The Bare Minimum

[Jive]

Hey guys,
I'm guessing this was already a post, i promise I searched, but I couldn't find anything. So Here's the deal. I'm wondering about your suggestions for the bare minimum to get a decent recording. I really like writing songs, but I don't have a whole lot of patience for recording. Don't get me wrong, I have a blast laying my songs down on my little 4 track. But i'm not a knob twiddler, and I'm not the type to spend hours trying out different mic positions. But I want my recordings to sound good and I'm wondering about your suggestions for some entry lever yet decent gear.

Here's my current gear accumulation:

Tascam 4 track Cassette
Sm57 (borrowed)
RadioShack Mic (borrowed)
2 Boom Stands (I own 1 of these)


I'm thinking a compressor might add alot, but what do i know? Any suggestions?

[@?,*???&?]

You've got one too many mics.

[RefD]

buy your own mic and stand, stop borrowing...cos eventually the person who owns it will want it back.

really, insofaras gear, that's all you need for 4-tracking.

you're capturing musical information, not (usually) making a sonic masterpiece.

i honestly think a compressor would be overkill.

[Snarl 12/8]

What style of music?
What instrumentation?
What level of sonic excellence are you shooting for?

[Jive]

It's all just acoustic stuff really. Guitar, piano sometimes, accordion, harmonica, light percussion, and vocals; I have a Juno-6 a put on there sometimes. As far as sonic excellence, I think excellent is a lofty goal that I'm not even really after. I'm shooting for some combination of creek drank the cradle, for emma forever ago, and Seven Swans. I guess I'm just wondering if there's some essential piece of something that will help add legitimacy to these recordings.

[RoyMatthews]

I guess I'm just wondering if there's some essential piece of something that will help add legitimacy to these recordings.

A barcode.
Sorry. A stupid forum joke that I couldn't resist.
I'd recommend focusing on the songs. A good song is the most important thing in any recording. And keep recording and trying new things. You'll develop a style that'll sound best to you.
Get someone else to record your stuff. If need be find someone who's just starting out. They may not know a lot but they'll know more than you (maybe) and have a better setup.
If recording isn't your primary passion then don't worry about it. Focus on your music and let someone else concentrate on the sound. Let them spend the money on gear.
I'm too tired to be more succinct. I need to get to bed (couch actually)

[darjama]

what are you mixing down onto? If it's a computer, make sure you have a good soundcard.

It's been a while since I've used a 4-track, so I don't remember what the mic pres on those sound like. Getting something cheap like an m-audio dmp3 might be a step up. But it does kinda kill some of the simplicity of using a 4-track. It would give you more clean gain, a DI for your synth, and the possibility of using a condenser if you wanted.

[kayagum]

for emma forever ago

Read and be inspired: http://www.mp3.com/features/stories/108 ... artfeature

[vvv]

If your desire is to upgrade, cheaply, and you wanna get into the fun of using things like compressors, etc., seems to me a cheap all-in-on DAW, used, might be the ticket.

I started on (still have) a Boss BR8 (records to ZIP, can export to .wav with ease) that really sounded pretty decent, lotsa digi-FX; I have seen 'em used for US$150. (You can't have mine!)

Korg, Tascam, Zoom, etc. all make small recorders going to flash cards, some to CD, that can be had very cheaply, especially used.

It's a thought ...

[chris harris]

The bare minimum that I needed to start getting decent quality recordings was about 5 years of experience recording every day. The equipment was honestly not important. At this point (15 years later) I could easily make a GREAT recording using the gear that you have.

YMMV.

[mjau]

I agree with the experience suggestion. Record any and everything with what you have. I probably learned some of my most valuable lessons about recording while tracking bird songs from my apartment with my only mic's - a stereo pair of c1000's. And it was great fun listening back, too.

[Nick Sevilla]

Get your own mics.

Get maybe one Shure SM57, and one condenser, like an AT 2020 or similar.

Then work on the songs.

Forget compression for now.

Cheers

[Bill @ Irie Lab]

If you have a computer [laptop] you can expand you options (send files by email to collaborators, submit to CD-Baby, etc.) and vastly improve your sonics and fidelity by getting a free DAW (for PC kristal is pretty cool and has VST capability for compressors, Fx, synths) and a good quality soundcard [USB recording interface (Behrinnnnger, alesissss)].

http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php.

Better sound, virtual racks, many more tracks, and the convenience of digital files.

My two cents, available at 0.02 discount - today only.

[drumsound]

A simple stand alone multitrack or a computer interface and a mic upgrade is whay I suggest. And just track track track!

[dsw]

If you don't want to overdub you could get a Zoom H2.
Self contained, and easy to get sound onto the computer after you're done.

Last night I was tracking at Big Red Studio and Billy played me a track done by a girl singer songwriter where they used a Zoom H2. She was sitting at the producers desk in the control room and they just turned it on and there was a great sounding track.
Billy was so shocked at the sound that he dragged out his Klaus Heyne modified U87's to see what the difference would be and while it was indeed somewhat better, it wasn't WAY WAY WAY better.....

Point of story is that you can get really great results with entry level gear.