Recording band practice..how?

[Taco Vine]

Hi, new user here.. first stupid question.. what is the best way to record my band practice using the built in mike.. should I record as a track (which I believe has a stereo feature) or record as an MP3?  Can you change a recording to an MP3 (unclear to me from the instructions).  Ideally, I'd like to make a decent recording I can email to other band members.  Any advice is appreciated.. thanks..

[Flash Harry]

Hi, Welcome to the board. There are no stupid questions here, just silly answers sometimes.

There is a section here that might help.

Get stuck in and don't just keep it for your band members!

http://microrecorders.org/community/general-discussion/advise-please-live-recording/0/

Cheers

Harry

[Taco Vine]

Harry, thanks... not sure if I found what I'm looking for, or maybe its over my head!

- Is it okay to use the built in mic or do you need external?
- What is the difference in recording a track in stereo vs MP3?
- We are not really loud.. the drums are not mic'd.  First time I tried it (recording as Track 1 using the MIC setting), it wasn't loud enough to record.
- We are set up basically in a circle (drums, bass, vocal, 2 guitars), would the best spot be in the middle?

[Flash Harry]

It's OK to use the internal mic, don't expect professional resuts.

If you use an external stereo mic such as the little Sony ECM-DS70P you can use the external input (3.5mm jack) and record in stereo. Still don't expect professional results.

The format that the MBR records in is proprietory, but there are ways of exporting this to WAV or MP3.

The best spot will only be found by trial and error.

The sony mics can be bought off e-bay cheaply (a few pounds, I paid less than a fiver)

[holdempok]

I have recently been expeirmenting with this. If you just want to record all of you playing at once just use the built in condenser mic only. Set sensitivity to -12 and imput level about 80-85.  Also set plug in power to ON. I assume you are playing pulgged in with seperate effected going throght a PA of some sort. Place the BR facing the speakers about 6'-8' away. Micing the drums seperately helps too.

Hope this helps I would love to hear how it turns out.

[64Guitars]

If you just want to record all of you playing at once just use the built in condenser mic only. Set sensitivity to -12 and imput level about 80-85.  Also set plug in power to ON.

Turning plug-in power On supplies about 2.5 volts to the external mic jack. Why would you want it on if you're going to "use the built in condenser mic only"? I don't think it will make any difference. However, I don't have a Micro BR so I could be missing something.

[Taco Vine]

I'm trying it tonight!  We are not an experienced band so it just a couple of guitars, bass (we each have our own amps) and drums jamming with a singer on a PA.  I doubt you want to hear this band

Not sure what you all mean by "set plug in power"..  you mean plug it in vs. using batteries?  I was going to use batteries just so I can move it around.  Does it really make a difference.  I've been experimenting playing guitar against my stereo and I think I've got it set up right.  One other question.. does setting the MIC to "stereo" (2 Tracks) make a difference if I'm just using the internal mic?  thanks..

[Flash Harry]

64's right, you don't need to worry about the plug-in power, that is only used for external electret mics.

It's selected from the main utilities menu by pushing the right arrow (I think, my MBR is 70 miles away at the moment.....)

[hewhoiscalledj]

You mentioned that you tried recording with the built in mic but you werent loud enough to get picked up by the mic. Something is seriously wrong with that picture because that little mic is quite sensitive.

With the MIC input selected, make sure you adjust at least 2 things: the INPUT level wheel on the right side, and the SENSITIVITY level on the INPUT menu (move the cursor over to the SENSITIVITY and adjust up or down depending on how loud you really are. In a live band setting, it will probably be in the neighborhood of -12dB for Sensitivity and 85 or so for the Level input wheel.

You'll know if you are doing it right because you'll see the little meter thing working up and down. Set it so it goes as high as possible without clipping.

Lots to learn. Lots of time to do it. Just dont give up and ask all the questions you can.

Another option that i'll be brief about is to mic all the instruments thru the PA and then send a signal into the LIN input of the MBR and record that way. Or a combination of these two ideas. Good luck.

[Taco Vine]

In a live band setting, it will probably be in the neighborhood of -12dB for Sensitivity and 85 or so for the Level input wheel.

Well.. I did it.. I had the Sensitivity set at +8 and the Level at 80.  They are distinguishable (well.. at least 2 of the 3 songs... I forgot to set the Input to MIC on one of them!) but the vocals clipped big time on the high end.  One thing I'm really interested in is the difference between the Sensitivity setting and the input wheel.  What do each control and how do you balance them for the right setting.

Thanks!