superdan54
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Recording Drums into a DAW
Hi, I'd like to eventually get my studio to where it can accomodate drums. The problem is right now I only have a 2 Input sound card, and will need to upgrade something. Hypothetically, I'd like to be able to mic up to 8 inputs into 8 seperate tracks. I'd also like to eventually get a outboard mixer, but it is my impression that these would only allow me to mix down all the drums in stereo and not into seperate tracks. What all options do I have to combine both of my needs there? I'm pretty sure I can figure out the nitty gritty if I'm just pointed in the right direction. Better yet, how do all of you get your drums into your DAW's? (no BFD or EZDrummer responses please  )
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satorizero
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/10/31 18:47:01
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The best thing to have, if you want the best of both worlds of the standalone mixer and being able to record all the tracks seperately, is to buy a USB or Firewire mixer. Those can range anywhere from a couple hundred bucks to a couple thousand. The cheapest ones i think are from Alesis and Behringer. It all depends on the quality you want, the cheaper you go means the preamps/options will be of less quality. But if you wanna just get the tracks into the computer then you can buy anyone of them and they should work fine. This will allow the computer to seperate all the tracks onto thier own tracks. P.s. if you dont care about a mixer, its much better to buy a new interface, like the Presonus Firepod, Presonus Firestudio, or my friend just bought the new tascam interface that just came out cuz he wanted more inputs. I recently bought the Tascam 1804 because i needed more inputs (but it only has 4 mic inputs, the others i mentioned are low cost and have 8 mic inputs). p.s.s. If you dont care about money, the mackie mixers are great because they have the firewire option and theyre known for having great preamps and eqs on them (that should be well over $1200)
post edited by satorizero - 2007/10/31 19:06:05
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bitflipper
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/10/31 22:01:37
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There are two ways you can go: a) a mixer that is also an interface, or b) an interface that is also a mixer. Either way will work.
The former is currently a hot product category, with lots of new - and surprisingly inexpensive - products appearing weekly.
The latter approach, on the other hand, takes up less space and may be less expensive.
My personal preference (and it is largely a personal decision) is to NOT have a mixer, and let my converter serve that function. That just works best for me (much to my surprise, I might add - I've had at least one mixer since 1967)
For mic-only, check out the MOTU 8pre. As the name suggests, it has 8 preamps. Ought to fill the bill nicely for drums, no mixer required. If you have about a grand to spend, there's the fancier 896HD. Never used one myself, but I know a lot of guys on this forum do. (My own unit is a MOTU 828 MkII, but that's not the one you want - only 2 mic inputs, there rest are TRS and digital)
 All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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CJaysMusic
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 07:37:16
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How about using roland v-drums. you wont need any more inputs than you already have, you just need as midi in and out
Cj
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krizrox
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 09:02:13
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This is easy - all you need is money  I use a product called Creamware Scope (but anything similar will work). I have an outboard A/D convertor called the A16. It accepts 16 simultaneous analog audio inputs (and also 16 outputs). It connects to a soundcard inside the PC. I have a bunch of mic preamps (including a Mackie mixer) and these all feed separate inputs on the A16. In Sonar, I set up my ASIO drivers and route each channel from the A16 to a separate track in Sonar. Hit record and away you go. Also look at MOTU or RME or any of the other dozen or more products on the market. By today's standards, Creamware is a llittle behind the 8 ball (but still rocks!) but if you want more channels or higher sampling rates, look at MOTU or RME. Get a Sweetwater catalog. A great resource for making a buying decision. Good luck!
Larry Kriz www.LnLRecording.com www.myspace.com/lnlrecording Sonar PE 8.5, Samplitude Pro 11, Sonic Core Scope Professional/XTC, A16 Ultra AD/DA, Intel DG965RY MOBO, Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz processor, XFX GeForce 7300 GT PCIe video card, Barracuda 750 & 320GB SATA drives, 4GB DDR Ram, Plextor DVD/CD-R burner.
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wogg
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 09:12:48
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How do I get my drums in? Very simple:
8 Channels of Mic Pre (using a mixer tapped at the inserts) -> M-Audio Delta 1010 -> Sonar
You'll need a upgraded audio interface... there are many, many options!
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krizrox
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 09:34:50
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ORIGINAL: wogg
How do I get my drums in? Very simple:
8 Channels of Mic Pre (using a mixer tapped at the inserts) -> M-Audio Delta 1010 -> Sonar
You'll need a upgraded audio interface... there are many, many options!
I couldn't do it with only 8 channels (well I could but I would find that very constricting especially if you want to play other instruments at the same time). I can easily use up 10 channels just for a typical 5 piece drum set. Do yourself a favor and don't settle for less than 16 channels if you can afford it. The cost difference is probably minimal in the long run.
Larry Kriz www.LnLRecording.com www.myspace.com/lnlrecording Sonar PE 8.5, Samplitude Pro 11, Sonic Core Scope Professional/XTC, A16 Ultra AD/DA, Intel DG965RY MOBO, Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz processor, XFX GeForce 7300 GT PCIe video card, Barracuda 750 & 320GB SATA drives, 4GB DDR Ram, Plextor DVD/CD-R burner.
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wogg
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 09:59:37
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Do yourself a favor and don't settle for less than 16 channels if you can afford it. The cost difference is probably minimal in the long run. I skip the close mics on the toms. For band practice I use: OH L/R (Rode NT5) Snare Top and Bottom (SM57) Kick Inside (AKG D112) Kick sub (woofer mic) Bass direct Guitar single LD condenser on amp (Cascade) If I'm doing just the drums I'll use that LD guitar channel as a room mic, but that's about it. I've found my toms pick up pretty well through the overheads and sound pretty natural. If I was trying to do a genre like metal or something heavier I'd look into close micing the toms and run myself out of channels, but right now it's all good.
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superdan54
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 10:09:08
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Thanks guys, this really helped me get my head wrapped around the situation. I think I was confused about what role a mixer plays in a DAW powered studio. It seems that if anything, I would need a control surface/audio interface, such as the Tascam FW1884. i'm not sure that a mixer would help me much since I do most tracking w/in SONAR. Has anyone ever used something like the FW1884 before, and/or is there really that much of a cost benefit ratio to justify the larger price? Otherwise I think I'll probably go with the MOTU 8pre. In case anybody else finds this article with the same questions, the article below was also a big help: http://tweakheadz.com/choosing_a_mixer_for_your_studio.html
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superdan54
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 10:11:51
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Do yourself a favor and don't settle for less than 16 channels if you can afford it. The cost difference is probably minimal in the long run. Point well taken. We recorded in a studio once where only 8 tracks were devoted to drums and they sounded pretty crappy with lots of bleed (although probably due to a combination of reasons).
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krizrox
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 10:34:39
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ORIGINAL: superdan54
Thanks guys, this really helped me get my head wrapped around the situation. I think I was confused about what role a mixer plays in a DAW powered studio. It seems that if anything, I would need a control surface/audio interface, such as the Tascam FW1884. i'm not sure that a mixer would help me much since I do most tracking w/in SONAR. Has anyone ever used something like the FW1884 before, and/or is there really that much of a cost benefit ratio to justify the larger price? Otherwise I think I'll probably go with the MOTU 8pre.
In case anybody else finds this article with the same questions, the article below was also a big help:
http://tweakheadz.com/choosing_a_mixer_for_your_studio.html
You don't necessarily need a mixer but you need mic preamps and since you tend to find a lot of those on a mixer... I find having a hardware mixing board allows me to get things done quicker just because I have channels and things at my fingertips that I tend to use over and over again. I decided on a hybrid approach here in my studio - a combination of a traditional Mackie 16 channel mixer and lots of outboard mic preamps which I like for their character. I like a lot of different colors and options. Same with mics. But you know - I run my studio as a business and I have to be able to accomodate a lot of different things. If you're doing everything yourself you can probably get by with a more focused solution. I guess decide who you are and what you want to be and structure your gear around that.
Larry Kriz www.LnLRecording.com www.myspace.com/lnlrecording Sonar PE 8.5, Samplitude Pro 11, Sonic Core Scope Professional/XTC, A16 Ultra AD/DA, Intel DG965RY MOBO, Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz processor, XFX GeForce 7300 GT PCIe video card, Barracuda 750 & 320GB SATA drives, 4GB DDR Ram, Plextor DVD/CD-R burner.
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satorizero
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RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2007/11/01 14:11:28
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Again, it comes down to if you want an external mixer or not. If you do, then the Tascam is VERY nice, and so is the M Audio Project mix. Bot of those units are very professional. The good thing is (if im not mistaken) that both of those units have Flying Faders, which should move while you adjust sonar's faders as well, and i think they both save presets too. But overall those units are awesome, touch sensitive/flying faders, all the inputs you want, what more could you ask for :-) good deal http://cgi.ebay.com/M-AUDIO-PROJECTMIX-I-O-FIREWIRE_W0QQitemZ220167053906QQihZ012QQcategoryZ41784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
post edited by satorizero - 2007/11/01 14:26:01
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nathandhenry
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Re: RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2017/12/26 22:58:15
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Hey bud. One thing that isn't mentioned here or at least I didn't see it is having an SSD. Make sure you use a solid state drive or a drive that is as fast as 7200rpm for the latency when you start recording drums. Makes all the difference in the world but no one ever told me this... I use a Scarlett 18i20 with sure sm57's, a Shure Beta 52a for the kick mic so I get a pretty good sound in Sonar Platinum. We just use this setup to record our practice sessions so the bleed through from the cymbals works good enough. Best of luck to you my dude.
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jamesg1213
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Re: RE: Recording Drums into a DAW
2017/12/27 11:35:21
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You realise this thread is 10 years old, right?
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