Trying to record your band at home can be a really fun and productive experience. It can also however be challenging for a variety of reasons, and sometimes it may not be the best option for professional results. Tracking even a 4 piece band correctly takes a good amount of gear- microphones, headphones, cables & fast computer are just some of the things that are needed to be successful. Yes you could try to record one or a few instruments at a time but the results are often not as tight and natural as tracking together. Everyone has heard of certain well know artists who recorded in their bedroom but thats for mostly just for vocals or electronic musice - what if you play heavy music? You cant just get by with a microphone and a interface. You need real amps & volume to get the feel and tone right. If not it will sound weak and powerless.
Tracking often creates most of the issues for the home studio. Mixing does have its own challenges but tracking is where you need to get it right first. At the noise floor we do most of our tracking live, you can play like you normally would in a practice - together. We can use click tracks if needed for timing and everyone will get monitoring through our headphone network - we also track with no latency straight into our computer. We can even track with plug-ins or amp sims .You can bring your amp,guitars, basses, instruments or use ours.
Monitoring is another area that negatively affects most DIY projects. Without accurate monitoring and room treatments its nearly impossible to know that what you are recording is going to translate when you listen outside your room. When you play your song in the car or headphones it will likely be very bass heavy or too weak. We use Focal Trio 3 way monitors in a acoustically treated space to be certain what you hear is what you get.
Lastly the thing you may also be missing is the know how to combine all elements to keep things flowing so you can keep creative. Sometimes just having an engineer or two in the session to assist with tuning, instrument setup, repairs, getting food ,coffee etc can push the production and keep it fun for everyone. Quality recording studios have been known to be expensive and for good reason- maybe your production doesn't have a big studio budget but that doesn’t mean your should compromise on the end result. Project studios can and do compete everyday to deliver excellent results at a cost that meets any budget. Get in touch.