Welcome Jim,
I reply in a long way because I have been in a very similar situation to you back in the day, and because I did not get many replies when I tried to find help on my first try.
First thing you might wanna do is add your name for signing your posts. I don't think it's "ultra-required" here in George's Forum, but in others here like Klaus', it pretty much is. And, it is helpful and appreciated too!
Second, here are a few links to various communities that may help you:
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/index.php3http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgihttp://www.3daudioinc.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgihttp://www.audioforums.com/forums/http://duc.digidesign.com/?ubb=forum;f=16
Third, I listened to both cuts you posted. I am pretty familiar with this kind of music. If these are one's you recorded yourselves, then I have certainly heard worse. I can hear the drums on cut #1 OK, but they do sound weak, hmm...lame, actually, for the music style. It seems to me it isn't a volume problem. By the way, I would point out that the sister forums to this one, the MARSH, has an advice forum, where you can post songs for review by some VERY competent people who are being very kind to donate their advice.
Anyway, I would spend a lot of time lurking at places like this forum. I say "lurking" because one is often well advised to say little and listen much:-) Not to slight this particular forum, but most the stuff here is super high-end debate on technical data that I would not loose sleep over if I were in your current situation. Check out all the different forums, and I think some other folk will post links to more.
Since you say you have 32 track count, I am gonna assume you have a Digi 001 or 002?
If that is the case, that Digidesign forum shown above can be a big help as far as your core rig goes.
For learning about gear on the front and back ends of your PT box, Gearslutz is a good place to lurk. Read, read, read. Read all over all these places, and things will begin to make sense. At the Gearslutz forum there is a guest moderater this month, Charles Dye. I would spend some time there. Craig Anderton's place at the Musicplayer site will also possibly be helpful.
Other than that, I can only stress that it all begins with the songs, then the arrangement, then the players, then their instruments and rigs, then the ROOM you are recording in. No matter how lavish your recording setup is, if those things are not right, then all you are recording is bad sound.
Rememeber that some of the greatest recordings ever were made with one or two mics and one or two tracks, on very old klunky boxes. Expensive gear is no solution. Study mic placement and basic acoustics. There are 2 or 3 forums that get into nothing but room design and improvement. Lots of them are geared to fixing up your basement on a budget. Read them and see what's up.
Make sure to study up on things like tuning. What will pass at a live gig for tuned drums/guitar/vocal/etc., will not always fly when recording. You are trying to squeeze a lot of sound onto a hard drive or piece of tape. Careful precision at the very beginnings is what helps. Don't try to "fix it in the mix" or cover over problems with effects/distortion. Effects and distortion can be great, but only after you have insured that the original tracks are precisely what you desire.
The whole recording process is one of tiny fractions of quality. There are countless waves of threads and posts on forums like this, with people asking how to get professional sounding results, and seeking that "album" sound like a holy grail. There is no simple answer, and there are many variations to that sound. Just bear in mind that sounds accumulate over each track. In the same way, tiny mistakes and imperfections accumulate, and when you stack 32+ tracks of them, then listen through a good monitor system, you may regret it
One thing you might consider at some point, is looking around locally and spending some money on an experienced producer and/or mixer. Pay them to do one song with you, and WATCH what they do. It could be a valuable lesson. Don't make the mistake of thinking that even experienced engineers that rented you time at studios did what they would have done, had you hired them to produce or make a serious mix. When you gave them a limited budget and request, they gave you a limted result. Years back, I took my own advice and hired a well known producer/mixer. I learned in 2 months far more than I ever did in college. It cost me a pretty-penny, but was well worth it.
A final suggestion, work from the outsides in--in every way! IMHO, you might want to work from the back end first. That means get your listening environment acoustically tight, following what you learn. Then monitors, then some kinda 2 channel convertor that is not the Digi 001 or 002's! At least then you know what you are hearing is more accurate.
As I noted above, on the front end, try to get everything tuned well, using new strings not 9-month old ones (!--hmm, unless you want that sound, I guess--shrug), think about what amps you are using on bass, guitar, etc., look into good quality DI's, etc. In short, make the music as good as possible BEFORE you try to record it. If you are going for a garage/thrash sound, so be it. Yet, I have heard some great grungy ass recordings that were live as hell, and very well done. And, it had little or nothing to do with buying incresingly expensive, overrated recording gear.
At the very end of the trail, is Mastering, and I beg you not to try the cheapo home mastering slam. It really does not cost much to have a serious Mastering house work on your tunes. Even if it is one song, pay the cash and see what they do. A nice Mastering Engineer may let you watch, and answer questions. That is a cool thing, just keep quiet as possible, and watch. The quality mastering process is crucial.
To conclude, I hope you are not lulled into the fantasy that more and more-expensive recording gear will make things better. It is very tempting, and addictive like crack! But, it is also like crack because it is a lie, and the end result in the morning sun is an empty wallet and a sinking feeling of depression.
You have indeed started down a "Long Road," and better count on a year or so to even get half the lingo part down around these forums. I hope you think much about what you and your mates really want to be. If you want to be players and performers in the end, then I would stop wasting cash on making home recordings beyond the rough demo level, and start hard-core research on which studios and producers can really give you the results you want for the cash you have.
There is a massive temptation these days to try and "do it all." I strongly caution you against that, if you wish to succeed. People who specialize in business things (the 3-piece suit guys) do so for a reason. Similarly, the recording industry is not a single entity, but many. There may be one or two examples out of, hmm, what, 10 million(?) who "do it all," but they are few, and I won't comment on their results.
I recall Mr. Massenburg saying once that it was such a joy to be in a setting where the musicans had spent their whole life perfecting their craft, the engineers had spent their whole life doing theirs, The studio owners theirs, the mastering folks, the assistants likewise, and naturally, the producer, being George, I believe. Each of those tasks is a lifetime of devotion, and combined they truly make lasting and successful art.
Best o' luck!
--K
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Topic: starting the path down the long road.... (Read 2354 times)