Noise reduction tactics

There are some awesome bits of software out there that can help you sidestep many of the traditional noise and loudness problems that are intrinsic to recording live musicians, particularly in a home environment. Even in a wellsoundproofed building, you can still hear a band playing, especially at night. A drummer hoofing a kick drum alongside a hefty bass amp powering a 15-inch cab is always going to make an undefeatable racket.

So, if you don’t have one already, make it a priority to get hold of a high-quality amp/cab simulation software suite such as Native Instruments Guitar Rig, IK Multimedia AmpliTube and the like. If you’re a Logic Pro user you’ve already got some good options in Amp Designer and Bass Amp Designer. These can give your bassist and guitarist a really great sound, enabling them to perform to the best of their ability while you capture their performance via DI. You could always re-amp it later if the sim doesn’t do it for you – in the daytime, maybe?

Another realistic option – particularly for rock and metal bands – is a MIDI drum kit (the Roland TD series, for example) combined with a drum ROMpler like FXpansion BFD, perhaps with some real cymbals and hi-hats thrown in for good measure. This shouldn’t upset anyone (apart from maybe the drummer) and could actually get you a better result than recording a real drum kit – not the easiest of tasks in the average house. This won’t be so good for soft, more expressive playing, but if that’s the vibe you’re going for, then a softly played real kit may well be a viable option anyway.