Recording A Band

[SuperDave]

I'm recording a band from my church with two electric guitarists, bass, acoustic guitar, drums, and vocals. I'll add some keyboard stuff later to fill in the holes. I read the thread about "Sick of Stereo Guitars" and already acheived some insight. This is the first time I have recorded a band and am looking for some tips/tricks that I should be aware of. The guitarists aren't using amps, just their multieffects processor plugged straight into my mixer. I do have access to a Peavey Classic 50 and an old Ampeq solid state, if you guys think these would be usable.

Thanks for your input.
David

[zara_drummer]

Guitars:
If you have access to the amp, maybe record their direct signal along with putting a mic on the cab...that will give some options without havint to have them play the same parts over and over.

If you read that other thread then you'll know Im not a fan of solid state, but use what makes the song work for them and you. A/B the amps and see what they like. Record some of each amp and see how it translates to tape.

Bass:
DI the bass and if you have a large diphram dynamic, like a beta52 or a D112 try to use that on the cab..I've had some good results with that setup. One problem I've run into is a bass with "active" pickups...They are sooo damn sensitive to string noise.

Drums:
Tuning and new drum heads to start with, or heads that are relatively new. Spend some time on the drums, does the drummer want his toms to ring or does he only want to hear the attack?

I like to take the front head off the kick and use a beta52 a few inches from batter head...and a lil off-center. Some people opt for another mic outside the kick, but I opt for a set of room mics placed around knee level about 8 feet away from the drums and about 10 feet apart.

If you can use as many mics as possible on the drums, I.E. mic the bottom and top of the snare, the hats, the ride, overheads toms, and room mics. You can always take it out if you dont like it or dont need it.

I like using a large condensor on the ride and the hats with 2 large condensors for overheads. I recently recorded my band and we used Oktave MK12's as room mics and they are amazingly dynamic for small condesors.

57's are great for toms, but I've gotten into using the senheyser E609...works great for the guitar cab too!

Just some thoughts...Best of luck to you!! Have fun and make sure they have fun too!