No0b question of the day

J

Justin Adams

New member
I'm looking to start a home recording studio in a bonus room that we have in our Condo. The type of music will just be for Vocals on Wav. Instrumentals. I just want a clear crisp sound. I was thinking an Apollo Twin and Neaumann 103 but are there any better duos that will beat that in terms of price and quality? Someone please help. I want to buy nice so I don't have to buy twice
 
thats a damn nice combo.
im sure some can do great stuff with a Line6UX2 and $150 mic too, but if you can pull out a Apollo and a 103 do it.

its like I can afford a nice $26 steak meal today, but are there any good hamburger joints....sure there are.
You dont seem to be needing many channels so a Apollo Twin can do vocals. having more channels wont get you anything other than they sit there, like mine do, with 1& 2 used all the time and 3 to 8 rarely.
I bought a Line6UX8 a few years ago just because gear gas shopping was all over the place and the UX2 was fun but plastic and a musician/artist released a full born album using only the Line6UX8 and plugs....

I dont know about others but really the same concept as the Apollo stuff.
Needless to say with the same gear, UX8, I cannot come close to what Todd Rundgren did with the same gear, but Ive never had the more urges to buy another interface other than the Apollo stuff.

the Apollo is laid out the same and "realtime" onboard plugs concept is great and amazing really what you get for the cash for tracking with the gear and latency isnt even noticeable. 10-65db the 103 should work fine at 23mv/pa.

its amazing though this being a newbie setup, lol...my newbie setup was a high end 4 track cassette portastudio! it was the price of a beater car....only a few local guitarists even "got" what it was.

very cool, Apollo Twin.....loaded with plugs mic pres, compressors .. if I ever get gas for a interface, I cant think of a better unit.
:eatpopcorn:

You going Thunderbolot or USB?
I'd like to read your "update blog" on the purchase> to install and up and running issues from a non-sales person.
 
What kind of instrumentals? All ITB?

I suspect there's a lot of mic suggestions in that price range that folks might suggest for starting out instead of the the TLM 103. It's not been my favorite in some "shootouts" I've watched, but LDCs are really subjective. I could probably be happy with a couple mics for that kind of money, but my voice and recording needs are probably different than yours!

And, I really hope you've got a budget for good room treatment included!
 
Thanks for the input guys

keith.rogers said:
What kind of instrumentals? All ITB?

I suspect there's a lot of mic suggestions in that price range that folks might suggest for starting out instead of the the TLM 103. It's not been my favorite in some "shootouts" I've watched, but LDCs are really subjective. I could probably be happy with a couple mics for that kind of money, but my voice and recording needs are probably different than yours!

And, I really hope you've got a budget for good room treatment included!
Click to expand...

Well for instance, I want to make smooth harmony sounds with vocals for hooks and I just want a crisp sounding mic. Itll be for that and rap. The room i'm using will work fine. I can soundproof it and the reason for this post is I don't want to get an Apollo twin and 103 and not like the quality when I could have waited and gone the extra mile for instance a avalon 737 and N U87, Also, If I bought the Apollo twin and 103 is there a way to add an external preamp perphaps a Avalon 737 in the future to give the vocals even more gain? forgive me i'm new to all this stuff.
 
It's very hard to argue against the TLM 103, but there are so many great mics in the price range, you owe it to yourself to try a few first if that is at all possible. The Neumann is cardioid only, and there are some multipattern mics in that price range (AKG C414 XLII, for example). I actually prefer the Blue Blueberry over the TCM 103 for some very intangible reason (the Blue sounds better with my voice). And I am a big fan of Michael Joly's Rode NT1A modification (you don't need the Rode to get one...he sells the modification on new mics). Such a quiet mic, I keed having to clear my throat just to make sure it is live.
 
Justin Adams said:
...Also, If I bought the Apollo twin and 103 is there a way to add an external preamp perphaps a Avalon 737 in the future to give the vocals even more gain? forgive me i'm new to all this stuff.
Click to expand...
You can add a preamp with any modern audio interface, even one costing $100. In fact, if that's your goal, I'd consider spending less on the interface, and get the preamp too, since the preamp will provide its own particular quality. Put another way, if the audio interface has enough gain for the mic you are using, the only reason to add a preamp is to get some particular quality it has (IMO). Overdriving your computer DAW is not going to do anything except ruin your tracks.
 
Since you are 'new' to it all, just be aware that having really good gear won't make your recordings automatically sound good. Since you mention 'soundproofing' the room, you have a lot to learn.
 
There are SO MANY mics that are "clear and crisp"....some way more than needed. And here's where learning about what works well for your particular voice is going to be an invaluable tool for choosing something you're going to want to live with. Since it's only your voice, it makes this a finite choice. Some will work for you, others will not.

It's natural that before making a monetary decision a person would want to get as much information as possible before slapping down a bunch of Benjamins....Here's my suggestion...and I could go on and on and on about this mic or that mic...I have over 50 and some are in the multi-thousands $$$ ranges....But that's not going to get you any closer to REALLY knowing for your use....I think you should pick a song that is yours and contract a couple of hours in a studio that has a good selection of mics and pre-amps/interfaces and lay down your track. Don't be afraid to talk with the engineer about your plans and get suggestions from him/her based on what they hear in your recording.

Then you'll have real world knowledge and you won't be out a bunch of cash right off the bat not knowing.

One of the worst feelings is getting gear based on someone elses speculation based on a description given and finding out it's 180 degrees from where you want to go.
 
If you have that kind of cash but "one off" I would seriously consider a 'middle of the road' interface and look to put a really heavy wedge on good monitors.

Pick something really good and you will have speakers you can enjoy all forms of music on when you are not 'creating'. You can always check mixes in the car, or on Siss'es 'Red' grot boxes.

It is natural perhaps for peeps to think of recording systems from the 'front end' but if you cannot accurately hear what you are doing, the best mic/AI in the world won't help ya!

Dave.
 
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