Lampdog wrote:jonestown massacre wrote:The gear only takes it so far, the space you are recording in and the skill of the artist dictate the quality of the track.
+1
Not trying to argue here...
I agree with that statement to a point. I mean, it depends on what your role is. I have pretty much stopped rapping (I'm damn near 35 years old and can't see myself rocking the mic much longer), moved my beatmaking skills back to the "hobby" category because IMO, there are 1,000,000,000 beatmakers out there and the market is crazy saturated right now, so I don't really have the time to compete with that many people (3 kids, car note, mortgage, full time job, school).
So with that, I have moved into the business of recording and mixing. For my own personal needs, I need (my wife begs to differ on the "need") a solid, professional signal chain.
It's true, the artist dictates the quality of the CONTENT of the track, but the artist has nothing to do with the mix. My business is based on the quality of the recording and the mix of the track, not the content.
If I am doing the recording of the track, you are right, the space is important. For vocals though, that controlled space can be fixed very easily. You have to have a mic that works for your space. If you are recording in a noisy space such as an apartment, or a house that is fairly open (like mine), you need to decide what kind of mic is going to suit your space.
Like I said above, I chose a Shure SM7b (dynamic microphone). Why? Because it rejects noise from the sides and picks up what is directly in front of it. I have a booth (read: closet) that is treated, but with a condenser, I can hear my wife breathing downstairs and the neighbors ****. It doesn't work for my space.
Once you have the mic, you have to set up your spot to record. Set your mic up either against a wall, in a corner or in a closet. Once you have your spot, you need to deaden the space behind it (and if you can behind you too). This is as easy as buying some acoustic foam from a place like Mcmaster-Carr(.com), or getting some heavy blankets or curtains and hanging, tacking, or nailing them up on the wall.
The acoustic foam route would cost your maybe $100-150 maybe, depending on where you set up. The blanket route is less, especially if you have the nails/tacks/racks and blankets/curtains.
Again, I still suggest getting a standalone mic preamp. Your mixes will sound better in the end. Actually here are some examples:
http://www.cozydid.com/tryin.mp3http://www.cozydid.com/wcd.mp3(edit: broken links fixed)
White Collar Dreams vocals were recorded with a Shure SM7b through the Digi 002 mic preamps, while Tryin' was recorded through the Shure SM7b through the Great River MP-2NV.
Sorry for the book. I just love the fact that we can make great recordings in our houses and can release our music without a label. I want everyone to release the best sounding music that they can.
Peace
lol
