Recording real Drums on iMac using GarageBand

Hey everyone,

I've just started to set up a recording studio, I have mediocre experience with recording from studying music technology, haven't done much with it in a few years but now want to get back into it.

I've got an iMac 21.5" 2.7GHz.. I've got all of the equipment I need to record, minus a mixing desk/interface..

Just wondered what would be the best and most reasonably priced option.

Having a quick look through t'internet I've found this:

Peavey PV10 USB Mixer at Gear4Music.com

Peavey PV10 USB Mixer,

Is this Mac compatible and is it suitable to record a good sound.

Thanks in advance for you're help

Carl

If you've never really recorded before, GarageBand is a decent start. Id upgrade to something more powerful and capable like Logic.

But im stuck too, between Logic and ProTools.

But to record a drum set, you're gonna need something with plenty of mic inputs. Get a real audio interface, not a PA Mixer.

Thanks BlackJack325, Yea so I've heard, I may upgrade to Logic or ProTools soon.. I want to set everything up first..

Steer away from PA mixers is it? Any interfaces you recommend?

Thanks again,

Recording drums is one of the single hardest things to do as an audio engineer. It's not just about setting a few mics and hoping for the best. You need to understand phase relationships between microphones, bleed status, room tones, the list goes on.

As far as the interface, and considering drums are the single most important element to a great sounding mix, you need to concern yourself with getting the core of your digital studio in place. This consists of your conversion, monitors and monitor control, room treatment, mic-preamps and microphones, and of course the computer/DAW (digital audio workstation) itself.

Everything in serious audio production is expensive. This is why recording studios exist and audio engineering is a real science (though way too many unqualified people love to call themselves audio engineers these days).

Here are a few components for you to consider for the core system.

Converter = Lynx Aurora 16 (or Lynx Aurora 8 but the 16 is a better buy)
Monitors = Focal CMS65
Monitor Control = SPL 2Control
Room Treatment = Primacoustic products
Mic Preamps = A Designs Pacifica
Microphones = Audix i5 (snare), Sennheiser 441 (under snare), Sennheiser MD421 (1 for each tom), AKG D12e or D112 (kick in), Yamaha Subkick (kick out), Peluso P12 (stereo pair for overheads), Peluso 22 47SE (stereo pair for room mics)

As far as the workstation/software is concerned, do yourself a favor and get Pro Tools 9 with a Lynx AES16e PCIe interface card. This will connect perfectly with the Aurora converters and give you a fast and stable interface in which to record/edit/mix audio.

I provided a bunch of product links from a very reputable dealer I know and as that company is very customer service and consulting oriented, when you're ready to make a purchase I would suggest giving them a call and discussing everything in greater detail to get all of your questions answered.

Good luck!

kittonian said:

As far as the workstation/software is concerned, do yourself a favor and get Pro Tools 9 with a Lynx AES16e PCIe interface card. This will connect perfectly with the Aurora converters and give you a fast and stable interface in which to record/edit/mix audio.

Click to expand...

Everything else i agree with. I would choose different mics, but thats just cause i have my own preferences.

But you cannot use this interface with an iMac, as there are no PCI slots accessible. You need a FW/USB alternative. have a look at some of the Focusrite interfaces.

You can get PCIe to work with iMac by using Magma but it's way too expensive

I think you'll need Audio interface with a lot of analog Inputs. Because most USB mixers are sending 2 mono channels or 1 stereo to DAW software and that isn't a good way to record drums. You'll need to record multitrack so you can edit or mix later.

The cheapest choice I can think of is "Presonus FireStudio Tube" It comes with 10 Mic preamps and 6 analog inputs so you can record 16 channels simultaneously

Presonus has quite good standard. It might not be as good as Hi-end Audio interfaces or Hi-end Digital Audio Converters like lynx but Presonus's good enough.

If you are looking to record drums definitely steer clear of mixers. I use a Fast Track Ultra 8R interface by M-Audio. Really easy to use in Logic.

Also as a side note look into using the XY Stereo Microphone technique for your overhead microphone setup. And if you want to get really experimental try the one mic setup for drums Home Studio Recording Drum Techniques - 1 mic - YouTube