DIY Live Band Recording Masterclass - Pro Recording Without the Pro Studio

Producer/engineer Ryan Cohen walks through the setup and philosophies behind multitrack recording a live band in a house for a commercial release!
Featuring The Brand New Luddites: tsunamibots.com/luddites
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Virtual Instruments from Robot Dog Studio: robotdogdrums.com
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[@zerodbu]

I really appreciate your humble an un-pretentious approach. So many audio engineers get lost in the weeds of fancy mics, placement and processing and miss the simple fact that their job is to capture, amplify or broadcast an actual performance. Thanks for keeping it real. Also, these musicians are great sports about turning their session into a youtube video - respect all around. Please do more videos like this one. It's validating to hear you talk through your decisions throughout the process.

[@RobotDogStudio]

Thanks! I really appreciate this note. I just put a new studio together in a week based around a Mackie mixer 😊 I documented the whole process so I hope to post that and more similar content this year!

[@The_Absurdistt]

I keep visiting this vid... it's such a great example of gorilla location recording. Loved every second, especially your commentary and detailed descriptions. Cheers.

[@RobotDogStudio]

Really appreciate hearing that! Thanks!

[@ER-yq1lc]

Great Singer.

[@kevinlentz7604]

Always nice to get a refresher course ❤

[@RobotDogStudio]

Definitely! Thanks for watching!

[@eliksc]

Your videos are awesome, super informative, and your recordings sound truly amazing! Thank you again for sharing, and keep up the great work Ryan!

[@RobotDogStudio]

Aww thanks so much!!! Means so much to me! Keeps me going. Cheers!

[@joejtunes]

Your channel is one of my favorites on KZbin, getting a notification from you is always a delight and every video you release is so packed with value. Thanks so much for posting man!

[@RobotDogStudio]

I really appreciate hearing that so much! Super happy to make them!

[@part-timeproductions]

This is AWESOME! Great work. Very entertaining to watch.

[@RobotDogStudio]

Sweet! Thanks so much for watching!!

[@thomaswhudson]

Killer man, love the live walk through stuff. Keep it coming.

[@RobotDogStudio]

Thanks! Gonna keep it up!

[@nebularvoid4669]

You always do a great job of exemplifying the DIY attitude and combining it with engineering prowess. Love the video, and keep up the amazing work!

[@RobotDogStudio]

Thanks so much for those kind words!! DIY for life!!

[@CharlieMayMusic]

Really appreciate you sharing your process!

[@RobotDogStudio]

No problem! Thanks for watching!

[@RodrigoPiccoli]

What a cool video man! THANKS for sharing that! that's so much good information and tips on this!

[@RobotDogStudio]

You are welcome!! Thanks so much for watching the dang thing!!

[@Whickedlee]

This was so rad to watch. Cool band. Killer mobile studio ….boss channel. Dude…well done.

[@RobotDogStudio]

Awesome to hear! Thanks a lot!!

[@RebelGamingClub]

Great video!!❤

[@RobotDogStudio]

woo!! Thanks!

[@itsgmani]

SO GREAT1

[@alr8luv]

Would love a deep dive video of the mix of this!!

[@RobotDogStudio]

That's a great idea! I hope to get back into posting mixing videos, too. There are so many KZbin mixers out there, I will try my best to show something different!

[@alr8luv]

@@RobotDogStudio I agree but to follow up from this great video I'm sure you will have some awesome bits of info us DIY guys would love to see. Love your videos and the drum kit you released!

[@israelcox3570]

Watched the entire thing and was thoroughly entertained! Lots to learn here for anyone with a non professional home studio. Thanks, Ryan!

[@RobotDogStudio]

Aww you're welcome! Thanks so much for watching!

[@RWaarden]

Thanks for the great walk through of this session! Curious how you attached the blankets on the wall? Hoping to learn smth that works without damaging the space.

[@RobotDogStudio]

You’re welcome! I think we used some good quality push pins spaced every foot or so.

[@NordicCactus]

This video is like the Velvet Underground of DIY recording videos- only 8.5k views but everyone who watches it will go on to attempt to record an album in a farm house!

[@RobotDogStudio]

lol story of my life 😂

[@ericstrauch3215]

Ludwig used olive badges in the '70's black badges for the '80's forward.

[@RobotDogStudio]

Right!

[@BeesWaxMinder]

you have a good studio personality my friend! (Incidentally the drummer looks a lot like the Sex Pistols' bassist!)

[@RobotDogStudio]

Aww thanks so much!

[@petercummins1097]

Thanks for sharing this content. Really enjoying it. I'm keen on the tascam 16x08 but just wondering what happened to the 20x20. It seemed like an updated version but it's been discontinued.

[@RobotDogStudio]

Awesome, yes checking out the 20x20... main difference is that is it USB 3.0 and has digital ins/outs... I would still go with the 16x08 because it has 8 mic pres, 2 instrument DIs, and 6 line ins... so 16 analog inputs total. The 20x20 only has 10 analog inputs. You would have to add an additional digital device or two (ADAT or SPDIF preamp for example) to use the other 10 ins. So the 16x08 is still the value champ imo. But I'd imagine Tascam is gearing up to replace the 20x20 with a new higher end model soon...

[@petercummins1097]

@@RobotDogStudio thanks l very much for your response. Really appreciate it.

[@sundogaudio851]

sounds good wheich interface are you using there?

[@RobotDogStudio]

Thanks! It's a Tascam 16x08. Famously shot out vs. an Apogee Symphony MkII here haha: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmfOmZmoqLqXl9E

[@lacesit]

How do you send the audio back out to the band, and turn down the drums without baking it into the mix?

[@RobotDogStudio]

All the instruments are recorded on separate tracks and mixed later for the album. The band gets a monitor mix I setup in my DAW (Logic) which is not permanent or baked in in any way.

[@mickeymonster9584]

sorry Im 10 months behind. You are the real deal. You can be the next Rick Rubin or maybe listen and like my MICKEY MONSTER music

[@RobotDogStudio]

Thanks!! You've got a new subscriber and I dig your tunes!!

[@dw3912]

How many mics total? how do you audio interface it? how do create individual monitor mixes? how do you mic guitar....mic on amp plus DI's? Same thing for bass? Vocal Mics? How many total tracks? In levels around -12 db?

[@RobotDogStudio]

Wow, I'm going to have to make some educated guesses here without going back into the files, but I'd say 11-12 mics total (we could have used fewer honestly). I used a Tascam 16x08 interface. Global monitor mix (in 25 years recording, I've never had the option of individual monitor mixes and we've always made it work) Don't think we DI'ed guitars on this one, but it's not a bad idea if you can. We did DI/mic bass. SM7B for vocals. Probably 15-20 tracks in the final mix. Yes, I try to hit -12 dB on the way in. Thanks for watching! -Ryan

[@udntknwwhoweare]

Where I can listen to the record?

[@RobotDogStudio]

Right here! brandnewluddites.bandcamp.com/album/iconoclast

[@udntknwwhoweare]

@@RobotDogStudio thank you, I saw the whole video and wanted so bad to see the results, going listen

[@Zazquatch1]

Great voice/singing. Drums - not so much xD

[@roadrunner-ys5wd]

Very cool from Sheffield UK

[@RobotDogStudio]

Cheers!

[@davidmcaninch4714]

As a drummer, seeing duct tape on the snare drum kinda makes me cringe. I think a bit of it was even on the rim. That’s not good.