The Recording Thread

[Nitro Express]

I think the best approach to recording is to keep it simple and try and get it perfect on the first take. Use good microphones, have the right room to record in, headphones seem to be the way to go instead of monitors, and place the microphones correctly. More important is the content of what you are recording. If the music is shit nothing in the mix can help it. You can't polish a turd. Great songs well played can make up for less than ideal recording. So don't diddle it to death, get a pretty good copy down, polish it a bit and be happy. Too many musicians fuck it up with over diddling in the studio and then they can't play it live.

If anything digital tools have made recording cheaper, more accessable for the average person, and is better for editing. Analog still sounds better.

[Jagermeister]

I think the best approach to recording is to keep it simple and try and get it perfect on the first take. Use good microphones, have the right room to record in, headphones seem to be the way to go instead of monitors, and place the microphones correctly. More important is the content of what you are recording. If the music is shit nothing in the mix can help it. You can't polish a turd. Great songs well played can make up for less than ideal recording. So don't diddle it to death, get a pretty good copy down, polish it a bit and be happy. Too many musicians fuck it up with over diddling in the studio and then they can't play it live.

If anything digital tools have made recording cheaper, more accessable for the average person, and is better for editing. Analog still sounds better.

I keep it real simple. I use my lap top, a cheap plug in mic and Nero Ultra. I bought an old reel to reel recorder but I never used it. It's for sale if anyone is interested.

[GAR]

Analog still sounds better.

True, you can't "polish a turd" but let me just say something on that, having myself done alot of polishing:

1. To do what you can do these days now, in automating moves like merges, fades, basically anything you needed two or sometimes three pairs of hands on the board for, with one mouseclick, is amazing and I'll take functionality over sound quality any day. Most of what I've done.. dunno about you guys, but working alone has always been for songwriting purposes.

2. Working alone "polishing turds" in your offtime is GREAT because it teaches you many levels of sound engineering theory and technique when all one really expects to get out of any of it is: demo'ing their songs together.

3. Working alone is basically free, aside from software costs (usually under $250) but prepares you on your way to someday... working with analogue? I always expected to work empirically toward that goal myself, however AGFA, BASF, Scotch 3M and (Taiyo Uden-TDK?) are nearly done phasing out production of tape. In fact, look at the cost of replacement cartridges for Echoplexes now on Ebay it's rediculous. Everyone knows analogue tape is in its' sunset hours but I agree there's nothing better sounding than tape. It's physics 101..

4. "Too many musicians fuck it up with over diddling in the studio and then they can't play it live." True but I'd counter that with, at the very least it enables new music of any kind to get out. Maybe it's given us our share of Linkin Parks, Limp Bizkits and Chemical Romances, but it's also brought us the Taylor Swifts out there who nobody would waste a second glance.

I think digital recording is a great development tool, and so what if some sucky acts rise to prominence momentarily out of using it, when they can't really play? The germ of the song idea rules over all anyways.

[GAR]

I bought an old reel to reel recorder but I never used it. It's for sale if anyone is interested.

Have you tried using it as a mic preamp, i have a few both solid-state and tube.. aside from using them like a pedal to warm the gain up on the input they're going to be obsolete.

[Seshmeister]

[BigBadBrian]

BACK ON TOPIC...

You may find this helpful, BBB...

Set Up Recording Studio Using Pro Tools

Author: David Franz
Lesson description

Want to produce your own music or someone else's music at home, but don't know where to begin? Producer, musician, and online instructor David Franz shows you how to begin with a lesson on how to set up your home studio.

http://www.berkleeshares.com/product...udio_pro_tools

Good...thank you!!!

What do you guys know about Presonus? Is that brand any good?

[Diamondjimi]

Presonus makes great stuff. Very solid. I'm using the Firestudio interface. Linked via Lightpipe with the Presonus Digimax FS

[GAR]

Presonus pre's are warm and lush, not meaty but will do just fine and the hardware is in a decent price range.

UNLIKE the Event products of days past like the Echo and Darla cards and dac boxes.. I hope we never see multi-input dac-boxes in the $1000+ range ever again.. I don't see a reason for that anymore unless what?

512K sampling rate?!?! 1meg, 2 meg, 8 meg etc? Megabyte-range sampling-rates that can calculate the "missing" bottom end that drives everyone's claims of digital's harshness and briteness.. is never going to happen until PLAYBACK hardware like iPods and car radios have the same capacity.

- so that's why I conclude there's not much gonna happen in advancement in the way of digital pre's and dac-boxes. Presonus would be a good choice for Brian.

[Diamondjimi]

Presonus pre's are warm and lush, not meaty but will do just fine and the hardware is in a decent price range.
.

True, but seriously. Hopw the fuck would you know?

[GAR]

Presonus has been around longer than you have..

[Diamondjimi]

[jhale667]

[chefcraig]

Remarkably enough, using root beer or wine instead of tap water in a bong brings unexpectedly delightful results.

[Seshmeister]

One of the few good lines Dennis Leary had that he didn't steal off Bill Hicks was 'I gave up smoking dope because I got sick of having to build things'.

[GAR]

Too bad he never picked up music.