Recording a >LOUD< Metal band

[Something_Original]

Hello all,
I recently started recording my friend's band while they practice. They play in a concrete basement with bad acoustics, at very high volumes. The basement measures 24' x 60' and they play in the back corner. I am wondering what needs to be done to get cleaner mixes. As they are practicing (for shows and what not) I cant very well tell them to "Turn it down" nor can I track each individual instrument seperately(until they're ready to). They play as an instrumental trio with guitar, bass and drums. Should I use room micing techniques, or keep things close?
I'm using a 57, a 58, MXLV69, and an AT P10991.
So with two condensers and two dynamics what might you guys do?

Any suggestions or insights would be appreciated.

[newholland]

Hello all,
I recently started recording my friend's band while they practice. They play in a concrete basement with bad acoustics, at very high volumes. The basement measures 24' x 60' and they play in the back corner. I am wondering what needs to be done to get cleaner mixes. As they are practicing (for shows and what not) I cant very well tell them to "Turn it down" nor can I track each individual instrument seperately(until they're ready to). They play as an instrumental trio with guitar, bass and drums. Should I use room micing techniques, or keep things close?
I'm using a 57, a 58, MXLV69, and an AT P10991.
So with two condensers and two dynamics what might you guys do?

Any suggestions or insights would be appreciated.

close mic stuff with the dynamics, throw rugs in front of their amps, use high passes on drum overhead, selectively eq everything, and just mix harder.

if they're used to playing loud, they're gonna play loud. let 'em rip, and also let 'em know there's only so much you can do with that situation.. but who knows, mebbe they don't care? use what y' got.

personally-- i'd probably put the 57 on guitar, the 58 on bass, the sdc on overhead duty, and see if you can find a happy place with the marshall near the kick. but i think you might overload it if they're loud and it's close. if that's the case-- mebbe put the less prone to overload, and more prone to pick up bass- condensors 3-4 feet out from the kit for the whole instrument around chest height and use the other condensor as a room mic on the floor to fill out bass frequencies. that one might take some serious experimentation insofar as placement.. you're gonna have a bit of a time with some sorta stereo image anyhow.. so may's well go for a mix that represents everything best as you can frequency wise.

[farview]

If you have more than 4 inputs, you could take the bass direct, 57 on the guitar, 58 in the kick, and the two condensers as overheads or in a Glyn Johns config.

[decocco]

Get them out of the corner. Is there any reason why they don't play farther into the room? Get them into the best sounding spot in the room. Your ears will tell you where this spot is.

Keep amps a few feet away from walls. If they are too close to the wall, they will couple with it and you'll have out of control low frequencies.

Loud is good, but make sure they are balanced. You should be able to hear guitars bass and drums clearly without anyone being drowned out. Someone might have to turn down, someone might have to turn up. Make sure amps aren't overtaking the drummer.

After you do all that stuff, record them. In your situation I would go for mono drums via a single front of kit mic (emphasize the bass drum with this mic) and an OH mic positioned to get as much snare as possible.

You can use couches and cushions for gobos/baffling.

[Bro Shark]

Here's a weird idea.. if you're recording them playing live, maybe pack the basement with a bunch of their friends one time. The body mass will absorb a lot of reflections, and the band will get stoked... show/party atmosphere.

[decocco]

I like tarblackvomit's idea. This will work if you can keep people from bumping into mics and tripping on cables and stuff.

I would use the mics like this:

57 on guitar amp

58 on bass amp

MXL V69 on front of kit/kick drum

AT P10991 on overhead pointing at snare (like Glyn Johns style but without the side overhead)

You gotta be careful with that Audio Technica mic, it does not handle high SPL well and it might distort. If it totally blows for loud-ass metal, try to get another 57, or something a little more robust to use as an overhead/snare mic.

Also, if you go with a setup like I've suggested, I would avoid hi-pass filtering if possible. The drum overhead will also be picking up snare and toms, and you want them to sound manly and metal.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

more satan.

[Something_Original]

more satan.

Funny you should mention him, they play black metal, and so it happens, they are singing about satan.

I thank you all for your input and suggestions. I always designate the '57 for guitar, and the '58 on bass. I'm going see how the AT works as an overhead(drums). And just try to find the MXL's sweet-spot out front.

Thanks again.

[Snarl 12/8]

WWSD?

Satan really should create a mag/messageboard just like TapeOp only devoted solely to creative ways of recording metal. It would only endear him more to his disciples, I'm sure.

[farview]

Unfortunately, Satan is just a stage persona. The guy's real name is Eugene something and he lives outside of Phoenix. That explains the whole 'hot as hell' thing and his reddish complexion.

[lionaudio]

If they're playing real black metal then record it with one or two mics and yeah... Move them out of the corner. Satan hates 100Hz buildup

[permanent hearing damage]

i thnk farview's idea is best so far with taking a di on the bass. you really wanna close mic as much as the drumkit as possible in this situation. even if the player is awesome, the material is gonna be difficult to translate with distance micing.

[Ron's Brother]

If you have more then four inputs make sure you Direct the guitar and direct the bass. you may toss them out later, but record it.

use the 57 guitar amp,
58 on bass amp,
AT P10991 on overhead pointing at snare
MXL infront of the bass drum, about a 1.5 feet off the ground, 4-5 inches away but turn it almost 90 degrees off access and point it up at the toms.

[Brett Siler]

If they're playing real black metal then record it with one or two mics and yeah... Move them out of the corner. Satan hates 100Hz buildup

Yeah use the two condesors for room mics and use the 58 for vocals and play them through an amp or PA. Maybe kick the kick too.

Ulver!

[greatmagnet]

Triple that on getting them out into the middle of the room...24 x 60' is really pretty ample! And I suppose it goes without saying that their amps should also be projecting towards the long dimension of the room.

Am I wrong in thinking that nobody has mentioned ceiling height in this thread yet? And assumedly a flat ceiling? At least as important as the other dimensions.

The getting bodies in there is a good one if they can't afford any kind of room treatment. It also comes to mind that just getting a bunch of random-but-solid junk along the walls would really help...bookshelves with stuff on them is great, stuff like that. Bongy hollow metal things like file cabinets not so great.

These are just acoustic ideas as the whole close-mic'ing thing has been covered.