Okay. I recording our band live, now what?

[Taco Vine]

Thanks to advice here on the board I have a decent recording.  I set the SNS at -4 and the level at 80, used the built in Mic with the effects off and used 2 tracks to record in stereo (not sure if this actually works using the built in Mic or not).  Recording isn't half bad.. Now what?  I don't know a thing about Mastering.  What am I trying to accomplish other than converting to MP3?  If I recording on 1 track, can I change the level of the individual instruments or vocals?  Appreciate any advice.. just please dumb it down for me!  Thanks..

[psychmusic]

I may be wrong, but the mastering will allow you to tweak your recording a bit. However, because you used an external mic you can not adjust the volume of instruments because everything is on the same track.

[AlchemyMN]

I would start by just playing the songs back with the various pre-set mastering effects - Live, Pop, Dance... and see if something jumps out at you.  Mastering is definitley an art, but these presets get you very close without much tweaking.

[Farmjazz]

What am I trying to accomplish other than converting to MP3?

That would be the question I would ask you. Did you record your band so you can evaluate the performance? Do you need to email a copy to the other band members as an individual practice tool? Do you want to burn copies to sell at gigs? Am I badgering you? Huh? HUH??

No, seriously, I record band rehearsals and performances to evaluate song arrangements, solos, vocal harmonies, and anything else thats going on in a song. I'll listen to it myself, email copies to other band members, and then sit down with the whole band and listen to it as a group. I'll archive the recording and compare it to subsequent performances, etc.

I find it helps to hear the band a whole. When you're concentrating on what you're playing during a performance, you sometimes lose sight of how the song is being presented by the whole band. It wasn't until I listened to a recording of one tune we do that I realized I was speeding up in a soli section. Very helpful!

At the very least, I would say master what you've got as per AlchemyMN's recommendations, and save it as an Mp3 file. If its one long recording of the performance you can bring the saved Mp3 file into Audacity, split it up into individual songs, clean up the extraneous chatter, (leave in the thunderous applause), and then do whatever you want with it. 

[hewhoiscalledj]

I'm glad you got some decent results; although are you sure there is no clipping? Not sure what kind of music you guys play but i've had trouble with too much noise/clipping with my SNS set at -12! Something to think about...

anyway, now that its recorded, Mastering is where you want to try and improve what you've got. You only have 1 track recorded or 2 if its in stereo but you can only tweak the tracks you have so its impossible to tweak individual instruments the way you've recorded. what you CAN do is tweak the EQ levels for lows, mids and highs which can help to balance things out better. you can experiment with compression settings and reverb, etc...

basically, its a trial and error thing but we all go thru this so good luck with the process and let us know if you have any questions. oh, if you want to try recording each instrument seperately to different tracks, you will have to record each person individualy to seperate tracks. usually, the drums go first (have him play to a click track on headphones to keep timing perfect.)

[Taco Vine]

the drums go first (have him play to a click track on headphones to keep timing perfect.)

What's a click track?  As you can tell, I'm REALLY new to all this.. this is my first band experience.  I have just been using the Micro for time stretching MP3s and recording a backing track to practice lead over.

I tried messing a round with the preset "Live", "Mixed down" but didn't notice a real difference.  Is it just me or is the Owners Manual terrible?  None of these things are explained..

[Greeny (No longer active)]

the drums go first (have him play to a click track on headphones to keep timing perfect.)

What's a click track?  As you can tell, I'm REALLY new to all this.. this is my first band experience.  I have just been using the Micro for time stretching MP3s and recording a backing track to practice lead over.

I tried messing a round with the preset "Live", "Mixed down" but didn't notice a real difference.  Is it just me or is the Owners Manual terrible?  None of these things are explained..

I gave up with the owners manual - and got everything I needed from the tutorials and personal advice on here - plus good old trial and error of course.

You should hear some difference with the mastering effects. Have you got effects switched on?! May sound silly, but it's the first thing to check! I think track 1 switches them on or off.

A click track is where the drummer is using a metronome or similar to keep really tight timing. The BR can do this with it's inbuilt metronome tracks.

[hewhoiscalledj]

The mastering effects (Live, Mixdown, etc...) would only be noticeable while in the MASTERING mode. Although you can set which effect to use while in standard recording mode, once it's recorded, you would have to go into the MASTERING mode (hitting the Utility and Exit button at the same time, i think) to use those effects while Mastering.

Thats why I suggest recording dry and then adding those effects during Mastering since you can pick and choose before committing to a set effect.

The basic idea behind a multi-track recorder is to record multiple tracks so this lets you record each instrument to their own track(s). So, try recording the drums by themselves first to track 1. Then add bass on track 2, guitar on track 3 and vocals on track 4. You can bouce or combine these tracks later to make room for more tracks/instruments.

The click track can be anything like a metronome (so the drummer or guitarist plays the song at the right tempo throughout the song,) or use a scratch track (throwaway recording to keep time.) since the drummer will be playing all by himself, the scratch track may help to keep him in time and also lock him into the groove.

Does that make sense?

Here's my fave site to read up on recording basics: www.tweakheadz.com  lots of helpful stuff to get you going.

[Farmjazz]

dj -

Thanks for the tweakheadz link. What a great resource. I especially like the essays on inspiration, style and discipline. I'm going to share some of these ideas with my composition students. Great stuff!