is the Zoom MRS1266 any good?

I have a questions for 'thabstract'...

you recommend the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Zs Platinum, well i've been looking around and found one here [url]http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=800826115&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=52726[/url]

is this what i need? there are so many types. i have a laptop PC, which i wil take to band rehearsel, the software, the mics etc. would this serve to record the bass, drums and guitar simultaneously, so that the vocals can be overlayed afterwards?

thanks very much, this topic has been very useful :)

Abstract.. you crazy knowledgable freak... lol, any i got some Q's

i got a cable that goes from teh Line out on my amp to the line in on my PC but it only plays back through one speaker? what should i do? have you used the Shure PG57 Microphone? i know shures usually quality products so im thinking it should be ok?

LeeM that is because the audio out of your amp is probably monoaural. Ive used the shure mikes... they are pretty nice.

Thanks
 

Thanks for a great lesson

[QUOTE=RichHunt]Will it hurt that much to have the amps on loud and the kit on in the same room? If so, can we make it not so bad by putting a matress in between (big matress too)[/QUOTE]
Sometimes the sound from loud amps can vibrate the snare drum. This isn't very nice when coming through into a recording. I think some insulation around the kit would be a good idea. A matress would be good.
[QUOTE=casbah rocker]anyway, me and my band are planning on recording a cd by ourselves soon and i ws wondering... how do you keep each of the mics from picking up the other instruments if you record all the tracks in one take? or do you not record all the tracks in one take? and if you dont then how do you do it?[/QUOTE]
Proper insulation, like i mentioned above, will sort out the problem of other instruments bleeding into open mics.
Then again, a sound tech may mute out some microphones (or have a noise gate on 'em) if they are not used for extended amounts of time.

With regards to one take or multi take recording. It really depends. On how much time you are willing to devote to each track, how long you are prepared to spend in the studio, and/or how much you are willing to pay.

For example; To start off, A band may make a one take recording of themselves. They then might go back and re-record some particular guitar riffs, solos and lead breaks and then layer those ontop of the original recording - maybe only one or two per song. Then the vocalist will then lay down the Melody and the Harmonies ontop of the whole lot. And that could be it.

Some other times, a band may play each of their parts seperately. PLaying along while listening to a pre-recorded example of their song. Once all individual parts are recorded, the sound tech would then piece them all together. Sometimes layering multiple versions of the one instrument many times on top of each other. Then you've got the melodies and the harmonies as before.
Something like this will take more time and efort than the previous.
But it all comes down to how much you are prepared to put in.

[QUOTE=Licketysplit]Can someone explain what compression does?[/QUOTE]
I dunno if this has been answered or not yet, but:

Compression is a tool used to prevent clipping.
When a signal is too strong for the equipment it is running through. The signal is clipped out and distortion occours. Now, this is terrible while recording. Because even if you get even the slightest hint of digital clipping while recording the whole recording is pretty much ruined.

A compressor monitors the level of your signal and adjusts it to ensure that it does not clip. It affects your entire signal so that even the loudest sounds are within the 'headroom' levels of your recording equiment. By basically, compressing it. So your loud sounds are less loud, and your quiet sounds are less quiet.

Put simply, they even out the levels of your sound.

Thanks buddy :)

aes820, i think i get what your saying, but basically if were recroding in the guitar players basement, then we can use some insulation between the amps and around the drums, record in one take with minimal interference, and then overdub the vocals and any parts that are expecially important, right?

thanks

Yeah. That'll do it..
If you do a one take recording.. And it is tight, sounding good, and you are happy with it. Then just lay over the vocals. And perhaps extra guitar lead breaks or whatever. And that'll do it.
As long as [B]you[/B] are happy with it.

I don't know where the jack is to plug into your soundcard :confused:

can i get a recording system for drums and bass and guitar for about under 150$?? i mean not state of the art just good right now im using a 10$ mic u can actaully here it all lol..

I dont know if this has been asked before..... but i've noticed that the plug on the end of an SM57 mic doesnt adapt to any of the inlets in my computer. would i use an adapter for it, or does an external sound card have a mic plug?

You can buy adapters to take the XLR connection on the back of the Microphone down to a 6.5mm TRS Plug. Then another adaptor to take the 6.5mm plug down into one that'll fit into the microphone input on the back of your soundcard.
It will work this way. Although you'll get better results is you run the mic through a preamp before. Like one on a small mixer board.
This will probably be the simplest way tho.

do you think the SM57 is the best value for a mic ( 108 bucks locally) for recording acoustic songs?

Yeah, The SM57 is pretty much the industry standard for instrument micing.

Hows does this pre-amp work?

Guitar --> Pre-Amp ----> Soundcard?

What exactly is a pre-amp?

A preamp amplifies your guitars signal up to a level so that it can be reckognised clearly and accuratly by other equipment.
It will allso you to control things like Gain, as well as it's EQing. It allows you to shape your tone to give you the ability to achieve differnt sounds.

what about something like just a stardard 5.1 or 7.1 soundcard with a firewire port, and getting an m-audio firewire recording interface?

does anyone have any tips on recording distorted guitar using an SM57?

aes820 i officially dubb u the answerer of questions in this thread...I am over it so have fun :)

PS your smarter than me too :)
PS the internet is taking over my life

Whaa!? You can't just ditch me with it.. :p

oh yes i can...theyre all your brudda!

hey aes man...get msn i wanna talk to you

hey i was wondering do i really need v amps if i want to record? what exactly does the v amp do? yea and whats the difference between the pods and the v amps?

pods and v-amps do the same thing...they imitate the sound of good amps. Unnecicary if you have a good amp and a good mic.
PS the pods better

Ok, I'm going to record in a basement. It has no carpet should i throw a few rugs down? and it has cindeblock walls is that good or bad???

you're going to get crazy amounts of reverb if you don't put some padding in and around your recording space.

blankets hung on walls
carpet and rug on floor

Ok thanks, Can you guys recommend a good acoustic guitar mike and an vocal mike that go for around 50 dollars?

if that means 50 us...then the behring b1....or the sm-57

okay i got a marshall amp and a shure sm58. is that good to record with or should i just by the v amps?

Ok so i got this neat bit of software called audacity which i can layer tracks with etc. and add limited effects with. Problem is i have been recording with this digital camera so sound quality is bad. Is there a way of plugging my guitar or amp into my pc for direct recording? Thanks

[QUOTE=Tom-Guitarist]Ok so i got this neat bit of software called audacity which i can layer tracks with etc. and add limited effects with. Problem is i have been recording with this digital camera so sound quality is bad. Is there a way of plugging my guitar or amp into my pc for direct recording? Thanks[/QUOTE]

woah dude...I think we went through this. Read the lessons.

my dad moved out of my house and my room is his used-to-be-studio room. so ive got carpet on the walls and its pretty much a dream place to set up a studio of my own, which i want to do. im going to move my drumset to my room and make it into a studio and i need some help:

is a laptop okay instead of a desktop computer?

what is a good processor/harddrive space for the laptop?

what type of Behringer Truths monitors should i get, and do they just hook up to the laptop...?

what are the best mics i can get for my drumset?

will the standard sound card that comes with laptop be good enough?

does the drums/guitar records into mixer which records into laptop...? i just dont get how everything hooks up :/

Adobe Audition says it can mix so should i still buy a mixer?

any help is appreciated.

well i'm @ school righ now so i cant write a long reply...read the 2nd or 3rd lesson about how everything hooks up

im going to buy Adobe Audition tomorrow :D

and im going to begin my search for a good cheap desktop computer (ditched laptop idea) for recording. should i search eBay or do you all know a good cheap electronics website?

what kinda drum mics would u suggest?

I have a really old 4-track recorder, that records onto cassettes. Me(drums) and my friend (guitar) have a couple songs, and we want to record them in hopes to come up with lyrics eventually. Problem is we only have one mic. What would be the best way to do this? LIke just use the mic for drums and guitar(from the amp) Or straight in with guitar, and mic for drums?. Also where would be the best place to put the mic to record drums and guitar?

theabstract i finally took the time to read all of your guide and they and very informing and there is a special place in heaven for you for writing these lessons. :D

the excitement is f*cking killing me i cant wait to start my home studio aaaaaaaaah!