ratatoskr new recordings

[marzecTM]

hee as anybody wants to listen to such music these days, be pseudopunk or die is the rule. anyways if i find the time i'll write down the tabs

[na_th_an]

Mech, by all means, do NEVER record an electric guitar using lines. NEVER. You have to mic the amp, otherwise you'll lose 60% of the sound, specially if you are using effects. Then only instruments suited for line recording may be a naked bass (though I dislike this as well) and maybe keyboards (I don't like to line keyboards as well).

A lot of the sound is "generated" in the amp and the air that's inside. Electronic instruments sound more "alive" that way, 'cause the "fake" sound becomes real. If you remove the amp/air part, you get a dull signal that sounds like plastic and has no strength. You are losing lots of harmonics.

About equipment, you don't need expensive equipment to make a good recording. "A bad artist blames his tools". For my band I use a laptop with ACID and Adobe Audition, headphones and one of those white computer mics. And that's all. Equalization and panning are strong weapons, you just have to know how to use them.

[aetherfox]

Instruments should never be miced. Apart from the reason nathan mentioned, there is the fact that the standard jack on a guitar/amp is not even close to the high-end quality needed for a professional setup.

In the real world, professionals set up amps and plug everything into their preamp. Then, they use high quality mics that don't have a crappy connection, but a XLR out...many times the quality of standard audio out...sort of like the difference between RGB out and HDTV. You should also always make sure that when you mic, you turn your amp up and your mic down. There is a special reason for this, it's to do with resonance and sound bleeding. You also mic the top right hand corner of your amp, with the butt of the mic pointed inwards. Why? No idea whatsoever.

If you want a much fuller sound, and have the mics and inputs to support it, then you could record and ambient track. These make the sound much fuller, and in my experience, if you apply an effect to the main track, but leave the ambient track as it is, the effect comes out much more realistic (I am talking about synthesised effects on a computer, I've never tried this with an effects pedal).

[Josiah Tobin]

Instruments should never be miced

No comment... Or... Wait-- What the hell.
Maybe you get a crappy sound if miking a cheap-ass little practice amp, (actually, hang on. I miked such an amp when recording for COG with a guitarist friend, and was able to get it to sound perfectly good through cool edit pro) but it does NOT automatically create terrible sound quality.

In the real world, professionals set up amps and plug everything into their preamp

Because, certainly, these 'professionals' know the ONLY way to do things and their way makes up the 'real world' of music recording.
Sure, the way they do it is great if you have the equipment-- And if you do it's faster than straight miking the amp-- But for those who can't afford a studio and all the equipment then miking the amp and editing the recording can produce very simmilar and perfectly acceptable results.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am severly annoyed when someone says there's only one way to do something and that's the way the pros do it.

[na_th_an]

You all got it wrong:

(btw, I think aetherFox was misunderstood . I believe that with "micing an instrument" he means "directly plugging to the computer")

1.- NEVER connect electromechanic instruments to the computer or to the mixer using direct lines (i.e. from the amp to the computer using a jack2jack cable). You lose 60% of the sound which is generated in the amp and the space that surrounds it (i.e. your room).

2.- The best way is trying to get the best sound in your amp (the louder, the better), and, as aetherFox suggested, record it with a microphone with a low recording volume setting. The louder, the more lively it will sound.

3.- You don't need expensive equipment. That's what every expensive equipment seller tries you to think The first albums by Eels were recorded in a 4-track tape deck and they gained great worldwide success.

Try to record a distorted guitar connecting the Line Out in your amp to the Line In in your computer. What you get? Noisy-radio alike-no harmonics sound. You just get the ugly transistor distortion (assumming you are like everyone else and can't afford a valves amp ). The nice distorted sound comes from some excited harmonics and those come from the vibration of your amp inside its box, something that's completely removed when you plug directly. Use your mic to get that.

There are several tricks to record several kinds of instruments "a-la-cheapo" . Many studios record bass guitars using direct input (even lots of Queen hits are recorded that way), but that only works with a superb bass guitar and a superb player, and a superb mixing table working in analog... Your computer is digital, that's why I prefer to use the microphone next to the amp even for the bass.

With synthesizers you can use direct input as long as you are not using external effects. I always plug my 60's fuzz and my Boss Flanger to my dummy keyboards, and if the fuzz is off I can record them with direct-input; otherwise I have to use amp and mic or they are crap.

PS. By all means, "the pro's" way is always the best way, that's why they are pro's. Your job is to make something simmilar using your equipment. I've learned tons reading stuff by Brian Eno, or recording logs of bands like Queen or Smashing Pumpkins. I love that kind of reading: it teaches good things. They use "pro's" equipment, but the techniques are the same. Search details on the recording of the most famouse Pink Floyd albums in interviews to Gilmour.

I could have never recorded vocal harmonies if I wouldn't have read a couple of interviews to Mr Brian May neat tricks

[Josiah Tobin]

Yeah, I guess I misinterpreted him. Apologies

[marzecTM]

http://www.stout.atthat's what ppl want to hear around here. those guys are ponsored by their town too... 10 km away from our town. ow what a pitty

their look is good, their page looks fine, but just have an ear on their song onthe page

me stupid forgot to post the link...

[marzecTM]

plenty of new stuff available on the page atm. we hope to put together all of the left songs in about 1-2 weeks (i'm already sleeping in the rehearsalroom, not that this would make anything any better fiddling around with the hp...)

yeah right that was a push post heh.... beat me