Getting levels right when recording band practice

[jonmarcus]

Hi all

Sorry if this sounds a dumb question.

I have an MZ-NH900, Greenmachine's basic microphone and battery box, and a pair of headphones. I use the unit to try and make reasonable quality recordings of our band practices by placing the mics in the best location that the room set up allows . I generally try and get the band to play a bit (but without me playing drums because the unit is too far away from my kit) so I can look at the recording levels on the unit and try to set them so the peaks fall between the dashes (but it can be a bit trial and error to be honest). I should probably get one of the guys to play my drums while I check these levels but then this would mean their instrument will be missing.

Anyhow my real reason for the post is to ask if someone can explain what Dex Otaku meant in his November 2005 "Guide to uploading md recordings" post (a long time ago I know!) when he said "Always check what's going in [monitor!] with headphones before starting your session, or if you are using in-ear mics as I often do, check with headphones before putting them in your ears, or even get someone else to check with headphones for you."

I don't have in ear mics and with my "normal" headphones I could not seem to hear anything coming through them when I did a trial recording of the band. Did he mean to plug the mic into line in/mic in and then plug headphones into the line out socket of the unit, and then you should be able to hear what the recording should sound like through the headphones?

Also, how would the in ear microphones work in this scenario and would anyone recommend them?

Thanks

[greenmachine]

When mics and headphones are connected and the unit set to rec or rec pause, you can monitor the signal in real time. A loud band practice may overshadow the faint sound coming through the headphones unless you have highly isolating headphones or monitor in a different room. In ear mics require you not to move if you want to want a steady recording. It represents a special way of recording which is better suited for earphone listening than playback through loudspeakers. Try googling "A-B stereo, Jecklin disk, baffled stereo, binaural, omnidirectional microphone techniques", etc. to get some ideas about possible mic setup. I would recommend setting the mics up in between the band, in about 1-2m height and separated about 20-30 cm (8-12") with or without some kind of baffle in between, depending on taste. Use the line-in with battery box for recording loud instruments like drums, amplified instruments like electric guitar/bass, etc. to avoid overload.

[jonmarcus]

When mics and headphones are connected and the unit set to rec or rec pause, you can monitor the signal in real time. A loud band practice may overshadow the faint sound coming through the headphones unless you have highly isolating headphones or monitor in a different room. In ear mics require you not to move if you want to want a steady recording. It represents a special way of recording which is better suited for earphone listening than playback through loudspeakers. Try googling "A-B stereo, Jecklin disk, baffled stereo, binaural, omnidirectional microphone techniques", etc. to get some ideas about possible mic setup. I would recommend setting the mics up in between the band, in about 1-2m height and separated about 20-30 cm (8-12") with or without some kind of baffle in between, depending on taste. Use the line-in with battery box for recording loud instruments like drums, amplified instruments like electric guitar/bass, etc. to avoid overload.

Thank you very much for such a quick and very useful reply Greenmachine. Much appreciated. I thought that was what Dex meant and did wonder whether it was just the actual acoustic sound level of the band that was drowning the faint signal coming through the headphones, and you have confirmed that. To be honest I only have Sennheiser PX200 headphones, which perhaps aren't the best for this purpose. I probably need to spend a bit more money!

Many thanks also for you recording advice on mic placement etc... I have been getting pretty good results already with your mics and I do use the battery box to line in. I am not looking for amazing "studio" quality (particularly as recording drums is an art in itself) but rather just a reasonable quality recording which the band can use as a tool and for listening back to our playing critically.