillow until achieving the RT60.
That track was a live recording. I had the built-in stereo mic pointing at the blowers and a Oktava MK-012 right behind the drummer. This was because the drummer was placed on the extreme side of the room. In post, I pan the drums back to more centered.
In fact, it was a test recording after I first gotten the H4n. I like it so much that I started selling it -> http://soft.com.sg/store/product_info.php?products_id=33
ankursamtaney, ha..haa.. can play with the placement and lots of curtain/pillow until achieving the RT60.
That track was a live recording. I had the built-in stereo mic pointing at the blowers and a Oktava MK-012 right behind the drummer. This was because the drummer was placed on the extreme side of the room. In post, I pan the drums back to more centered.
In fact, it was a test recording after I first gotten the H4n. I like it so much that I started selling it -> http://soft.com.sg/store/product_info.php?products_id=33
