Best way to record a room?

[baddarryl]

Hi all We play original heavy music and as a band come up with ideas together through jamming.

My idea is to just record every practice or maybe just the jam sessions . I am not worries about mixing, tracking or anything just to document what's happening. I have been looking at things like the zoom handy recorders. My only concern is can the input handle being in a tight room with a hard hitting Metal band? If not what is will fit?

Thank you.

 

[bwildt]

I have a Tascam DR-05 that I record our rehearsals with. This model has been out for a number of years, so newer products may have more bells and whistles.

The DR-05 has a variable input volume and a built-in limiter you can turn on to keep from driving the recording too hard. After a short set-up period to get the volume and limiter set, I have not had to mess with the settings since.

My band is pretty good at self-mixing instrument volume levels. We get pretty good recordings. I put the audio files into a DAW (Reaper) for a little eq and compression tweaking. The results are worthy of being used as demos for venues that want to hear what we sound like. The result is not multi-track/studio mix quality, but it gives a very good example of what we sound like live.

 

[rudy4444]

I'd second the DR-05. I've been using one for a few years and you could easily set the input level to whatever level your band is playing at.

 

[baddarryl]

Ok you can shoot me know. I just realized I have a TASCAM DP-03SD that can likely do the job. Anyone using one?

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Is the room a small practice space where all the speakers are pointed in toward the center? For even sound capture, you should place an omnidirectional mic in the center about halfway between the floor and ceiling. If your portable recorder has an omni mic setting, use that and attach it to a mic stand to elevate into the optimum position. Center position will help balance out the instruments. If it's important to capture sound as if it's coming from a stage, line the PA and instrument outputs up on one side of the room and use a cardioid mic on the other side to capture sound from the "audience" perspective. None of this will be "optimum" recording quality but it will be good enough to capture ideas for practice.

 

[LBS-bass]

I also use the Tascam DR-05. Works fine for that kind of thing and it's easy to pull data off of it for transfer.

 

[DirkP]

The xy mics of the later Zoom recorders can handle lots of dbs.
As an alternative and if you already own a decent smartphone, you could think about mics like the Shure MV88.
I don't think that the volume is much of a problem. It is if you put a mic a few mm away from a full driven guitar amp speaker, but most likely not, if you record feets away from the speakers and drums.
I mean, if there are still members of your band without total hearing loss after a few rehearsals, the mics should work.

 

[baddarryl]

Is the room a small practice space where all the speakers are pointed in toward the center? For even sound capture, you should place an omnidirectional mic in the center about halfway between the floor and ceiling. If your portable recorder has an omni mic setting, use that and attach it to a mic stand to elevate into the optimum position. Center position will help balance out the instruments. If it's important to capture sound as if it's coming from a stage, line the PA and instrument outputs up on one side of the room and use a cardioid mic on the other side to capture sound from the "audience" perspective. None of this will be "optimum" recording quality but it will be good enough to capture ideas for practice.

That is exactly our setup. Can you recommend a mic? I have an SM57 and SM58 but am not opposed to getting something for the purpose. Not sure if my recorder has an Omni setting or not. Thank you.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi all We play original heavy music and as a band come up with ideas together through jamming.

My idea is to just record every practice or maybe just the jam sessions . I am not worries about mixing, tracking or anything just to document what's happening. I have been looking at things like the zoom handy recorders. My only concern is can the input handle being in a tight room with a hard hitting Metal band? If not what is will fit?

Thank you.

I use my phone. It comes out more than good enough for us.





Just pick a spot. If it comes out undesirable, put it somewhere else next time.

 

[Iristone]

I thought you were going to capture the ambience sound for a bass track. I was going to suggest an STC ball-and-biscuit through an SSL talkback compressor.

For your purpose, a pair of condenser microphones would likely work better than Shure dynamics. Most portable recorders would include a pair of these, so just check for one with a high maximum SPL would be fine. If you'd like to add some close mics in the future, Zoom Livetraks would be a great choice (it's basically a mixing console with built-in recorder and stereo microphone).

 

[DirtDog]

Another vote for the Zoom two mic units. I’ve used this in tight rooms with a mound band and got decent results. You’ll need to experiment with mic placement to get a balanced mix.

I’ve used Tascam DR 05 as well but after a while the wheel/dial interface on the front stopped working.

Either way, these portable units are about the easiest and least expensive way to get decent results.

 

[pingvuiini]

I use an olde Olympus LS-11 on a mike stand set up near the center of the room. It's been excellent to document rehearsals so I can practice original material or changes to covers, etc. The LS-11 is long discontinued but similar units like the aforementioned Tascam, Zoom or Sony should do the trick quick and easy at all budget levels.

 

[Fight4Bottom]

The mic is almost unimportant. Get a recorder that does 32-bit float. If you have that, you don’t have to worry about setting levels because it won’t clip.

 

[Schmo_bass]

Suggest a multi track recorder. Spendy, but worth it. I use a Tascam Model 16 for nearly exactly your situation. Drums are mic’d (SM57’s and a kick mic), guitar cabs also mic’s, but bass and keys are DI, and the unit acts as mixer for vocals with outs to powered PA speakers. I mix down all the tracks later either in the unit (fast and easy) or in a DAW (for keeper takes). Either way it sounds really good. Can also overdub vocals, solos etc.

 

[mambo4]

zoom H2 or whatever model is current.
about the size of a bar of soap, two AA batteries
record mp3 to an sd card, drop in your laptop and slice up in audacity for sharing
at last that's how I rolled 10 years ago

 

[vvvmmm]

My Zoom H2 has a built-in limiter.

The guitars (acoustic and electric) here were recorded with it, the songs built on top.

 

[vickerekes]

Olympus LS14 works well, handles up to 130db and has a special mike just for bass frequencies.
There are newer models now...

 

[BAG]

If you ever are in the market for a new PA mixer, get yourself a Soundcraft Ui24 or other similar digital mixer that does multitrack recording to a USB stick. The results can be quite outstanding.

One of the best features is that the individual tracks are recorded post gain only so they are completely dry tracks with no FX on the recordings and it will still record a track that is muted. What this meant for us is that we still jam the way we always have, with nothing but vocals, acoustic guitar and violin through the PA. The guitarist uses a small amp for his electric with a DI out, as do I with my bass, and we mic the drums. I have those all muted in the PA but have the gains set as I would for a full mix, so they all still record despite not being in the PA mix. After rehearsal I import the individual tracks into Reaper and mix them with FX, EQ etc.

They are the best rehearsal recordings I have ever experienced.

 

[MDBass]

Hi all We play original heavy music and as a band come up with ideas together through jamming.

My idea is to just record every practice or maybe just the jam sessions . I am not worries about mixing, tracking or anything just to document what's happening. I have been looking at things like the zoom handy recorders. My only concern is can the input handle being in a tight room with a hard hitting Metal band? If not what is will fit?

Thank you.

The Tascam will certainly work, but it’s really overkill for your purposes.

You can easily use your iPhone or Android to record your rehearsals, their built in mics also have auto-limiting to avoid clipping as well.

Certainly no need to buy another standalone recorder, let alone extra microphones, if you’re essentially just looking to document your writing sessions.​

 

[GreyBeard]

I have a Zoom H6, it is the one with the different mic capsules and can double as a digital interface. I can handle what you are wanting to do.