Re: Recording an Album

[Daniel Thomas <danielthomas4@mac.com>]

I want to to get the best possible sounds I can record out of my instrument and I'm interested what worked best for you from your past experiences or whatever  your opinions are on the subject.

IMO--

Making a great recording is not contingent on the room. Or the soundproofing isolation.  Its not about the mic and its preamp.  These factors do matter greatly but what really makes the difference between demo and finished product is the engineering and production acumen at the helm.  Some of my favorite recordings leave much to be desired in terms of fidelity but still, they are great works of art.    

Don't get me wrong.  I have spent most of my life savings on mics and pres (and an obscene collection of guitars) 

But, If one doesn't know how use the gear to greatest effect and is not prepared for the life-long learning curve,  the expense can be for naught-- I know many would-be project studio guys who spent the money on the gear but could not stomach the learning curve.  They are no closer to realizing their artistic vision for all the $s that they spent ramping their home studios.

   

Don't get me wrong,  I am advocate the ceaseless spread of home-based project studios far and wide.  Still I recommend  newbies first learn the basics in a professional studio context--especially if the primary passion is around musical performance and not around computers.  (Nothing kills the creative moment like mining a technical forum for clues-- no offense intended to the many LoopersDelight posters who have given me more than my fair share of clues.) 

If you already understand routing on a conventional desk, dynamics and time based dsp processing, mutli-track recording workflow, automation sequencing, etc... then please save your studio money and by yourself of pair of good mics,  a stereo pre and a computer interface.  It will pay for itself in the first few days of recording.  Or, if you are the kind of mega nerd who is deeply passionate about computing and digital audio workstations... well go for it.  If so,   The DPA 4099 clipon is hard to beat for stringed instruments.  Couple it with a large diaphragm mic like the AT 4047 or AT4060 (inexpensive but great sounding) and you have a good front end for double bass tracking.  Of course, that only scratches the surfaces with respect to investments that you will make to bring the studio to fruition.   

Cheers

Daniel

On Feb 25, 2011, at 1:00 PM, Todd Matthews wrote:

Dear Prolific Looping Album Maker:

So I've been sketching out songs for my first all double bass album and I'm wondering how I should go about the tracking. My bedroom is perfect to stay focused and sketch out the songs but sound wise it's shit. Either way it's going to take me some time to save up enough dough but do you guys think the money would be better spent:

1. Buying a nice microphone. Then contacting churches, auditoriums, etc. to try to find nice big rooms to record in and do the tracking myself.
Pros: Can record at your own leisure
Cons: Noise/distractions, having to ask to someone borrow their space(hopefully for free or trade), locked into sound of the 1 nice mic, having to play and engineer at the same time


2. Book studio time.
Pros: Quiet, high quality gear, use of different channel strips/mics for different colors, can focus on just playing instrument
Cons: Limited amount of time. clock is ticking

I want to to get the best possible sounds I can record out of my instrument and I'm interested what worked best for you from your past experiences or whatever  your opinions are on the subject.


Thank you in advance for any comments,advice, or experience you can share,
-Todd Matthews

PS - Yes, I do realize there are also the mixing and mastering stages but I will already have that taken care of by the time I get to that stage.