| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: The Recording Process | |
| Styles -- 08/03/2005, 15:31:13 -- #17238 | |
| I've been looking for gigs, and there is alot of opportunity in my general area(Piedmont, NC). However, all of my potential jobs are asking for a demo CD. Anybody have tips/advice on recording solo piano, straight ahead ensemble, and electronic jazz/groove/whatever music? That's a broad question, but I'm looking for any info... The best software Studio Equipment Microphones Acoustic environment for horns Good synthesizers Recording techniques | |
| 7 -- 08/03/2005, 16:15:21 -- #17239 | |
| Unless you need all that equipment to do the gigs, why not just spend the money at a good recording studio? You'll spend less money in the short run, and have better quality for posterity (the long run). | |
| Dr. Whack -- 08/03/2005, 18:40:53 -- #17240 | |
| It's hard to find a studio with a good piano nowadays, but if you can find one, that's the way to go | |
| Mike -- 08/04/2005, 01:21:08 -- #17257 | |
| a cd for promo purposes? My advice is... Just get it done... Most club owners will barely listen anyways... they just want some assurance that you have the minimal skills necessary to not be a complete embarassment to their venue. And its more important to make the package look good. Whether you make a tape or a cd make the cover look as profesional as possable. Dont waste too much time trying to make the music perfect. If you do.. you will never get your promo tape done and you will never work. Look at it like you can do a better quality one after you finish the first one. But get the first one done so you have something to give people to get working. | |
| Dr. Whack -- 08/04/2005, 10:32:24 -- #17270 | |
| Why not go to some of these venues and offer to play a set for free? That might be a lot cheaper than laying out the gold for a recording...or better yet, record your "free performance" Then you're killing two birds with one blast of the musket:) | |
| jaledin -- 08/04/2005, 16:23:11 -- #17287 | |
| I don't think you need all of that equipment to record a decent sounding demo-quality record. People aren't expecting a Top-40-style production when they pop in a demo, in the first place. You can get fine results by using a computer -- pretty much any computer -- and some software like Mackie Tracktion (my favorite) or a cheapie like Cakewalk Express and a soundcard with (a) multiple inputs or (b) a cheap Behringer mixer. I've used Tracktion and highly recommend it -- intuitive, but quite powerful. Check kvr-vst.com for the latest recommendations on hosts, plug-in instruments, and all that. I don't know how to get good sound out of drums and horns, but I'd bet the people you're playing with have at least some idea of how to get started. If it were me, I'd just get a couple of cheap microphones (SM57s or something) and experiment with placement for the drums and horn(s), record direct from a digital pino, and, if the bassist uses an amplifier, try to find a way to get a line-out of his amp. But I'm not a recording engineer, and really have no clue -- I can't stand these kind of details and fiddling-type things. If you have a digital piano, you should be able to get very very good sounding *solo* tracks by recording direct or by using MIDI and a very good VSTi plug-in or sampler. Unless you know what you're doing, you will almost certainly sound far worse if you try to mic an acoustic piano using a couple of $100 microphones or something. | |
| SolArt -- 08/04/2005, 17:42:09 -- #17292 | |
| Depends on the condition of the acoustic! I prefer recording on a good acoustic ANY day so I can bring that nuance out which often simply won't come out of a digital. It's like the difference between a mannequin & a human! | |
| Jazz+ -- 08/05/2005, 01:31:34 -- #17304 | |
| I do it all the time and it's easy: play while you your digital piano into digital recording device (hard disc recorder, PC, laptop, mini-disc recorder, DAT, etc. Then burn it onto a CD or find somebody who will do that for you. | |
| Jazz+ -- 08/05/2005, 01:33:44 -- #17305 | |
| I do it all the time and it's easy: play while you record your digital piano into digital recording device (i.e. used Roland hard disc recorder, PC, laptop, mini-disc recorder, DAT, etc. Then burn it onto a CD or find somebody who can do that for you. | |
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