I've been what I think is a decent drummer for a long time. I can play with any style, and most popular rock bands are easy to play by ear.
I've got a few pieces of recording equipment that I've had for a while and just never used....
I've got a track machine with alot of onboard space and a built-in cd burner, a few microphones and all that, cords, etc....
What I'm wondering is....where do I start?
I have a room I use for practice, it doesn't echo because I have carpet tacked up all over the walls xD
My Bro is my guitarist (freakin amazing) He is currently playing for the Marine band at Parris Island, so I don't get to have a constant practice partner besides other friends *they all suck though*
I tried getting a track or two done at a local studio because I got some free time from a bud. It didn't go so well. When we play side by side we sort of feed off eachothers' energy and everything just cicks.
We've played hundreds of shows at bars, parties, and two weddings D: But we can't figure this shit out. It seems like work lol...

Another thing I was wondering is...how could I do a decent recording room at my house? I've been told everything from putting egg cartons all over the walls, to re-doing the entire room's walls. Doing insulation, sheetrock, silicone all over that sheetrock and then another layer of sheetrock...makes sort of a sound proof buffer area? Idk....
Any tips would help alot.

No one has any ideas?

well mic'ing a drum set is in my opinion the hardest part of home recording. you need alot of mics, a good multi-track mixer and alot of patience. i personally have not done drum recording because i just dont have the capacity. if you have enough mics and the mic clips for drum heads then just set it all up, have each mic individually go into the mixer and play.

if u play rock or metal the rooms doesnt affect the drum sound that much since the mics sensetivity is high as hell and doesnt pick up the sound of the room, if u are not planning to build a proffesional studio i dont think the room matters so much

midi drums is another was to go, you can make em sound just like real drums, i use addictive drums software, u can either chose premade comps and fills or make ur own, if u play the drums its easier to make ur own comps through this program
this is one of my songs recorded and produced by myself. only midi drums, one part with a kinda electrical sound and the rest acoustic

the guitar is recorded in the basement next to the laundry machine

Thats definately better than fruity loops....but I suppose its just how good you are with the programs. I've just been using four mics for my drums, one on the bass, snare, infront of the rack toms and over all for the cymbals, and all on stands. But even that is just when I'm recording JUST the drums. I used to remember the difference of why two of my mics are better than the others...cardoid...something...idk....the two good ones cost me 140$ for the pair and look like sticks, the other two look like your typical mics and cost me about 90 for the pair. I've got the bass and regular guitars going directly into the track mixer, So I can record most of it all at once, but when I try to record it all seperate and get it just right....it all falls apart...I'm sitting there like wtf.
I really need someone who knows wtf they're doing with this track machine :/ I'll post up specs later maybe someone will have had some exp with it.

For YOUR purposes don't bother treating the room first, you can always put reverb on the drum track after. You should invest in better mics, enough mics for each drum as well as overheads. Better recording equipment in general, but you're on the right track. I suggest moving towards computer recording instead of the all in one mixer just because its easier.

@fiend3n - the room does matter, big rooms=big sounding drums. It won't matter that much if you're only close micing but it matters in the overheads.

Well, the room I have now is pretty dead, which works for me. The all-in-one mixer was a gift..and its awesome ^_^. Its got a usb and midi port though, I can hook it up to the computer and dl all the tracks etc. The real question I had was like...
How do I take the awesomeness of a live preformance and put that on a cd? When I record it all together it sounds Ok...but no where near proffessional. When I record it seperate everything goes haywire because we can't practice together often enough.
I have been using it alot though. I've recorded myself playing along with my mp3/4 player to a few different songs. I think my mics are pretty decent. The quality of sound is solid, and it transfers well.
I've only noticed one problem: rimshots....they pop a little bit. I think I could take care of that with a pop filter though. Any further ideas are welcome ofc.
The more I play with it the more I learn, so don't hesitate ;D

Having as many mics as possible is a good way to go then. With live though, you want to isolate each instrument as well as possible so you're not making, for example the guitar sound bleeding into the drum mic. You could make some separation with like blankets or a wood panel covered with blankets in between the various instruments or if you can have each person in a different room playing their instruments. You're not gonna really gonna get a professional sound because you don't have professional recording equipment unless you go all midi like the previous poster.

exactly what mics do you have? you should get some decent software for mixing, like reaper or nuendo, easy and stable (for pc.. i use mac and logic pro wich i find awesome for my purposes). you should be able to get a decent sound with only a few mics.. ex. alot of led zeppelin is recorded with 2 overheads, kick mic and and ambience mic (the long shotgun looking thing they use for tv and such :D) for the room.

if the acoustics suck, then your recording wont sound so good no matter what. ive played drums for 15 years and been doing numerous recordings in different kinds of rooms, from gozu studios to basements and the room has a HUGE impact, ex. i didnt know how good my drums really sound before i went to a really proper studio for the first time.

having an audio interface (external soundcard) and being able get the tracks straight into the computer and sofware really adds alot of flexibility and makes things much easier. its much easier to mix down your tracks in some software than in a all-in-one device such as yours and many of my mates'.

are you familiar with EQ and compressors? in the world of mixing these are as important as the brush to a painter.... i can give your tracks some treatment for fg

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you said you record the guitars straight into the tracker, do you mean straight as in plugging in the guitar line? micing an amp will allways give u better results. you should get a Shure SM57 microphone, one of the absolte best for intsrument recording, especially guitar/bass amps and snare drums.

and what genre is in focus?

if you cant get a decent sound out of a few mics then you shouldnt start f00lin around with even more mics, will just make it harder.