recording the whole band

[Shibby]

Hey guys
I have an Mbox and i want to record my band playing to see what work we have to do from a different perspective. Now, the Mbox only has space for two inputs so i'm not exactly sure how to record everything i want. We have a mixer, for our PA system so i don't know if i should plug everything into that, and then use one mic to mic up the drums or what. I was told to you at LEAST two mics to mic up the drums so i don't know what to do.

Thanks in advance

[BrettV]

How big of a room are you playing in? What type of room is it? It's it reverberant or really dead sounding? What kind of mics are you using? (make/model)

If it's big enough, set up 2 room mics 10 - 15' in front of the lead singer. Angle/height varies depending on what type of mics they are (so let me know) .. Monitor what is being recorded .. and if you need to adjust, go ahead. If there is too much reverberation, go ahead and put blankets (shirts/pants/socks/underwear/whatever) up on the walls ..

If it's small, go somewhere larger. Take the computer, mics, stands, instruments, PA, yourselves and record it. You need room to hear what you sound like and it'll be very difficult to get a decent sound in a confined area (not that it can't be done, but if you have the option, go to a larger area)

10-15' is a pretty good rule of thumb for an overall sound ..

I'd run direct to Pro Tools. The micpres on the MBox are Focusrite .. much better than your PAs mixer.

Brett

[Shibby]

yah, we have 1 made by electar and the other one i'm not sure. we just sorta want to get a feel for how we sound so i don't think we'll move all our gear. In our practice room, all the amps/PA are facing us, so should we put the mic behind us? It'll be at the most 10 feet behind all the amps and stuff.

thanks alot

[TomN]

I would just experiment with the 2 mics and placing them in various positions around the room to get the best sound and mix.

Without knowing the exact mics and the acoustics of the room it's hard to say what will sound the best.

What sounds good to your ear, may sound totally different and crappy once you record it. So hook everything up and do a few test takes and listen to them.
That way you can get the balances right.

What you should do is use the mics primarilly for the drums, and run the Bass to the mixer, the vocals and if you have any kind of direct output for the guitars, all into the mixer, set the volumes appropriatelty through testing and take stereo output of the mixer and go to your Computer.

It will take a few tries to get everything balanced right.

Good luck

[BrettV]

I'm still trying to get a feel for the size of the room ...

If you're trying to hear what you'll sound like, why would you record the sound source facing away from you? It won't sound how others are going to hear you (unless you always play with your speakers facing away .. which is weird http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif)

I disagree with "What you should do is use the mics primarilly for the drums, and run the Bass to the mixer, the vocals and if you have any kind of direct output for the guitars, all into the mixer, set the volumes appropriatelty through testing and take stereo output of the mixer and go to your Computer." ... You're not recording this to remix and sell .. you're just trying to hear what you sound like ... sep micing won't give you that. Room mics will. If you're doing this to record, mix, master, and sell, then we've got an entirely different hockey game.

If you can figure out make/models of the mics, I can give the stereo mic technique setup info to you.

If not, that's fine too. .


[This message has been edited by tk00022 (edited September 19, 2003).]