Originally Posted by: earthman buckYou kids and your fancy recording. We're the Greasy Knots! All we need is blankets and water-bottles!

then why are you asking for help ?

Couple of things you can do to help your selves that don't cost much.

Buy some cheap mics

You need 2 for the drums (1 pointing at the drummers head and one pointing down at the drummers head @ 45 degrees), 1 for the singer, then DI the bass and possibly one for the guitar. Get a 4th one for the guitar unless you have a POD. Use dynamics not condensers.

First lesson - try to minimize bleed through into different mics, learn what the 3:1 rule is. Then learn how mic placement gives you different sounds i.e. pointing a mic at the center of a speaker sounds different to pointing it at the edge.

Look for the Shure PG line or go with Behringer. They are fairly naff mics but will be much better than the internal mic you are using.

You should be able to do this for a hundred bucks all in (inc stands and cable) if you go second hand.

~OK the second bit. Read a lot about recording, mic placement and gain staging

Their is lots about this on the web. You need to become very familiar with these ideas if you are going to have a cat in hells chance of producing anything that is even half listen-able to. Im not talking CD quality Im talking about quality level that doesn't make small children cry and party goers vomit.

Recording stuff is hard and takes a lot of knowledge. Once you have that knowledge you don't need fancy kit (so much). However with out a teacher, you are left with the internet !! And with out fancy gear you are forced to become good at tracking !!

My advice is start with the stuff here at GT. Their is much of vaue in both Schmange's and my lessons. You can ask us about the things that either we haven't explained well or you don't understand. Both of us have made albums for both our selves and other people.

By the time you have digested that lot you will be ready to talk the talk even if walking the walk is a whey a whey.

Good luck !