So far we have been recording sessions on a handheld Zoom H1 jobby (using the built in stereo mic) so that we don't lose ideas and we'd like to take this a bit further.
I'd like some advice on the following ideas please:
1. The rehearsal rooms have a Mackie mixer with 4 XLR ins and 3 SM58 clones with stands and cables. As it's just the drummer and I at the moment I was thinking about getting a fourth mic and then mic'ing the drums with three mics (one on kick, one on snare and one overhead) and one on my amp then taking a stereo out from the mixer to the little Zoom handheld recorder. This would only cost us a new mic, stand and cable.
Obviously there will be some trial and error when setting levels (and no ability to mix after recording) but could be a very cheap way of getting better quality demos (even free if we can borrow other stuff that belongs to the rehearsal rooms)
2. Invest in a standalone multi-track digital recorder and use a similar mic set up as above. Up to 8 XLR input recorders are available for a more comprehensive set up.
3. Invest in a usb mixer and multi track record to the macbook pro with similar mic set up as above. Obvious benefits like easy level setting and mixing. Is this even possible?
4. ???
Cheers!
Comments
If they're literally demos, as in recordings you want to play to other people to get gigs and so forth, you'd be much better off using the budget to pay for a day or two in a good local studio.
If it's just to get a slightly clearer record of your ideas, option 1 should be fine. And seeing as you'll need the extra mic and stand for options 2 and 3 anyway, you might as well try 1 first.
OK, so we used MIDI drums and my Eleven Rack for the interface (everything but drums went through it, including the vocals), but still...
https://closedcircuituk.bandcamp.com/album/violet-nights
2 of the tracks were set to record the main mixer left and right so that was a stereo mix already printed which was fine as a demo. I gave the band the drive though so they could load the tracks into Reaper for remixing and overdubs
I charged £80 for that
The 11R did sound great, though. Also worth noting that the drums were played by a human, but with an electronic kit and the samples came from BFD 2.
https://prionson.bandcamp.com/album/nightfall
Again we paid to have it mixed by a pro (we paid £700 mates-rates to have it mixed by the guy who did the last few skindred albums) but the tracking setup was very modest indeed.
Focusrite saffire pro 40 + behringer ADA 8000 to provide 16 inputs. In terms of mics I have a D112, 2 thomann own brand condensors, 3 behringer SM57 clones, a kosher SM57 that the singer already owns, an SE X1 for vocals and set of no-name tom mics that were about £30 for 3 mics.
I already owned the interface and some of the mics but total spend on hardware was less than £750 and obviously we still have it to use for other recordings.