Setting up a Drum Recording Studio - Tips?

[MrPresident]

Alright. I love drumming. I think it would be beneficial for practice and for networking purposes for me to be able to record myself. I am looking for about mid-quality (nothing top of the line, but I want to sound decent) and I don't know where to start.

In the past I have recorded on to a mixer that immediately writes it to a CD. That is a possibility, I just don't know if I want to go through all that trouble of having to take the CD and transfer everything over to my laptop every time I want to hear myself and plug it to music. But on the other hand I don't know if I have the capability (computer-wise) of plugging a mixer into a computer. So...Here are my issues...

I have a budget around 1250. If you think I should save a bit more say something - I could hold off for a week or two and bump it to 1500. I am not really interested in spending more then that though.

I need to cover the cost of mics (I was thinking two overhead, a bass, snare, and hi hat) so five total (a package would be nice if you have reccomendations). I have a 7 piece set so I don't exactly want to invest in micing all my toms and I like a more natural sound. A Board (not sure if I should use one that writes to a CD or plugs to a computer). A Program (I have Acid Music Studio, but I don't think thats what would work best for recording purposes) and mic hardware. I have a 6 month new Sony Vaio 80 gigs and pretty fast...but can that handle all the information from a board or I dont even know how it plugs in to the computer...

So I really have no clue where to start and if this is an appropriate budget...Any of you experts have tips?

[surftex363]

Alright. I love drumming. I think it would be beneficial for practice and for networking purposes for me to be able to record myself. I am looking for about mid-quality (nothing top of the line, but I want to sound decent) and I don't know where to start.

In the past I have recorded on to a mixer that immediately writes it to a CD. That is a possibility, I just don't know if I want to go through all that trouble of having to take the CD and transfer everything over to my laptop every time I want to hear myself and plug it to music. But on the other hand I don't know if I have the capability (computer-wise) of plugging a mixer into a computer. So...Here are my issues...

I have a budget around 1250. If you think I should save a bit more say something - I could hold off for a week or two and bump it to 1500. I am not really interested in spending more then that though.

I need to cover the cost of mics (I was thinking two overhead, a bass, snare, and hi hat) so five total (a package would be nice if you have reccomendations). I have a 7 piece set so I don't exactly want to invest in micing all my toms and I like a more natural sound. A Board (not sure if I should use one that writes to a CD or plugs to a computer). A Program (I have Acid Music Studio, but I don't think thats what would work best for recording purposes) and mic hardware. I have a 6 month new Sony Vaio 80 gigs and pretty fast...but can that handle all the information from a board or I dont even know how it plugs in to the computer...

So I really have no clue where to start and if this is an appropriate budget...Any of you experts have tips?


1500! that will get you a perfect little home set up.

Presonus Firepod

Sm57
Audix fusion 6 pack

that will get you to about 800 not even, and that will record pretty damn good.

give me the specs on your comp, im running AMD athlon 3200+ (2.0 ghz) and 512 ram and i record fine.

[MrPresident]

I have no idea what this stuff means but here it is...

Genuine Intel CPU
T2300 at 1.66 GhZ
0.99 GB of Ram

[surftex363]

I have no idea what this stuff means but here it is...

Genuine Intel CPU
T2300 at 1.66 GhZ
0.99 GB of Ram

with 1 gig of ram yull be fine.


but yeah look into the firepod, its an awesome little device and they droped the price by 100$ this past month. so, cant go wrong.

[dubsnack]

Does your laptop have firewire?

That is question #1 in determining whether it will be suitable for recording.

[surftex363]

Does your laptop have firewire?

That is question #1 in determining whether it will be suitable for recording.


you get mobile firewire cards for 30 bucks nowadays

[MrPresident]

I have no idea what firewire is...is it the little plug underneath my laptop haha.

[surftex363]

I have no idea what firewire is...is it the little plug underneath my laptop haha.


well you know what USB is i hope. well usb's transfer speed is 100Megabits per second. Well firewire is a little bit different looking wire and it travels at 400MBPS!

[dubsnack]

you get mobile firewire cards for 30 bucks nowadays

Yeah sure and expect latency for days! You need a direct firewire connection, not something going through a pcmcia buss.

Mr. President, you may have to actually put a little effort in here. Go look up firewire on google if you don't know what it is.

[surftex363]

Yeah sure and expect latency for days! You need a direct firewire connection, not something going through a pcmcia buss.

Mr. President, you may have to actually put a little effort in here. Go look up firewire on google if you don't know what it is.


yeah but the built in ones, are the smaller # of pins, and they crap out on people a bit.

[dubsnack]

yeah but the built in ones, are the smaller # of pins, and they crap out on people a bit.

I've never had that problem on my thinkpad, nor my camcorder that has the smaller firewire plug. You might have to be careful with it, but hell we're talking about a lot of $$$ here, you need to be careful with everything.

[MrPresident]

My Vaio does not have a built in firewire plug. But it does have an empty slot on the right side that I think a firewire card can be placed in...?

[surftex363]

My Vaio does not have a built in firewire plug. But it does have an empty slot on the right side that I think a firewire card can be placed in...?

good thats what you will use.

[MrPresident]

http://laptopupgrade.stores.yahoo.net/3pori13firca.html

So something like this will do the trick?

[surftex363]

exactly

cause any computer mixer you get now adays that is halfway decent, will be firewire

[MrPresident]

And I have heard stories of delay (latency)...not sure under what conditions, and if its just drums is latency going to be an issue since I am not really matching it with any other sound?

[surftex363]

you can make the rate lower in the "firepod" control panel, if the card cant handle it. so it wont sound all jumbled

[SMX_Dizzy]

Yea that's a plus to the Firepod. He's already got a mic kit though, so here's what I'd suggest:

AKG D112 on kick
SM57 or Audix i5 on snare (batter, or both sides)
MXL 603's for overheads

[MrPresident]

How about this...any mics that can be interchangeable between a drum set and a set of congas? Or should I get another set of mics specifically for congas.

[SMX_Dizzy]

You could use the SM57(s) or i5(s), which would work well.

[guy0012]

firepod

sm57 - snare x 2, one for each side
akg d112 - bass drum
mxl 603 ??(not really sure here) - overhead
audix d2 - rack toms
audix d4 - floor toms (or d2's work fine for floors)

[Butnutz]

yeah but the built in ones, are the smaller # of pins, and they crap out on people a bit.

frankly, you are misinformed.

Any data transfer that has to go through any sort of PCI type interface before it gets processed by the computer adds latency.

Standard firewire connections are FW400, on a connector similar to a usb[i say that LOOSELY, they are rounded on one end and have a slot in the center.]

the mini FW connectors are FW800, and no audio devices currently made use FW800, because very few computers come equipped with FW800.

[SMX_Dizzy]

You can't go from big firewire (interface) to mini firewire (computer)? I'm just curious, not that I ever will, but I was just wondering about it since there are cables for that and a lot of laptops/cards have mini firewire.

[steph85]

I'm going to have to agree on the comment about the MXL603s. I have a pair I use for recordings from time to time. While they do have a bit of a "brighter" sound than my Studio Projects B1s they still give a very nice sound from cymbals and toms. They aren;t the most expensive ones out there as well.