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Thread: Equipment ( Everything ) ??

  1. #1

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    Default Equipment ( Everything ) ??

    I want to know everything that I would need
    to get if I want to start recording my drums.
    I know I need a mixer, mics, and software, but I
    need all of the little details...

  2. #2

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    Default Re: Equipment ( Everything ) ??

    Zoom H4 about 5 ft in front of your kit.

  3. #3

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    Default Re: Equipment ( Everything ) ??

    It depends on the quality and control you want out, and the money you have available to spend.

    At one end you could just have a single mic recording the whole kit (from for example 5ft in front of the kit). Either a USB mic or something with onboard storage would do fine for that. But you'll be limited in what you can do with that, e.g. if you want to bring up a particular drum in the mix.

    At the other end of the spectrum you could close mic every drum, feed the whole lot into a mixer (either hardware or software) and construct the track as you want balancing off the different parts of the kit. That kind of setup isn't going to come cheap though.

    Very much depends on what you want to achieve and how much cash you are willing to drop.

    In terms of software, Audacity is a good recording and mixing tool which can be downloaded free. Might not be the best, but its an excellent way to start off without spending money and is quite widely used so there are plenty of places on the internet to get help.

    For hardware though I'm not in a position to advise really. I've managed to blag a couple of microphones for free, and just invested in a budget mixer and USB interface to pipe that into my laptop. Works ok and is good enough quality for what I need, but you might want a better setup.
    You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common:
    they don't alter their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views,
    which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.

  4. #4

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    well if you want just very rough recordings for yourself as a reference....download audacity for free and plug a pair of headphones (preferably larger drivers) into the mic input on your computer and enable microphone. there you go.
    -Steven

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Equipment ( Everything ) ??

    If you want to close mic drums, meaning have a mic on every drum plus overheads, you need:

    1.) An interface capable of simultaneously capturing the number of tracks/mics required
    2.) A computer system with enough power to handle the input
    3.) a DAW - Digital Audio Workstation
    4.) Hardware - mics, cables, etc

    In my case this equates to:

    1.) Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 Firewire interface - it has 8 preamps and I'd use 7 on a 5-piece kit and 8 if I wanted to mic under the snare or put two mics on the bass drum
    2.) iMac running OS X Leopard - I really should upgrade this to Snow Leopard at the least
    3.) My DAW at the moment is GarageBand, but I want to start moving to Logic Studio, which I have installed, but have not yet had the time to really start to learn to use.
    4.) I've got plenty of cables, clips, mics and stands, but my mics are pretty "eh" - at the moment it's a set of CAD drum mics that were pretty cheap and that were bought for live use - not recording.

    I also have a set of studio headphones (KRKs) and a set of Studio Monitors - KRK Rokit 6" speakers.

    There are literally hundreds and thousands of options and choices when it comes to the specific setup you want to use, but those are the basics for how I'd do it and not break the bank.
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    You're = you are - a contraction.

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  6. #6

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    may I suggest switching to the trombone.....or maybe the tuba ! Seriously though, you do have your work cut out for you. The skys the limit. Even when you think you have it all, there will always be just one more thing......just one more thing. Much the same way we shop for cymbals or tune a drum head. A tweak here and a tweak there. Everyone goes through it in every facet of life....not just drumming. It's the little voice in your head..... relentless and unforgiving. We are at its mercy unless you take control and the only way to do that is LET IT GO. Start fresh tomorrow.
    Most definitely. As a matter of fact, there will be "NO LIMIT"... just an unending quagmire of musical genius.

  7. #7

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    There is definitely a "one more thing" attitude that can come with a home recording studio - especially with microphones.

    Does anyone remember the scene in the movie "The Blues Brothers" that occurs right after Jake gets out of prison. It goes something like this:

    Jake: What's this?
    Elwood: What?
    Jake: This car. This stupid car! Where's the Cadillac?
    [Elwood doesn't answer]
    Jake: The Caddy! Where's the Caddy?
    Elwood: The what?
    Jake: The Cadillac we used to have. The Bluesmobile!
    Elwood: I traded it.
    Jake: You traded the Bluesmobile for this?
    Elwood: No, for a microphone.
    Jake: A microphone?
    [pause]
    Jake: Okay I can see that.

    When I first saw that movie, I didn't really get it. Now I do. Condider the ubiquitous Neumann U87 - $3700. Or the Manley Gold Reference mic that runs for around $4500. Mics can get downright silly.

    At this point I still want a good set of drum mics - probably the Audix pack - and I also want a decent/better large diaphragm condenser, as well as a ribbon mic - probably one of the imported cheapies at first. Ribbon mics can get pretty costly. But that's just mics. For now the Saffire interface is the main input source, but at some point who knows - better preamps perhaps?
    Your = possessive - your stuff, your dog, your car, etc
    You're = you are - a contraction.

    Learn it. Love it.

  8. #8

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    First and foremost, some good headphones. Dont think that you need to go all out and get expensive ones just because they are "optimal for studio work."
    you can get good sennheisers for 20-40 dollars that will allow you to mix well. The reason you need good headphones (monitors are much more expensive for starters) is that you need to be able to hear the low-high frequencies accurately. what might sound great on your computer speakers could sound awfully unbalanced , or just plain bad when played through a quality sound system.

    Next, you obviously need (a) microphone(s). Obviously micing techniques vary from person to person, but time is your best friend on this one. It is so important that i will repeat it...TAKE YOUR TIME. Allow yourself to be self-educated and see what works best for you. Just because somebody recommends a sm57 at __ angle to the snare drum does NOT mean that it is what you need. While one microphone will work, try to at least have 2 or three at your immediate usage. you will also need the same ammount of XLR cables as the number of microphones that you are using.

    Now your sound is not going to grow legs and hop into your computer, so lets talk about mixers/interfaces. Again, do what works best for YOU, not john doe. While many will say it is unorthodox to have a mixer act as your main interface, it is usually alot cheaper and almost all mixers have decent preamps (but you need not worry about that in the early stages) Using a mixer will give you alot more physical control in the analog stage of your recording ( before it is converted into digital bits for the computer to read) Setting your EQ can be a painstaking process, but it is well worth it to have a good sound going INto your DAW rather than having to tinker with it endlessly on the computer.
    As for audio interfaces, they are usually alot easier, and you can achieve good sound quality. Now heres the kicker....there is oftentimes a great leap from a 2 input to a 5-6 input interface. unless you have a few hundered, you wont get anything of good quality with more than 2 xlr inputs on it.
    In some situations using both can be a great idea. sometimes I run my 6 xlr input mixer into 1 of 2 xlrs on my interface, that way i can have a whole separate track for another mixer or maybe just a mic. the downside of that is once the signal from the mixer goes into the interface, it is one track and the different channels can no longer be separated.
    In case you don't know, your DAW is you digital audio workstation; it is your creative little area where you mold your music to please your ears. While you dont need anything more than the free audacity or kristal, having a decent program is very helpful.

    Everything that I have talked about so far is all you need to record your drums to your computer. However, many other things follow...gain levels, mic position, equalization, and mixing are just some of the tasks that come along with it.

    I hope that I have helped you

  9. #9

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    Watch out .. You can seriously waste alot of money on things you don't need eg. Mixing desk , software

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by itchie View Post
    Watch out .. You can seriously waste alot of money on things you don't need eg. Mixing desk , software
    This is very very true. Buy the gear that suits the application. Extra cables and an extra mic are good to have but you dont have to get Logic or Pro Tools. You dont have to get an apogee interface either unless you are building a studio..

    My current setup is:

    Audix Fusion Mic Pack (2-F15's. 3-f10's.1-f12.)
    Audix I5
    ElectroVoice PL84
    Digital Reference Mic
    Homemade Subkick
    I have all of the stands and cables that I need for all of this as well.
    I have a PV6 that I can use if I need a submix
    Focusrite Saffire Pro 40
    Macbook Pro
    Reaper for my DAW
    I dont have and outboard processing yet so I do all of my mastering using saftware packs that came with my DAW and Interface
    Then I use my M-Audio CX8's for Monitors.
    -Steven

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by itchie View Post
    Watch out .. You can seriously waste alot of money on things you don't need eg. Mixing desk , software

    very true, it is incredibly important to have a full understanding of every think you intend to do. You may also get to little, though. While i'm no victim of GAS, getting the bare minimum can be detrimental sometimes. Eventually you will not want, but NEED more inputs, cables, ect.. most of that you can just grab additionaly but with big ticket items it is a different issue. If you plan on having 5-7 close mics within the next 2 years just bite the bullet and get the step up. you will thank yourself in the long run. like the person i quoted said, pay to play software is not a neccessity, but lets be honest, you wont be tinkering around in audacity a year or even six months into your recording adventures. but to wrap it up, "to each, his own." <---no truer phrase than that, my friend.

  12. #12

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    Also depends on how serious you are about it and what your intentions are and what kind of budget you have.

    Recording gear isn't something you want to be cheap about, but also you want the best you can afford.

    If you want something that records audio/video for youtube vids for a decent price look into the Zoom Q3HD, it's around $300 new, less used if you can find one locally or on ebay. With a little EQ you can get some decent results.

    but if you want all the gadgets, do your homework and work with the budget you have even if it will take time for you to piece things together little by little.
    Mapex Saturn Red Sparkle 10, 12, 14, 22
    Mapex Black Panther Steel Snare 14 x 6,

    Mapex Armory Photon Blue 10, 12, 14, 16, 22
    Tomahawk 14x5.5 Snare

    Meinl 20" Dark Raw Bell Ride, 20" Traditional Extra Thin Hand Hammered Crash, 18" Sand Thin Crash, 14" Byzance Dark Hats

    Samsun 22" Design series Ride, 13" Design Series Hats, 16" FX Loop Effects Crash + 12" Raw Earth Splash (stacker)

    Tama Speed Cobra (single pedal), Tama Iron Cobra (double pedal)

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zeta View Post
    Focusrite Saffire Pro 40
    Macbook Pro
    Reaper for my DAW
    You and I have a similar setup - Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and a Mac. Talk to me about Reaper for Mac. How does it compare to something like GarageBand? I've been using GB because it's pretty intuitive and easy, but I'd be willing to check into Reaper if I thought it would be a better tool to use, and you obviously use it over GB, so there must be a reason. (With that in mind, I keep saying I'm going to upgrade my OS, but I haven't done it yet.)
    Your = possessive - your stuff, your dog, your car, etc
    You're = you are - a contraction.

    Learn it. Love it.

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by trickg View Post
    You and I have a similar setup - Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and a Mac. Talk to me about Reaper for Mac. How does it compare to something like GarageBand? I've been using GB because it's pretty intuitive and easy, but I'd be willing to check into Reaper if I thought it would be a better tool to use, and you obviously use it over GB, so there must be a reason. (With that in mind, I keep saying I'm going to upgrade my OS, but I haven't done it yet.)
    Download the free 30 day trial of reaper youll love it.

    they offer 2 different types of licenses to be budget friendly.

    The user interface is pretty easy to transfer from GB to reaper but it has a lot more bells and whistles and allows CD quality to be recorded.
    -Steven

  15. #15

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    I appreciate that - thanks! I've got some time off coming up over the Christmas holiday - I'll mess around with it some then.
    Your = possessive - your stuff, your dog, your car, etc
    You're = you are - a contraction.

    Learn it. Love it.

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by MR. G View Post
    may I suggest switching to the trombone.....or maybe the tuba ! Seriously though, you do have your work cut out for you. The skys the limit. Even when you think you have it all, there will always be just one more thing......just one more thing. Much the same way we shop for cymbals or tune a drum head. A tweak here and a tweak there. Everyone goes through it in every facet of life....not just drumming. It's the little voice in your head..... relentless and unforgiving. We are at its mercy unless you take control and the only way to do that is LET IT GO. Start fresh tomorrow.
    I allready play the trombone ( just got back from a concert )
    and thanks for all of the input guys!!

  17. #17

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    most of the new interfaces come with a budget version of a DAW (pro tools LE, Live lite etc)

    its cheeper to upgrade that software in most cases

    and please dont use warez software if you plan to make money

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