Get a digital mixer, behringer xr18 or 16 if you are planing something serious. Xr12 if you are in a buget and dont want complicated monitoring. Connect everything on it. Plug it into laptop and get studio quality direct tracks.
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Record the whole band...HOW ?
- Thread starter bassbrother666
- Start date
- Jun 3, 2009
- 3,330
- 399
- Disclosures
- Bassgearu, Music Industry Consulting and Sales. Tech 21, NBE Corp, Sonosphere.
Zoom R16 or whatever they are up to now (R24?). Inexpensive portable digital recording console. and, you can output to a PA so you hear everything. I use it all the time to record my cover band's demos of new songs for the website. Its easy to use, and you can do some effects and actually mix down on it as well. it also ports over to standard recording software well, and it also interfaces ad a DAW with most software packages too.
Does it need to be all at the same time? Like, it is a live setting? An impromptu jam thing you want to preserve or make a demo out of?
As you can see from the responses, when recording live things can go from zero to big production/expensive/complex/problematic REAL quick. If it's just for reference, use the voice recorder on your smartphone and be done with it. But if you want a little more quality, record tracks individually if you can. You don't need the isolation nor nearly the amount of outboard gear to do it. You've already eliminated a huge factor by not having drums.
If making separate tracks on a budget, you just need an interface with one or two XLR inputs w/ 48v and headphone/monitoring capabilties, a dynamic mic or two, at least one condenser, and headphones. Anything more is overkill, unless you know what you are doing. But if that were the case we wouldn't be here having this discussion.
I recommend looking into Roland's Octa-Capture. It sends all 8 inputs as separate tracks over USB to your DAW computer software (GarageBand, Logic, Cubase, ProTools, whatever you like).
I just use a Zoom H1.... $99.99 anywhere you look:
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Find the right spot in the room, the correct level and you are good to go. I record myself, the band's rehearsals, gigs... literally everything. Everyone in in the band is thrilled with it. It helps us figure out songs, how we sound, what we are doing wrong... at the risk of repeating myself... literally everything.
Once you get used to it you can always find the right spot, and the included software lets you adjust the sound as needed. Great tool... it's 90% of what you need for a quality recording.... for anything better you would have to pay literally thousands of dollars.
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Find the right spot in the room, the correct level and you are good to go. I record myself, the band's rehearsals, gigs... literally everything. Everyone in in the band is thrilled with it. It helps us figure out songs, how we sound, what we are doing wrong... at the risk of repeating myself... literally everything.
Once you get used to it you can always find the right spot, and the included software lets you adjust the sound as needed. Great tool... it's 90% of what you need for a quality recording.... for anything better you would have to pay literally thousands of dollars.
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A digital recorder that records one or more tracks onto an HDSC card is a simple way to move files into a DAW on a PC. The H1 someone mentioned has two channels for stereo signal. The Zoom H4 has four channels. The Zoom H6 and so forth. The options are endless as long as your budget holds out (including mics, stands, etc. etc. etc.)!
