In our attempts in recording...

[gsmackfan00]

Hello,
I'm new one here so be easy on me. My band is presently recording in my friends basement with CakeWalk 2.0. Despite reading the manuals like it's a bible or somin, we can never get our sound to come out like we want it to sound. Usually the guitar dominates, the drums are distant, and most importantly for me, the bass suffers. Does any one know any "secrets" or "tricks" to these programs. By the way, I have a old Fender Preamp i've been pluggin into for the sound and tone i want. If any one has feedback about bass recording or just recording in conditions in general, it would be MUCH MUCH appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

[Kevin Gordon]

How do you mic everything? One two, or three mics? There also might be the problem that the software is not very good.

 

[DougP]

we'll need more info on how you are recording to be able to better diagnose the situation.

as BassZen said, how are you mic'ing everything?
also, how are you getting the signals into the computer? i.e., are you using a good recording sound card or a SoundBlaster?

once you have the hardware in place to get good signals into the computer software, you should be able to manipulate it enough to get a decent recording.

 

[Kael]

You should post a clip of what you've recorded. It would be hard to say what might be causing issues without hearing your mix. Make sure you have given everything its own frequency range. If you have low EQ'd guitars (read "crunchy" distortion type stuff) this will cover up your low end on bass. Everything in the same frequency range results in mud. Then again maybe you already have this under control. Need to hear the mix.

 

[chadrock]

yah dude, I am in a similar situation where my band is using the same program...... in a basement!! For a good drum sound, I would suggest 4 mics minimum (depending on the size of the set of course). The guitars dominate, probably because you play with someone like I do, you know, the "I can't hear myself" guy, the "Ihave to be louder than everyone else" guy, the "who needs to hear the drums, anyway?" guy. Only for us, my bass comes across way too loud and muddy and on my amp, the low is set at 1. So we just turn it down in the mix, but a lot of fun stuff gets lost

 

[Joe P]

We need more info, Dude. As I hope you've seen already, there are lots of knowledgeable people here who are willing and able to help you succeed, but OF COURSE at very minimum you'd have to be willing to somewhat clearly and completely tell us some specifics, right? There are several of us here who could give you step-by-step instructions, but we'd (of course) at least need a list of all the equipment you have available.

Plenty of posts of mine could be found that took over an hour to compose - or research and compose. Submit specifics, and your time won't be wasted. I'll watch for your reply - we can tell you just what to do to make a killer recording.

Joe