Oh god, first time being in charge of recording.

[rob_keitel]

So on friday i'm manning the controls of my first low rent recording sessions. Granted its my brothers joke band, but it will be nice to do some work. I've got a pretty good handle of micing the drums, but i'm fearful of a decent guitar sound. I need to rent stuff on friday and i was wondering what i should get for microphones. Also i need to get a decent vocal sound, something war and with presence, any idea how to do this on a 100 dollar budget? thanks.
-rob.

[dlmorley]

Get an SM57 or Audix i5 for the guitar.

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by dlmorley

Get an SM57 or Audix i5 for the guitar.

And use the 57 for vocals. Some people question it but I've used it dozens of times with great success. As far as guitars go, and if they're distorted, do two takes and pan them left and right to taste. Always multitrack the guitars, don't try to copy the track and nudge it or use delay, it won't sound the same.

[manu258]

you should be able to rent pretty decent mics for cheap. I agree that the 57 can do a hell of a job w/ some vox but, since you're already renting them go ahead and get a decent vocal mic. One of my personal favs is AKG solidtube. 57's are def the way to go on guitars. Good Luck!

[paulneedles]

whatever mic you're using on vocals:
hang absorbers/duvet in circle behind singer
make them sing about a foot away from the mic - this is a good rule of thumb if the singer doesn't have much mic technique
use a pop shield
if you've got 24-bit converters, don't compress it as you track
if you've got 16-bit converters or tape, compress it but only grab the peaks and keep the ratio low - 2:1 or thereabouts depending on your own judgement
make the singer do vocal warm ups - do a search, there's loads of sites on this
make sure he/she has a decent headphone mix(you should be wearing headphones with the exact same feed) with some reverb on the vocal(don't record the reverb, just the dry vocal)
don't over-work them and keep their first few takes if you can
get them some water
be encouraging at all times!

I reckon, if you're hiring stuff and it's your first session, and you're multitracking, all you would need for a decent recording is a DI box, one large-diaphragm condenser such as an AT4040 or an AKG 414, a 57 (or, even better, an electrovoice 635a - try a hire company that hires video/TV stuff if the music company doesn't have it), and a D112 or similar

this would allow you to get a great sounding mono 3-mic drum set up, a 2-mic array on guitar, a DI+mic setup on bass and a choice of two flavours on the lead vocal.

[Janesaid2me]

Its kinda hard to tell you what to get seeing as how i dont know what you own...ive had recent success doing distorted and clean delayed guitars with and audix i5...honestly it blew the sm57 away in my opinion on 9 outta 10 tracks...so if you dont have one of those pick up a i5....also works well on snares and toms...so itll help out there also...

[Robearto4]

Originally Posted by Janesaid2me

Its kinda hard to tell you what to get seeing as how i dont know what you own...ive had recent success doing distorted and clean delayed guitars with and audix i5...honestly it blew the sm57 away in my opinion on 9 outta 10 tracks...so if you dont have one of those pick up a i5....also works well on snares and toms...so itll help out there also...

I've seen the ads and read some about the i5's, and I'd really like to hear more opinions on this mic (especially compared to the 57).

Anyone else?

[Confusionator]

Congratulations on your first time!

1) Enjoy yourself. The worst that can happen doesn't matter too much (think of a brain surgeon by contrast), so there's little reason to be too stressed out.

2) DO NOT CLIP YOUR CONVERTERS. Leave yourself plenty of headroom--15dB or more--unless you're very sure of your levels. Most amateur musicians will think it's cool to really lay into a note. You'll have distortion that you can never get rid of if you haven't given yourself the headroom in advance.

3) Any mics will work just fine. But if you're beginning to build a mic locker, a standard like an SM57 is an obvious place to start.

4) Let us know how it goes!

[ntimkovich]

good luck!

if you get scared or flustered, think about how bad things could get if you're doing a live gig for the first time. waaaaaay more stress when working live....feedback, drunks, loss of sleep, etc.

the studio is my happy place compared to all the clubs around town

let us know how it goes!

[thisisntglen]

The i5 does sound great on guitar, as well as the 57.

If you can afford it, however, go for a ribbon. Sweet tone is almost guaranteed.

[redddog]

Yes. Watch your converters. Digital clipping is in no way attractive. Don't confuse that with analogue clipping, which can be cool. Have fun and make sure you look like you know what you're doing - even if you don't.

[Robearto4]

Originally Posted by thisisntglen

The i5 does sound great on guitar, as well as the 57.

If you can afford it, however, go for a ribbon. Sweet tone is almost guaranteed.

If only I could... Afford it that is.

Any preference between the i5 and 57?

[rob_keitel]

so it took forever to remember my user name but here are the results...

http://www.myspace.com/robotversusmonster

We did it with like 80 bucks worth of gear in 2 days. It was done in a jam spot, not the most ideal thing in the world. I didn't like the drum mics or the room. The guitar sounds a little screwed up, but it was my first time. I had a great time doing it and i really learned from my mistakes.

[FinishMedia]

Congrats man!

I have to say, there are plenty of people who have spent more money on just one of their mic cables and not made recordings this good.

I think this is a testament to how much one can do with very little. A low end theory classic!

There's life in your recording and that's priceless. Of course you could make this sound a lot "nicer" but I think the gear fits the asthetic well.

Or you're some guy that used more than $80 and just wants us to listen to your mp3s...

What did $80 bucks get you?

[Methlab]

I love my I5. I use it on everything except the main vocals..and I could do that too if needed. It sounds awesome on guitars, and you can reamp snares..etc through it, and it sounds incredible. I have to credit War's post a while back for converting me, and I have not regretted it one bit.

[Robearto4]

Tru that, I think I'll pick one up instead of a 57.

Oh, and I think this is my 100th post.

[rob_keitel]

Well, off the top of my head i got:
an 8 input beringer (!) mixer
a set of akg drums mics
two akg compressor over heads
a couple shure 57
and a fast track pro firewire soundcard
and a shit load of mic cables and stands

I'm not much of a gear head...i can usally make things sound decent.
I'm not very stoked about the drums. I was unfortunatly in the same room as the drum set so i couldn't hear a damn thing for getting sounds. I can never get that perfect tom sound...they always sound so dead to me. I'm gonna keep recording stuff and posting it, so any help soundwise would be deadly. I also used "audacity" and All the drums mics were mixed to one stereo track. I have no idea what program to use for recording as i just started, i'd like to learn how to do them all sepereatly, but i can't find an absoulute beginners guide to recording. Oh well, i'll figure it out. Thanks for the encouragement.