The Zombie's lair


recording tips, stories, and gear....


So, you have written the next "Stairway to heaven" and want to make a demo, what do you do?

1. Call your parents, borrow a lot of money, book studio time, and hire session players to play the instruments that you cant.

2. Book a lot of gigs and hope that a record company type will be there and sign you on the spot!

3. Save a few dollars and visit the pawn shops and music stores and buy a recorder of your own.


***Options 1 & 2 may be realistic for some but, option 3 is by far the most rewarding!!***


You dont need thousands of dollars to get started, but it would be nice!!

all joking aside, I set up my first basic demo studio for about $1,000.00, but that included a drum machine and a few other instruments.

If you are reading this page now, you are on your way! The home computers of today are powerful enough to be used as cd quality demo recorders.

You can download lots of shareware programs to see which one you like. I suggest buying a program, that way, you have tech support when you need it, and believe me, you will need it from time to time.

I like Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro as an entry level program, it is easy to use, it gives you 16 tracks, and it sounds great! You can get this program for around $100.00. When you buy it, you also get some plug-ins with it that are very useful.

Plug-ins are software based effects like reverb, chorus, ect.. The more powerful the computer, the more you can use at the same time.
I am currently in the middle of buying a new house and my studio is in pieces! I feel very lost!! When I get it all put together, I will post new pics.
Until then, good luck and remember, MUSIC IS TRULY THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.




The first area I would like to cover is the room you will set up your studio in. This is one of the most important elements to take into consideration when putting a studio together. there are a couple of things to consider when picking an existing room in your house, or building one. Will you be recording "direct"? Direct means, all of your instruments are plugged directly into the recorder or mixing board. If you are going to record this way, room acoustics will not be a major factor. If you will be recording acoustic instruments such as drums or acoustic guitars using microphones, acoustics will be your MAIN factor.

I record both ways. Im not a drummer, so I dont have any drum sets lying around! I do however, know a drummer or 7 and have a room in my house that is great for recording acoustic instruments. The only set back is, I have to move gear around if Im gonna record this way. Its ok, the drummer I use is free! When Im not using a real drummer, I run my Alesis drum machine direct into my recorder. I use a couple of different amp set-ups for guitar, one of the set-ups is live type set-up with an amp, speaker cabinet, and a couple of microphones. one of the mics, I put directly in front of the speakers, about an inch away, the other mic gets put somewhere in the room depending on what kind of sound Im looking for, I then blend the two different sounds into one overall sound on the recorder. This is where the "acoustics" of a room come into play.

If the room you decide to use has a lot of furniture or other things in it, or has thick carpets and plaster walls, the sounds you record will have a very dry or "up in your face" kind of sound, no echo here!! Even if you use another mic in a different part of the room, away from the source of sound, it will still sound "dry". If that is the kind of sound you are looking for, or you are going to use effects, this kind of room will be alright. If the room has a hardwood floor,(my favorite!!)or paneled walls, your will get sort of a natural reverb thing happening. This is where the great tones start! If you use two microphones as mentioned before, you can experiment with the placement of that 2nd mic to really bring out the acoustic quality of the room, the key is patience!! dont get bummed if you cant find the sweet spot right off the bat, every room has one, except the shed!! You will find the right spots to record, just follow your ears, if it sounds good, it is the right way!!


Here is a song in mp.3 format that I wrote: