Will This Setup Work?, Studio setup Options

[danington]

helo...

just got a G5... but not sure about getin sound into it!

was thinking of getting a MOTU 828 mk2 and running in a Mackie 1604vlz pro mixer cos i need preamps for recording drums. any ideas what effect the mixer inside the MOTU will have on top of the analogue mixer... do you bypass the internal mixer?

any ideas as an alternative setup maybe?

thanks

dan

[rickenbacker]

I don't think a Shure SM57 necessarily needs a preamp - I think if you plugged it into a guitar amp, it would amplify your toneless shouting (oh, wait, that might be just me) as required. Whether it would sound any good is another matter. Preamps generally help deliver a nicer sound whatever the mic.

On the whole drum issue, I've never miked a kit in my life but I concur that simplicity seems to be a popular approach. Some people even use just the one - a top-notch condenser placed just right seems to get great-sounding results. Lenny Kravitz apparently does this a lot and, say what you like about his music, the man knows his vintage recording techniques.

Led Zeppelin's drum recordings used this approach a lot, too, but they might have had the kit set up in the grand hallway of an old French chateau to take advantage of the amazing acoustics. I think When The Levee Breaks was done something like this (which inspired Sophie B Hawkins for the drum sound on Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover).

A good room is definitely as beneficial as the mics used (for any instrument or vocal recording), but I can appreciate that not many of us live in old French chateaux.