Recording Tips for Bands on a Budget Part I - D.I.Y. Recording

This day in age, there are more options than ever for a band looking to record, and depending on what sort of a budget you’re dealing with, there’s a wide range of possibilities that can all sound fantastic. In general, the more time & work you’re willing to put in yourself, the more money you’ll save, but as with all D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) endeavors, the long-term investments that’re necessary can often come with a pretty hefty start-up cost. For instance, you’ll probably end up having to pay much more for a great “home studio” set-up than you would a weekend in “the studio”, but if you consider your investment as sort of a ‘flat-fee’ for the unlimited recording possibilities you’ll have in the comfort of your own home, the long-run is obviously very cost effective.

As I see it, there are three general “levels” of studio experience available: DIY or home studios, semi-professional spaces, and professional or “real” studios - and each has its own particular degree of effort and funding necessary on your part. I’ve been personally involved with all of these methods many, many times as both a performer and an engineer, and I have to admit that each of these will inevitably have its pro’s and its con’s. In any event, today I’d like to discuss our first option:

 – Total DIY –

This is the option that I’d recommend to most starting musicians/bands. Recording your material yourself is a great way to engross yourself in the process, and I think being able to do so at your own pace is essential to the learning curve. Among this category we probably have the most options of all, and depending on your levels of budget and technical inventiveness, you can get something recorded for practically nothing! I’ll never forget recording my first punk band through a $25 four-track mixer & a cassette recorder we got at Goodwill, and while it may not have sounded the best, for a bunch of little broke, 15 year old punks, we had something to pass out at shows that we were pretty proud of!

Programs

These days, assuming you don’t want to pay for the steeper set-ups like ProTools or Logic right off the bat, there are many digital options that won’t cost you much more than our ‘Goodwill rig’ did us, and will sound infinitely better. Your best asset will probably be the computer you’re reading this on and if it happens to be a Mac, you’ve probably already got GarageBand, a spectacular and super easy-to-use recording software, a click away! If you don’t have GarageBand, there are also free programs like Audacity out there that’ll serve you just as well. (It may not be as pretty and option-loaded as GarageBand, but the simple interface is nice to learn on and super low-profile; even my dinosaur HP could run Audacity and that computer couldn’t run anything!) 

The advantage of programs like these is that they give you the opportunity to get used to the idea of recording without having to invest a single dime. However, the disadvantage, as you’ll quickly find, is that if you’re using your internal computer mic, the sound quality won’t be very good. This can be remedied in a number of easy, cost-effective ways. The simplest of which, if you’re just recording one electric instrument at a time, is to pick up some kind of 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapter plug from your friendly neighborhood A/V store and run straight into your mic/line-in jack. This, too, can become rather limiting though, so pretty soon you’ll want to start looking at…

Mics

If you’re looking for a simple, “general-use”  sort of mic, I’d recommend getting some sort of omnidirectional large diaphragm condenser microphone, undoubtedly the best for picking up large amounts of sound. Here you’ve got an option between a “normal” XLR mic, for which you’ll need some sort of interface to connect it to your computer, and a USB mic, which you can use directly with a computer but ONLY with your computer. If you decide to go this route, I’d suggest either the AudioTechnica AT2020USB or the Samson G-Track. Both of these mics work brilliantly with all of the aforementioned programs, but certainly have their differences: while the AudioTechnica might sound a slight bit better and cost a slight bit less, the Samson also sounds amazing AND has a built-in interface w/ a gain-adjustable stereo instrument input, making it a very well-rounded and versatile recording package as well. Along these same lines, I’d also highly recommend the Zoom H2 Portable Recorder which also has stereo in/outputs for analog recording AND can even function as a small, portable, self-contained recording device all by itself! (This is awesome for live shows and rehearsals - I’ve documented almost everything I’ve done since I got it!) 

There are also a few “mini-jack” mics in production that serve great for beginners, and offer a great large-scale sound pickup for a very small price. These mics typically run off batteries, and offer a stereo signal that can be plugged straight into your mic/line input on your computer - the Sony ECM MS907  and the AudioTechnica Pro 24 are great examples of these, that can easily be found for less than 100 bucks. 

If you do decide to go the XLR mic/interface route, however, you will end up paying a bit more money, but you’ll get significantly more options in terms of recording flexibility. (I’ll talk more about interfaces in a moment.) As XLR’s have been in a much wider range of use for so much longer than USB’s, on the whole they tend to sound much better for your money, and offer an exponentially larger number of options. 

As I said, a large diaphragm condenser’s probably going to be your best bet at first: they’re not only incredibly versatile for recording room-fulls of sound, but are also great for recording individual instruments, amps or voices. You can get some great switchable cardioid/omnidirectional mics like the Samson C03U or the Behringer C-3 for less than $100, or, if you want to go a little higher quality, something like the AKG Perception 420 or Rode NT1-A cardioid for about $250. (I won’t get into the difference between omnidirectional, cardioid and supercardioid condensers here, but if you’d like a resource, Sweetwater.com has a terrific “Studio Microphone Buying Guide”.)

If you’d like to be more specific with your micing, or are planning on using your set-up for live sound, I’d also highly recommend investing in a couple dynamic mics as well. Standards like the Shure SM-58 (one of the best for horns & vocals) and the SM-57 (arguably the best for amps, speakers and snare drums) cost less than 100 bucks, and will give you awesome results for a lifetime. (There’s a reason these two are industry standards!) Since dynamic mics, and most cardioids, are really only used to pick up one specific instrument’s sound, if you’re investigating these options, you’ll need to have some kind of multi-track capability, which means it’s time to talk about…

Interfaces 

Much like microphones, interfaces can come in all different sorts of shapes and sizes, and can be near custom-taylored to fit any budget. If you’re only looking to use a channel or two and portability’s important for you, something like the M-Audio MobilePre USB or the PreSonus AudioBox USB are great options that you can get for a reasonable price; or if you’re running FireWire, the PreSonus FireBox or the TC Electronic Konnekt 8 are also great options. It’s important to note that if you’re using ProTools, you’re kind of stuck with one of DigiDesign’s fancier (read: pricier) interfaces, like the M Box, Digi 001, or 003. (I know I know, compatability’s a pain…)

If you’re not running ProTools, though, you’ve also got the option of running through a USB mixer, like the Behringer 1204FX or the Alesis MultiMix 8 USB (which I just bought and love!) to process your sound. These are great options, as since they’re fully functioning analog mixers, you can also use them live with several instruments, through a PA or amp, and take the digital out straight to your computer. One small disadvantage of these is that, as they usually only send out a stereo signal to your computer, any post-production level changes are basically impossible; though with a good sound check first, this is kind of a non-issue. 

–The Bottom Line –

The bottom line, in my opinion, really comes down to figuring out exactly how much you really need for whatever project you’re working on. If you’re working on your first “record”, you’re probably gonna be doing it on a pretty tight budget and that’s certainly important to keep in mind; but don’t forget that this very likely won’t be your last record and it wouldn’t hurt to have some tools for the next one. Getting a simple, efficient, affordable set-up that you can later expand upon is a great idea, and a great way to “grow” into having a studio of your own. All too many times I’ve seen bands either go out and spend entirely too much money on gear they don’t need or know how to use, or grossly underestimate their options and end up with an inferior product because they’re ill-informed . (Incidentally, the picture at the top is of my set-up, which, though rather humble, functions to record all my solo/small group stuff marvelously!) The key is really taking the time to make sure you know what’s out there and weighing all your options accordingly! 

I’ve done my best here to hip you to some of the equipment I, and folks I know, have used over the years that’ll be sure to give you a great final product without breaking the bank. In my next post, “Recording Tips for Bands on a Budget - Part II: ‘Semi-Pro’ Recording”, I’ll talk a little about some of the other slightly more arduous, yet significantly less expensive, ways you can get your music out there with the help of others! And, as always, thanks for reading and please feel free to comment away!