its best to try to eliminate noise when recording. but if that cant be done, u can always use audio editing programmes to remove noise.

most audio editing softwares have it. eg: adobe audition

cables are very important. neutrik user here!

preamps can cost from a few hundred ringgit to a few thousand. u can try cheap tube mic preamps such as behringer mic100, or one by dbx. i've tried these two budget tube preamps. i have also tried(and work with them for live purpose) lots of different high end preamps and u'll be surprised how much it will change your tone. it wont change it in such a drastic way as a guitar amp does but the difference can be heard(eg: a more enhanced sound).

recording using a laptop isnt much of a problem if u know how to set things up properly. i did a number of recordings for ppl using my laptop and still it sounded good. cant upload any now because my uni's internet is down and i cant afford to go to starbucks just to use their wifi.

pix, preamp plays more role in moulding the tone, not amplifying it. that will be the poweramp's role.

leadaxer, if u want a room ambience or a studio feel to your recordings, u can always add studio reverb, where u can adjust everything from room size, ceiling height, amount of reverb, etc. Remember after recording your guitar, there are still lots to do to make it sound good such as compress, eq, etc.

i've never tried software guitar amp modelling before so i wouldnt know. i've used behringer, podxt, boss gt8 and others. theyre very good. having good equipments is one thing, knowing how to use them to get the best out of them is another.

ok, here's from my experience if u dont have a good mic preamp(in this case and many cases i've done, its mic to pc straight). 1st, try to get a very transparent and natural sound. the sm58 is a classic but not necessary.i've done recordings using a cheap computer mic(i'll post it up once i get back to kuching during CNY as theres no internet line for me here in kl). use a compressor to taste as vocals tend to have very big and obvious dynamic range. after that add some EQ to balance in with the mix(and add presence/others). finally add studio reverb. adjust to get a studio environment sound. use this to fake as if u're using a condensor mic to record in a recording environment.

oh ya, if you're like me, set the pitch corrector to the key of the song and keep it on *winks*. thatll solve your 'nanyi tak chun'

not a plugin. the one in adobe audition.

theres smth called multiband compression

blacktrix, the ux1 and ux2 is available at ck music. it seems pretty good but wait for a while. itll probably be like when pod first came out. wait a lil longer u might get a 2.0 or xt live. lol. so far its ok but i heard theres still latency problems. i think the ux1 has no phantom power for mics(if u're gona use a condenser mic)

recording latency might be minimal but monitoring ones can cause ur recordings to sound really bad (especially if u're playing a metal solo, ur drummer plays double bass at lightning speed etc. lol)

ive had experience miking drums too. not easy.

well, for the drums, it has to have good and suitable skin to begin with.

other than mics like what u said, preamps, COMPRESSORS and gates are very crucial for that punch in the drum set. miking techniques is very important too. there are diff ways to 'calculate' the miking distance and such but i wont type it here. too sleepy now. haha.

using the right mics are also important. although the easiest (and cheapest) will be using sm57.

then theres the acoustic issue.

i havent heard ur stuff as i am using my uni's computer. once i can get online i will dload it. maybe u can try studio reverb for the vocals since everyone says its dry(i havent heard it). just add abit of 'air' and acoustic feel to it that way. not too much though! haha. g luck

what i meant was 'studio reverb' effect not the studio's reverb. with this reverb you can adjust and simulate the acoustics of the room(eg: how big the room is, how much the walls absorb sounds, how high the celiling is, etc) thus making the vocals sound much more natural especially if u record vocals using a dynamic mic(or a condensor in a 'dead' sounding room).

i think when he said he wants to lower the frequency, he means he is gonna EQ everything to make everything blend in (as you suggested). this can be done by giving each instrument(including vocals) its own strong area in the frequency spectrum. eg: to avoid the guitars and vocals to be 'fighting' you dont boost the guitars too much around the 3k hz area

does anyone here know where to get Audio Technology mag? i think its australian. its a very good audio engineering mag

i use reason 3.0 and it comes with 2 other CDs with the soundbanks(total of 3 cds). if you're gona ask me to give em to you illegally then the mods will come whacking you

hoongern, what are u working as? the gears you have...wow...i'm jealous

i'm no pro but just a 19 year old hobbyist who isnt really a hobbyist cause i dont own much recording gear. lol. err...nvr mind

as for stereo mic setup, i'm more used to using x-y. i havent really experimented with others that much. as for the ORTF method, i'm not too sure about the calculations(if there are any). just depends on my ear and a guide of mics at 17cm apart at 110 degrees. maybe the reason why i dont play with it around too much is because of the weird phase effects. i'm a musician, so naturally i just wanna nail things down to the track asap. hehe.

as for recording choir, the x-y technique will not give you so much of the stereo seperation effect, but since its a live event its good that you wont capture too much of the surrounding sounds. but still, it depends on the mics too. ive never used AKG C451B condensers

as for the 3rd question, i have no idea about drivers and all that stuff(as in totally 0)! maybe you can teach me

it seriously seems like you're the pro here

hoongern, what comments would u like? i duno what to say just that it sounds great. btw, what mics and recorders do u own?

what school do u go to???

where did u get such a good deal for those mics?

i agree its hard to hear as the mp3 quality was quite bad

buy me a nice half stack tube amp then i'll help

hehehe

msg me on msn and i'll help

ooops. sorry. was referring to blacktrix's post.

on ur 3rd question, it can be done, if you know the proper techniques and the hall has good acoustic properties

yea, take a look at echo products. i duno much on the gina 3g but with that budget, try more than a maya44. just my rm0.02