Rehearsal Recording: How to?

[jeroenmaesen]

Hello,

As a band we make our own stuff. It is very much fun, but also hard. A lot of stuff happens spontaneous and recording is key to remembering (and avoiding discussion). Also during these times, online collaboration has become very important for us.

• How do you do this?
• What software do you use?
• What is the hardware setup?
• What is the budget for this?

For my band:

• 3 piece band (guitar, bass, drum, vocals)
• Software: Ohm Studio (&cakewalk by bandlab) (free licence)
• hardware interface: Tascam us 1800 (100€ used)
• hardware microphones: 2 behringer overheads, 1DAP kick mic, Shure sm57/58, 1 behringer DI. XLR cables (200€)

total cost:
- 300€ (~$)

Regarding the interface: this is a 16 channel interface that I have found used. It is a key piece for multi track recording. This way, when we record, one can at home isolate or mute certain tracks. this gives the possibility to listen better to the others or yourself. there are other option, like a ZOOM. but they are very expensive.

Regarding the software: Ohm Studio is really great. It is a very light weight DAW-->in look and feel. But it has every option any other DAW has, but made easy. (like VST, Midi Support, Asio,..) The biggest advantage of it is: the multi track recording is shared. really shared. The recorded session is uploaded in a cloud and directly available in the Ohm Studio of whom ever it is shared with. And multi user editable. Great stuff. We found it to overcome the quarantine periods. now all bandmembers can create a new track at home and play over the rehearsal recording. AND use the multi tracks to listen. (bandlab does almost the same, only it has an online view that is not as stable) Using a DAW takes time to learn. But the reward is great!

Regarding the mic's: yeah. micro's.. they are great to record, because we have a clear sound, multi track etc. but... they are a hassle to set up. micing the sessions are something we not always do, sometimes a smartphone recording shared in whatsapp is all we need. anyhow the Behringer overheads are okish, 1 of them has a silent humm to it. The DAP kick mic is also ok, ambient noises are also recorded pretty loudly and the punch could be better. the rest is fine. Clearly we went for low budget. They could be better if we wanted to record a Demo or such. But they do the job. We want a rehearsal space exclusively for ourselves, so we can leave the mic and amps in place.

Regarding the total cost:

Overall findings:

• Record yourself! It is one of the many elements to grow as a mucisian/band.
• I am really pleased with Ohm Studio. It is free and very good. And I have tried a lot of DAW's over the years..
• Use multi track recording when ever you can.
• Don't overkill the effort you put in recording. Keep it light weight. You'll want to focus on the instruments.

I'm looking forward to your input!

Jeroen

 

[Tosh]

I've gone in several directions over the years. For just recording band practice (when were all in the same room) I setup a Blue Yeti USB mic in the center of the room (not quite in the center - a little more distant from the drums and closer to the PA so the vocals were always up front in the mix), set it to omnidirectional mode, and recorded into Sound Forge on my computer. The mic cost me $60, the stand was $60, and the software was about $150.

In an instance where my band was actually recording an album, we used a 24 tracks Mackie hard disk recorder, a Mackie mixer, a dozen microphones + stands + cables, a snake, gobos, headphone amps, EQ's, compressors, reverbs, backup hard disks, 2 computers running Logic, and all the fiddly bits that you need to put it together.
I forget the cost but my share was over $5K (my choice to buy the gear, and it has been used for many other projects before and after).

Today I'm part of a duo (no gigs this year), and we use Jamkazam for remote practice. We also individualy record our parts and share them. Sometimes I put a song together in Logic, sometimes we just use Jamkazam itself to do the recording. At this point it's been free, but it will cost money starting in 2021 (not a lot, just another internet service to subscribe to).

biggest bang-for-the-buck is the single microphone method, if you are just trying to capture a rehearsal. Assuming you HAVE a rehearsal....

 

[jeroenmaesen]

and we use Jamkazam for remote practice

Cool! I didn't know about jamkazam, and will check it out. It seems to look like sofasessions. That I have tried but it was a very poor audio quality. And the look and feel to it was horrible.

For this kind of collaboration to work like it should, we will have to wait for the 5G network to be fully rolled out I guess.

Check this out:

 

[jj.833]

I can't give you any advice on distant practising. I'm using Cubase for that, but any software and any interface will do, it's important that every member uses the same software (which can save lots of time and hassle). The only method I know is recording one after the other, starting with drums. It's good for polishing details, but very obtrusive for concept work, IMO.

As for rehearsals, there are generally two methods:
1. You can setup mics and record to an interface. In my experience, it doesn't really make sense until you use mics of at least, say, Shure SM58 quality. It's a good method to learn basics of sound engineering, which I deem important for everyone nowadays, especially with acoustic drums. The disadvantage is that you spend a lot of time with technical things, which consumes the time which would be better spent on developing a really good song. Another disadvantage is that the clear sound seduces people to concentrate on details, which can lead (and IMO usually leads to) to omit what is important.

2. With time, I came to like the other method: simply record the rehearsal to a mobile phone. You can very simply keep a database of records, that can be very simply shared with your bandmates. You don't lose time on details, rather you concentrate on the core of the song. If you can't hear your super cool dead notes in your bass line, it probably means that these are not as important to the song as you would primarily think, or it means that the other players need to play less - whole band needs to adjust the arrangement. That leads to discussion and real testing of your overall interplay, rather than tweaking the knobs in solitude at home 2am.

If you find the phone sound too ugly, you can use better recording device, say Tascam recorder, but then you have to import the records to your PC, send them to bandmates ... takes time. I found out that the best way for me is to walk around the rehearsal room with band playing and my ear looking for sweet sound spot. When I find it, I put my phone there, and that's that.

 

[jeroenmaesen]

Thanks JJ.833.

We have also found it very time consuming to record everything multitrack, exporting, cutting out the garbage, etc.. We have stopped doing this and are now only recording with purpose. in general, when the foundations of a song are built and we can start fine-tuning.

Just the same as you, we also use our mobile to record the pieces we like and don't want to forget.

For the detailed work, to keep it as little effort as possible, the usage of a collaborative DAW like Ohm Studio makes things easy for me. (afterall I am the soundtech in the band) After recording, the multi track is available immediately for everyone, without any editing.
Also at rehearsal, we have an understanding that we only keep 1 take of a song per rehearsal.

But as you say:

you spend a lot of time with technical things, which consumes the time which would be better spent on developing a really good song.

It was a learning curve of about 1.5years before we understood this.

 

[DirtDog]

Was doing this when we could still gather pre-Covid. My "mobile" rig consists of a Presonus 16R, a bunch of mics, a 6 channel headphone amp, and a MacBookPro running Presonus Capture. Up to 16 channels recorded simultaneously. Full drum kits, two electric guitars, one bass, one pedal steel guitar, three vocals.

In post, I'd bring the multitrack wav files (recorded in Capture) into Logic for further tweaks, mixing, "mastering" (or what passes for mastering in my limited skill set) and mixdown. Then I would share back with the boys on SoundCloud.

The idea was to use one evening to get to one really good take of one tune. That meant playing one song over and over until we reached that goal. The boys were somewhat on board with that approach but in reality, we jumped around playing many tunes in an evening, so not very structured in terms of approach. That said, I'd usually get one take of one song that would be worthy of special attention in post, the rest I'd just do a quick and dirty mixdown for those tunes that weren't necessarily great takes. So, I'd generate one better mix for one tune and a half dozen mix downs on some lesser tunes.

Now, we only did that a handful of times since Covid.

In my other band, we planned to the same with the same gear (hence my "mobile" rig). Tried to do things remotely, initially in "real time", but that's been slow going. Plus now we're recording video. THAT'S a whole other set of challenges! In this band, we are recording new originals so we're working through arrangements and instrumentations on top of capturing high quality audio and video. But it's fun and keeps us busy!

 

[Skybone]

Have you looked at something like the Tascam DR-05 or the Zoom H1n?
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Small, portable recorders, with built in mics. Get a camera tripod, stick it in the middle of the room, press record.

I have a DR-05 for recording band rehearsals, and it's really good. Obviously, not studio quality recordings, but good enough to give you a good impression of how a song sounds, what parts of the song work/don't work, etc.

And the best bit, a fraction of the cost of pro recording gear, and a damn sight less time setting it all up.

 

[Treblefree]

Back in the day, we used to keep a jambox at the bandhouse. We'd put in a cassette and hit record when working on new material, then have to make copies to distribute later. Sound quality was okay depending on where you located the jambox.

Nowdays, I open my mobile phone whenever inspiration hits and record a lick or verse or whatever.

I'm not in a band right now so I can't comment on full band rehearsal ideas, but I like yours with the cloud to share and all. I tend to use Audacity for my own writing/recording. It's free and easy software and I can save a project as an MP3 and still keep changing the project.

 

[jeroenmaesen]

Have you looked at something like the Tascam DR-05 or the Zoom H1n?

Yes we have! The drummer is a big fan of zooms. In a previous band they recorded their gigs like that and it is good quality he says. Not multi track tough. I like to isolate the drum sometimes to focus on the groove. But i am far from an experienced bass player and i can imagine it is not needed for everybody.

Audacity

Yes! My first way of recording and it does not get obsolete! Still use it.

Recording what I play for sure helps me to listen what I play. And hear what works and what doesn't.

It looks like all in all the approaches are the same, record lightweight wit a phone a stereo mic like a zoom to be quick and dirty and take it a step further with a DAW when a song is ready for fine tuning. And be aware of too many takes

Any suggestions on how to get the most out of the recordings? How do you listen to them? For example is it good practice to start cutting/pasting or best left for rehearsal? Sometimes I feelnI dont get the most out of it. Any tips what I can do with them without too much time&effort?
Also, what do you do with the +1000 takes afterwards?

 

[Tosh]

How do you listen to them? For example is it good practice to start cutting/pasting or best left for rehearsal?

cut out the useless dead spaces (tuning, talking, etc.) before spending band time listening to it

Also, what do you do with the +1000 takes afterwards?

delete (I admit to archiving some recordings, if they were of original material that didn't become a finished product, but cover tunes get erased very quickly).

 

[tothemax]

Band Camp's Cakewalk online app is pretty good for sharing tracks and recordings. Join and create your band and you can upload recordings and share with your "band".
During practices I put my Tascam DR-05 in a central location, on a chair or table a little off from the drum kit within range of the vocal monitors. We usually practice about 2.5 hours or so, so the .wav file gets pretty big. Lately we've been using Google drive to share the full practice recording and use band camp for particular cuts (from the practice session).
It's easy and nice to be able to review the practice session the next day. With the band camp online app you can play with the track and make a mix if you want. I find it easier to work offline and upload the mix (or the tracks).

I downloaded Ohm Studio when it first came out, I found it a bit overwhelming and switched over to Cubase. Cakewalk is pretty straightforward and you can't beat free.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Hello,

As a band we make our own stuff. It is very much fun, but also hard. A lot of stuff happens spontaneous and recording is key to remembering (and avoiding discussion). Also during these times, online collaboration has become very important for us.

• How do you do this?
• What software do you use?
• What is the hardware setup?
• What is the budget for this?

For my band:

• 3 piece band (guitar, bass, drum, vocals)
• Software: Ohm Studio (&cakewalk by bandlab) (free licence)
• hardware interface: Tascam us 1800 (100€ used)
• hardware microphones: 2 behringer overheads, 1DAP kick mic, Shure sm57/58, 1 behringer DI. XLR cables (200€)

total cost:
- 300€ (~$)

Regarding the interface: this is a 16 channel interface that I have found used. It is a key piece for multi track recording. This way, when we record, one can at home isolate or mute certain tracks. this gives the possibility to listen better to the others or yourself. there are other option, like a ZOOM. but they are very expensive.

Regarding the software: Ohm Studio is really great. It is a very light weight DAW-->in look and feel. But it has every option any other DAW has, but made easy. (like VST, Midi Support, Asio,..) The biggest advantage of it is: the multi track recording is shared. really shared. The recorded session is uploaded in a cloud and directly available in the Ohm Studio of whom ever it is shared with. And multi user editable. Great stuff. We found it to overcome the quarantine periods. now all bandmembers can create a new track at home and play over the rehearsal recording. AND use the multi tracks to listen. (bandlab does almost the same, only it has an online view that is not as stable) Using a DAW takes time to learn. But the reward is great!

Regarding the mic's: yeah. micro's.. they are great to record, because we have a clear sound, multi track etc. but... they are a hassle to set up. micing the sessions are something we not always do, sometimes a smartphone recording shared in whatsapp is all we need. anyhow the Behringer overheads are okish, 1 of them has a silent humm to it. The DAP kick mic is also ok, ambient noises are also recorded pretty loudly and the punch could be better. the rest is fine. Clearly we went for low budget. They could be better if we wanted to record a Demo or such. But they do the job. We want a rehearsal space exclusively for ourselves, so we can leave the mic and amps in place.

Regarding the total cost:

Overall findings:

• Record yourself! It is one of the many elements to grow as a mucisian/band.
• I am really pleased with Ohm Studio. It is free and very good. And I have tried a lot of DAW's over the years..
• Use multi track recording when ever you can.
• Don't overkill the effort you put in recording. Keep it light weight. You'll want to focus on the instruments.

I'm looking forward to your input!

Jeroen

We do it two ways.

The more simple way is just using my zoom q8. This works really fast. I just throw it up in the corner during setup and hit record whenever we want to capture something. The picture quality is ok, my iPhone actually has a better camera imo but the audio is as good as the zoom audio recorders like the zoom h series. I’d say the video has a some of the fish eye type look of earlier go pros. For anyone who gets a q8 I highly recommend getting a decent memory card and tripod for it.

Picture from the q8

the more complicated way is we have a little table setup with a portable multitrack rig. Mac book with two 8 channel interfaces. Its a lot more involved to get setup and there is no video, but the audio sometimes can be more helpful because the drums are mic’d up so for example it helps me hear the kick a lot better when I’m at home practicing by myself. Can see some of the drum mics here, we aren’t using anything super fancy. One guitar has an SM57, bass is XLR out of amp, rhythm guitarist uses a fractal and sends a direct signal to the interface.

 

[Flamingo21]

No rehearsal room is complete without a Girlfriend Couch.

 

[jeroenmaesen]

The more simple way is just using my zoom q8.

nice tip!

I hope the sound tech has a cool temper, with the gun hanging above his head

Very cool rehersal room by the way How is the reverb in that room?
I'll try to send some pictures of ours next weekend

 

[Nephilymbass]

nice tip!

I hope the sound tech has a cool temper, with the gun hanging above his head

Very cool rehersal room by the way How is the reverb in that room?
I'll try to send some pictures of ours next weekend

Funny thing is that gun is actually a mic stand from our drummers first band. I think I’m the only rifle owner in the band. Everyone else just has handguns.

I always handle the zoom. Lead guitarist owns the more complex recording setup but he’s super nice. Not the typical lead guitarist at all. He’ll get the levels roughly dialed in so nothing is clipping, it’s Normally the singer or me who always start the recording. Then he’ll take it home and do a rough mix though before sending it to us via Dropbox.

the room actually sounds pretty decent. It’s insulated and doesn’t have that chaotic sound garage type of vibe. We have experimented a little. The worst positioning was when we had the amps pointed towards the Big door, which isn’t surprising . But it’s a rectangular shaped room and felt more natural to setup the way we do anyways.

 

[Nephilymbass]

No rehearsal room is complete without a Girlfriend Couch.

It is a nice addition. Let’s the girls hang together and socialize when they can hear themselves talk lol. Also nice to have a comfortable spot to sit for stuff like string changes and meetings.

 

[RumbleBot]

We multi-track every rehearsal because you never know what's going to happen. I keep a rig and mics always set up and record direct to a USB hard drive. I use Reaper and use the WavePack 32 bit format for the audio to greatly reduce disk space. I think about 2 hours of eight tracks only takes about 2-3 GB of disk space. Reaper allows setting markers while recording so I just record the whole time and if we do something we like, I just mark it at time. Then when I get the drive home I can quickly find and bounce down what is interesting.

I also use a Tascam US-1800 for rehearsal tracking into an old Dell laptop. It's nice and simple and does the job with inputs to spare. We're a three piece and we get pretty good recordings just in our space as the room is partially acoustically treated with rugs and tapestries and such.

Drums: AKG D112 on kick, SM57 on snare, a pair of AT 4040 mics in a modified Glyn Johns configuration
Guitar: a pair of Sennheiser E609s on each guitar cab (he uses some stereo effects)
Bass: DI out of tube preamp
PA: DI out

At home, I run a pair of Echo Audio Layla24/Layla3G interfaces together to push 16 tracks through a pair of 1982 StudioMaster boards. So anything good we do I mix in analog. I can quickly find the marked sections and bounce down mixes to send out for listening. We get really decent results this way.

Dropbox - NoKojaAbad.mp3 - Simplify your life

 

[JRA]

these days: i record all gigs and all rehearsals using a soundcraft Ui24R which has onboard multitrack-via-USB-to-DAW, or directly to flash drive! while i've recorded directly to DAW with the Ui, the flash drive bit is a game-changer, IME. press record and go! load the recorded tracks (up to 22 tracks at once) into reaper or pro tools and mix! also: those same tracks could be mixed and recorded to two-track in the Ui itself, i just prefer to utilize the DAWs for mixing. and FWIW: the Ui24R's mic-preamps are the best! i have two units: one in the rehearsal space, one for PA use (which records the gigs!).
new = $1100
used = starting at $500

i mic up (and/or DI) all instruments in a traditional way (5-7 tracks for drums, one each for the other instruments, etc.). i have the luxury of keeping the rehearsal space always mic'ed up without having to tear it down for a gig.

the recordings i get are mixed/mastered and are used for advertising/promotion and releases.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Thought I’d share this here. If you’re looking for a reasonably affordable recording solution to record band rehearsals. This is the zoom Q8. Nothing is plugged into the inputs. Sound is all coming for the stock stereo mic that it comes with. All I did was use the zooms compressor limiter and adjusted the level of the mic a little. Not a studio recording quality but it’s a pretty accurate recording of what band rehearsal actually sounds like in person imo.

 

[jeroenmaesen]

Thanks for sharing! (cool song starting 31 btw, its got a good drive to it)
The recording sounds really good actually!

We use the mobile for recording the small bits. Now we discovered bandlab and record directly in the app.
I've noticed Zoom also has a external micro for ios smartphones. That might be an option we'll look into!

Also, Ohm studio I talked about earlier, they went bankrupt, they stopped support. So we switched to bandlab.
This also works pretty well. Especially that there is an app. So I can use the tablet or my phone and something like an iRig to connect my bass for home practice. the drummer can also use his e-drum and connect it + record on his tablet to a the recorded tracks. pretty good stuff.