Recording practice sessions

[Barks]

I keep reading that it is of great benefit to record yourself and listen back to help improve time and show up any other aspects that might need work. I would like to be able to record my practice sessions at home and wondered what equipment anyone could recommend for this. It would be nice to get a reasonable sound quality without setting up a full home studio.

I have also looked at the Tascam CD player that can slow down tracks or change key as a practice tool. It would be nice to slow down some of the more technical Motown parts in the Standing in the Shadows of Motown book for example (never mind my Jaco and Marcus CD's!)

[jitter]

I bought a Korg ToneWorks PXR 4 a few months ago. It's got 4 tracks with 8 virtual tracks each and records to a SmartMedia card. There is one (bass) guitar input and a line input. The built-in mic is... well... not so usable :-)

 

Editing recorded tracks is quite easy and the PXR 4 can be connected to a PC using an USB cable (not included) for digital transfer of songs or tracks.

 

The built-in effects are quite okay, but I don't use them at all, I like a plain bass sound :-)

 

If the drum machine would be programmable this box would be perfect, unfortunately it only comes with preset drum loops.

 

More information can be found at: http://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?A_PROD_NO=PXR4

[Big Daddy from Motown]

I use a Sony minidisk recorder with an outboard sony stereo mic. Total cost about $300.

The sound quality is great, and the automatic limiter in the MD recorder works well for rehersals. Just push the record button and forget it.

I have tried some of the newer small hd recorders but find that without the limiter it's to hard to ride levels. Digital distortion is just to be avoided at all costs.

[BenLoy]

MiniDisc recorders are great. How did we ever get along without these things? I borrow my girlfriend's all the time.

 

Why do you need to slow down the parts in the Motown book? The notes are written right there.

 

Just slow set your metronome to a comfortable tempo and speed up by small increments until they're comfortable for you to play at tempo.

[cloclo]

same here, minidisc recorder and a small stereo-mic to connect to it. you can choose to limit the volume of the recorded signal automatically or you can manually set the recording volume. just for rehearsals i use the auto-setting. push a button and play....

 

i know iriver makes mp3-players where you can connect a mic also. check cnet for reviews ( here\'s one with 256Mb memory but it also exists in 512Mb or 1Gb and has line-in recording mini-jack)

it's really small and lasts long on a single small AA battery ...

[coyote]

I use VHS tape. Typically I use the standard 2hr speed but if a session's gonna be a long one I can put it on 6 hours.

 

The beauty of it is I put it on record, and then forget about it and just PLAY. The band doesn't have to be distracted by incessant fiddling with recording controls.

 

Oh yeah - a hifi VHS deck costs about $50 or less nowadays.

[getz out]

I picked up that Korg PXR4 used on ebay. Great little tool.

[EddiePlaysBass]

For the minidisc people, which one would you recommend (and be as specific as possible, if possible). I'm looking at buying a Sony, but I'm not sure what to pay attention to.

[ChrisOfDoom]

I have an old Tascam 4 track, for band practice we always just set up a boom mic in the middle of the room connected to that thing. Plus that thing feels cheap, but it must be built like a tank because it survived being dropped 4 feet onto concrete once and it still works perfect.

 

Sometimes I get motivated enough to mic my amp when I practice but not often.

[BenLoy]

Sony's pretty much the only game in town when it comes to MiniDiscs.

 

Make sure you buy one that has a real "Mic" input.

 

Some of the cheaper ones have a "Line In" input only and will not accept the input from an external microphone without a preamp.

[dohhhhh6]

If you're just wanting to hear yourself, just buy a TRS (1/4 inch) to 1/8 adapter and plug into the Line In of your computer (located at the sound card by the speaker inputs), then record onto a program like N-track Studio or Audacity. Oh yeah, the adapter goes on your 1/4 guitar cord...

 

That's way less than 5 bucks, but that's if you only want to hear yourself.

 

You can also get an XLR to TRS cable, hook up a mic, add the TRS to 1/8 inch adapter, and record onto a laptop or computer next to your band, you get decent results this way.

[ATM]

I use my computer with MusicMatch JukeBox. Change the recorder from the CD drive to mic and we're rolling. Looking into upgrading my mic, but the present one does a pretty decent job. Of course, my narrow living room funnels us away from the mic, but it does give us a feel of how we sound.

 

For playback, I have it running through my home theater system. Subwoofer does a pretty good job of bringing through the bass.

 

Drawback is the lack of any other features, no drum/metronome, track editing, etc.

 

Oh, and the cost is $20. For that money it's definitely worth it.

 

ATM

[Nicklab]

I was doing something considerably lower-tech. I have a boombox that has a stereo 1/8" input. I just hooked that up to a mic to record practice on casette tapes. As long as everyone's levels were pretty even, it came out fine. It was only practice, anyway.

[Big Red 67]

I have every thing run though the board for a headphone mix. I spliced a 1/8" stereo male into the cables from the main out. I run it into a Sony MD. The quality is great. I also have the Sony stereo mic for live recordings. Again the quality is great. Much better then I would have thought. Yes make sure that it has a input labled for mic input.

[tucker71]

Minidisc is the way.

Not only for recording but, if you're in a band that uses Sequences, I suggest using an MD player. Some people use an iPod now but, then you have to deal with the menu.

I've actually been in situations where the sequences are on a friggin' LAPTOP!! The drummer is back there futzing around with a powerbook!!

Lame.

MD is the way to go.

[Barks]

Thanks for the ideas. Ordered a Sony Mini disc and stereo mic. That way I don't have to buy the ipod I was thinking of getting either.

[Gruuve]

Just an opinion here, but for about the same price you could get one of the budget 8-track digital recorders. Fostex has one that's $300, and Zoom, Tascam, Korg, and others have ones for well under $400, plus you can probably find some higher end ones used on Ebay, etc.

 

The benefit of this is that you get a tool that you can simply record rehearsals with, BUT you also get a multi-track recorder on which you can do a fairly polished demo. IMHO, it's worth it.

 

HTH,

Dave

[Cozmicslop]

Good idea Dave,

 

That's the route I took. If I want, I can just record the room and get a decent practice recording.

 

If I want something cleaner, we can track everything separately, mix, pan, EQ and come up with a decent sounding demo. In those cases we just program the drums and do everything else live.

[Bass_god_offspring]

MiniDisc recorders are great. How did we ever get along without these things? I borrow my girlfriend's all the time.

 

damn, now that's a true musician, mooching off others instead of buying stuff.