Hi,
 
I never used Sonar with live drums before and I am trying to figure out how to go about it. it's been so long since I have been in a studio with friends who had bands and recorded on analog recorders. If I recall, each drum kit had its own mic and the first 8 tracks were the drums. I created a new 24 track project in Sonar X2 just to see what it looked like and I was trying to figure out how to go about having an input for each drum kit. Is this possible with Sonar or is this something that needs to be done on a multitrack recorder? If it can be done in Sonar X2, do I need additional hardware with inputs for each drum kit, bass, guitar, mics, etc.?
 
Thanks,
Vito

Yes you can totally do it. It's a professional DAW. Your interface needs to have enough inputs to handle all the mics. Most home studio interfaces only have two XLR inputs and the rest are line in so you would either need a multi in mic pre that connects to your unit or a mixer with dedicated line outs for each track. Then in Sonar you simply insert the tracks you need and set their individual inputs to the correspong inputs on your interface.

What interface are you using? 

First a drum kit is a whole set. You don't have to mike each component of the kit,  there are a few methods starting with just one mike and going up. A well placed $$$ condenser mike could do the job. But nice to have tracks for at least the Kick, Snare and hats. Then a pair of overheads,, then we go to the toms.     

The DAW software will not be the factor in how many inputs can be recorded at once as all DAWs can record at least 24 tracks and more, even free ones. 

It's you interface that determines inputs. If your audio interface has only 2 inputs then that's your limit. 


A good buy for an interface for recording drums is the Tascam us1800. 

BTW you COULD get away with only using 4 mics for drums. One for the kick, one for the snare and two overheads for the toms and cymbals. This isn't ideal though as you don't have as much control over mixing but that's how a lot of older recording were made. Doing it this way is great for live demos when you have limited inputs. If you have eight inputs you use the extra four for bass, two guitars and one vocal to record a standard rock band. I used to record band practices this way on my old system. 

  To elaborate on what Cactus said one way to do things if you are short on inputs (let's say you only have two as in Cactus' example) you can use the to monitor outs on your mixer to send the stereo signal to your interface. You then mic your drum kit up, send them each to their own channel on the board and mix them there (setting levels and EQ to get the best mix and input signal). This takes a bit of experimentation but once you get it set up you can just hammer away without worry. Then you apply effects and stuff on the stereo signal within the DAW.  

Thanks Beepster and Cactus Music!
 
By interface I take it you mean sound card? It's an internal SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium which I am certain I need to get away from and upgrade.  Other than that, I don't have any hardware yet to start the process, so I am doing the research now.
 
If by interface you meant something else, please let me know what I should be looking at.  In the past, I have done simple demos with vocal and guitar but I am at the point where I want to expand.

Nope. You got it. You'll definitely want a multi in interface. I'm using a Scarlett 18i6 which has two mic inputs but has 8 line ins total so I can hook a mixer up to it and do exactly what you are attempting. I can also rent or buy a mic pre and hook it up VIA the optical connector to get a full 8 mic inputs. It's nice unit and only cost $300. You can get better units with more mic inputs but they cost significatly more.

Cheers.

I saw your post in the other thread about using the Soundblaster in conjunction with a new interface. You don't want to do that as the preferred driver mode for digital record is generally ASIO which does not support two interfaces running at the same time. There are other driver modes that do but they tend to cause problems. Make sure any interface you buy will cover your specific needs. In this case a minimum of 8 inputs. If they are all XLR ins you'll need to get a mixer as well. You will want something that adds as little "color" to the input signal as possible or at the very least has good pres that color the sound in a desirable way. Mackie mixer are usually pretty good for that. You can also purchase combo interface/mixer units so you have both functions available in one piece of hardware.

http://www.musiciansfrien...0-audio-midi-interface



This is what many of us use for recording live bands. There is a total of 14 inputs and the then SPDIF if you have a digital pre amp or mixer makes 16 tracks. I also record the keyboard player via MIDI so that's sort of the 17th track. 
I think I even have Beagle convinced that the drivers are just fine now in W7 64 bit, not stellar drivers but as good as anything else under $500. Latency does not matter when recording live. The audio interface is the heart of digital recording to a computer. 

+1 to Johnnys post

You can Mike all the drums if you want to but I dont think its needed once you get the hang of how to mike them

I run a 6 Input Interface

Ill record

1 Vox
2 Bass
3 Rhythm Guitar
4 Lead Guitar
5 & 6 Ill catch the drums from a Sub mix off of my mixer in which case I can mike as much as I want and split them down to a stereo mix.

If there is just one guitar Ill use that extra track just for the Kick Drum