quote:

Originally posted by Popmann:
And did the MIDI drums go down at the same time as all the audio of the band? Or did you build the band arrangement on top of the drums once they were audio?

I tracked everything myself, starting with acoustic and electric guitars, then drums, then bass, then vocals. I see why you'd ask, but nope - guitars went first.

I also remembered that I did a bunch of tracks (7 or 8) a few years ago for a local dance studio, and I did all the tracking in the exact same way. No problems at all.

I did all those tracks in Cakewalk Pro Audio 8.

Nbarts, I mentioned the M-audio midi/usb interface connecting the td-3 to the computer, thanks for commenting.
Regarding the cymbals, I might use 1 or 2 mics in the room (which will be pretty small, like 15 sq.ft) just aiming for the "sweet spot" to get the sounds I want. I either use one dynamic 3-5ft away (also hanging above) or the 2 condensers in a 45 degree angle (they'd stand in 'X' or 'L' shapes). Depends what I'm looking for. My rule of thumb is to keep it simple. Whenever I need to record for real I prefer to outsource the studio cause I have this nice sound engineer I work with, and that's unbeatable to get "the sounds" I need.
Do you have experience with the triggers? brands you'd recommend (or don't recommend at all). I know clamp triggers are more stable than "stickable" ones, plus more accurate. I'm actually planning to use them on a study kit, like those made from rubbered woodboards, similar in shape to rubber pads. What surfaces would you say are ok or not ok for triggering?
But I really got the information I needed at first, so the purpose of this topic has been fulfilled. I hope to share my progress in the near future. we'll keep on posting!

Sorry Leo, not enough experience with triggers to give any trustworthy comment.

How did you wind up with M-Audio? How much are you willing to spend for your interface?

What condensers are you planning to use?

Is your room treated?

You may need to shift your audio or midi track to match each other. Let's hope you won't have to, but be prepared.

Ok, facts:
1) treated rooms. I like to mix the "sonex" foams 10x10" (low cuts) plus the "flexsonic" 24x24" (mid/ midlow cut). You find the nrc freq sheet on their websites.
This room is (unfortunately) square shaped but I'll study on proper time what needs to be done in the architecture, like a pole in the corner or mid wall, ceiling obstacles and such.
2) Not sure about the condenser yet. Not a neumman though... I like behringers and shure condensers; but again, this should be my workstation rather than my recording studio at first, so I'll probably won't invest big for starters.
3) I had some experience with an external M-audio (balanced xlr in/outs, stereo p10, midi, usb); in the ballpark of $200, which is what I have in mind. A good choice would be the $$$ Digi003 and protools for the Mac. I'll see what I can get down here in Brazil. We pay a high import tax (60%) so that must be taken in account as well. I do accept suggestions.

thanks,
Dokter Leo

continued: I mix the foam (frequency absorbing pads) with a "hot area", like tiles and wood, (also like the natural stonewall) normally in 50/50 or 60/40 proportion. always looking for the right depth of natural reverbs in the room. I'll probably go with woodfloor (mdf), foamed ceiling, plus about 1/2 wall height foamed from the top down, or in a checkboard pattern. Each case is a little different.

You may want to consider a pair of ribbon mics for overheads. I don't know how good they will perform with your preamps though.

With import tax that high it's hard to give any advice. I don't really get that high import tax strategy, seems like a lot of countries do this to help inside-country manufacturers, but as far as I can see it does more harm than good. I think what they really do is fill up their budget holes with this, not a good idea.

Digi 003 - if it's anything like 002 you shouldn't even be thinking about it, no direct monitoring, lots & lots of latency(for me). Basically all the PT LE stuff didn't have direct monitoring, I don't know if this has changed with their new version.

If you can get some rigid fiberglass it will do a lot better than any of the foam stuff. Foam will absorb frequencies over 500hz only.

I think you should decide what your total budget is & go from there.

So, regarding the latency I'll be getting monitor sound directly from the drum brain, before it goes into the computer, so no latency there. Later I'd work on the recorded audio as to mix it down and so forth.
The foam I mean is an acoustic wedged panel made of expanded polyurethane, treated against fire spreading. This one (sonex roc) has 0,70 sound absorption coeficient for 200-250Hz and a 0,15 at 125Hz; it would absorb about 15% of 125Hz frequencies hitting its surface; it has worked for bass drum and bass guitar in a non-definitive recording situation in my present studio.
1) What's your suggestion for one high-end firewire/usb audio interface (think around 4 ins/outs each kind) and one up to 400 bucks? internal or external.
2) Should I use the fiberglass in 20x20" pieces? glue them to the wall? I also use this cardboarded plaster drywall with a 60Hz rock fiber filling; where the door and the airco are. The other are concrete walls with the acoustic treatment balancing live and dead sound reverberating surfaces.