First time making an demo/single album

[izodiak]

Hi !

I just read the thread about 'vocal recording' and there were a lot of good advices.

So I wanted to ask here,
How do You record a track, which is the part You start with.
Some vocal post-procesing?
Acoustic/Electric guitar mic'ing with dynamic or condenser? (I know You prefer to put an dynamic in front of the speaker, but what about hanging an condenser?)

Drum mic'ing with just one condenser?

asking for some 'how-to'.

It will really help a tiny band to do a record, thanks thanks.

[Mages]

well, you can start with whatever is best for you. if it is a song that you've rehearsed with a band, most people would probably start with the drums and then add instruments after that.

dynamic microphones are good for picking up things that are really high volume. condenser microphones are more sensitive, so they are better for picking up quiet sounds. if stuff is too loud I think they will distort (and not in a good way).

so yeah, dynamic in front of the speaker. right in the middle of the speaker will be brightest. the farther out on the cone you point it the darker it will be.

personally what I would do with the acoustic guitar would be use the condenser in front of the 12th fret and try the dynamic on the body, maybe in front of the bridge.

for micing drums with one condenser you are basically using room micing techniques. so pick a room where you like how the drums sound. and then listen to the drums with the microphone in a few different places until you find a place where you like the sound. then mash down on it with compression.

[kypdurron]

No idea about how-to technically, but my two bands work a little different:

Band 1 would do a guide-track first, i.e. the Drummer has a metronome on headphones, then we play the song alltogether on one or two tracks. Then, everybody plays his part again flawless when he has time and uses the 1st track as orientation. But usually it's first Drums, then Bass, then rythm guitar, then the rest.

When I record alone I adapt this method and sing the song with guitar over a drum loop. Then I add other instruments and usually delete the original track before I do vocals. By that time I have heard the whole thing plenty times and know when to sing what.

Band 2 is a little different: We mic everything and record 8 tracks at once. (Vocals, 2 guitars, Bass, the rest for drums) This means we all must play as good as possible at the same time, but it's conserving the band dynamics a little better imho. This is then the basis for overdubs (backings, additional instruments) and sometimes one or two original tracks get replaced later if not ok at all. But that's difficult as you have side noises of nearly everything on everything. Works best with lead vocals.

[broncobuster80]

yeah we do drums, guitar, vox, bass, guitar then boards, synths, noise etc etc...

Trying things out is the best way to get a good sound- noone can tell your room whats best