RECORDING yeah!

Today has been a busy one for David.

I’ve been working hard on my drum recording today. My dad finally got his recording mic sorted out, so I got to use it finally. Yes!

Usually, for professional drum recording, every individual drum is has its own mic, and can be independantly adjusted. The drumset is put in a room with sound proof walls, carpeted floors, and foam covered walls. Now, I, plain, David, don’t have a set of mics, a sound board, or $500 worth of recording software at hand.

I took the homebrew route.

Here’s what I use for my recording:

1) My drumset –>An obvious necessity :-). It is an intermediate-advanced sounding drum set, priced for a beginner’s budget: Pearl EX series, all Zildjian cymbals.
2) Sony ECM-717 Electronic Condenser Microphone –>In between two pillows with a medium weight blanket on top, about six feet in front of the set. This little mic costs $40 dollars, and it is really great. I mean really great. (Special thanks to my dad for letting me use it.)
3) Acoustica Mixcraft v2.01.31 –> This is an awesome recording program. It’s a trial, but I may consider purchasing… You can use Mixcraft for recording at any level, from McDonald’s bathrooms to professional recording studios. Once you have something recorded, you can add just about any effect to beef up your recording. (Special thanks to Billy for suggesting Mixcraft.)

So I spent thiry or forty minutes just trying to figure out a good place for the mic. Behind me at the set, in the dresser drawer, outside my bedroom door, wrapped in kleenex placed at all of the above. Finally I spotted the pillows. “Ahh yes,” I said. So I tried it, and it sounded pretty good.

Once I got it set up, I started recording. I jammed for a little more than eight minutes. Time to tweak. So I whipped up Mixcraft’s FX settings, and messed with the equalizer. A high 63. 125 about a third of the way up, and a steady rise though 16K. If that makes any sense. If you’ve ever seen an equalizer you should get it :-).

I tried other settings like chorus, distortion (didn’t need that for sure…the mic was already maxing out during the recording), and reverb. Bingo! Reverb was the answer. This made it all sound like I was performing in an auditorium, instead of my bedroom. Awesome!

Pearl drums, sony mic, Mixcraft. NO COST. = pretty dang good homemade recording.

Check out the sample on my drum sample page!!!