What would be needed to record mainly acoustic instruments at home prior to taking them to a proper studio to be processed and mixed?
My band doesn't have loads of money or available time, so I'm looking at this approach as a possible option. On the plus side, I have a reasonably quiet space, a decent MacBook, Logic X, a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, an Aston Origin, a couple of SM58s and stands etc. I have the basics of Logic, well enough to record multiple tracks but after that, things get sketchier.
My thinking is that we could meet up in the evenings over an extended period of time and record clean, unprocessed tracks using the Aston and maybe another mic for the drums - it's a stripped down 'skiffle-style' kit with just a bassdrum, snare and a wee cymbal/hi-hat thing. We'd use roughly the same set up for the acoustic and electric guitars and the Aston for the vocals. I've recorded my vocal with the Aston before and the mic seems to compliment my voice well enough. We'd aim to DI the bass guitar.
I'd aim to record without any compression or effects and then take the tracks to a decent mixer or studio to be worked on there. Is this feasible? What would be the worst mistakes we could make? Any tips to make this work more effectively? Choose the mixing studio first and get their input? Or wait until we see what we end up with and then speak to different studios? Presumably one plus side of this option is that we could work with a far wider range of mixers/producers across the world if we were happy to trust them to do it without our input.
Any suggestions of another mic that would pair nicely with the Aston Origin and the SM58s? Another Origin or a different style of mic altogether?
Or is it a mad and stupid idea.
Happy New Year ya wee beauties!
cam f
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I would suggest your main objective is to achieve separation, Ive only sampled the Aston Mics but they seem very capable, so I wouldn't worry there, or you could maybe borrow a couple of other mics to add some colour.
Acoustic guitars , I would DI as well if possible, use 2 mics on each one as well so you get the best overall sound.
Personally I would probably use some light compression on the guitars juts to keep an even level, but its top to you of course.
The studio can always trigger some sample drums to sit under the actual kit, this is quite common now in particular with Kicks.
Will you be working to a click track...this could also prove very useful in the studio.
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(cross post with @Musicwolf )
The Shure SM57 is an old favourite for close positioning on an electric guitar amplifier. Ideally, in conjunction with a second, more sensitive, mic placed at a distance.
Some in-house engineers swear by the SM57 for almost everything. Just apply the relevant dynamic processing and EQ.
I agree with this. Whenever possible, record the bulk of each song with the entire band playing live together.
... try the Sound On Sound magazine trick of dampening hard room reflections with duvets.
We did this for our album (we're working on the release now) - everything was recorded by us (including vocals). We then handed it all off to a guy in Leeds, who decided that our drum recordings were utter balls and dragged us up to his studio to do it properly. The end result, though, is probably the best-sounding record I've ever been a part of; I'm genuinely proud of the way it sounds.
So yeah, it can be done. It can be very time-consuming though. You'll inevitably spend a lot more time tracking than you would in a studio, because you can. That's a double-edged sword...you'll end up with a performance you're happier with, but it'll be exhausting.
From time to time I will ask them to redo sections, especially if the gain staging is off (ie digital clipping).
The biggest issue is when the rare customer is precious about their work and refuses to acknowledge when something is not right and needs to be fixed.
The entire project works better when the engineer phrases their request properly when the engineer is trusted and listened to.
Also be clear about the arrangement- nothing is worse than trying to rearrange a tune after it has been recorded.
Drums are the biggest issue to record well, using fewer mics makes phase relationship issues easier to sort but affords fewer opportunities to sample replace, should you wish too.
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That said, there's no reason not to try doing the drums yourself and see what happens---particularly with a stripped back kit that may be easier.
IMHO adding drums into a tune after everything else is recorded is a one way ticket to aintgotnogrooveville.
So track the tunes with midi drums, then go do the real drum tracks, then re-record pretty much everything to lock in with the drummer.
Ideally I like to see bass and drums tracked at the same time.
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The rest of it stands, though.
However, there's nobody in our band with the technical chops needed to tackle the mixing part and we know that's where external expertise and input could prove crucial to getting a finished sound we all like.
This thread has really helped clarify my thinking on what we should do. We won't be rigid about it and will be as pragmatic as we can be. But the simple fact is, we don't have the money between us to record an album in a studio setting, so needs must, and all that. It has to be better to get of our arses and start working on this album project than sitting around talking about how we MIGHT raise the money to MAYBE go into a studio. I guess.