Help engineers!

S

shootingstarpro

New member
I've been trying to set up a small home recording studio on my PC and I am looking for key advice on the important do's and don'ts. Like how to avoid blowing your speakers...or don't plug that in there, or you'll fry yourself, or 10 helpful tips on how to avoid blowing your eardrums while trying to record your own music, etc.

Seriously...My key questions are: Where do I plug the mics in for vocal recording and also guitar recording? I have a rack of equipment for electric guitar that includes floor monitor speakers, power amp, effects processor, etc. I can provide you with specific equipment details if you need 'em. Do I run wires from the guitar rack directly into the mixer? Can I plug the guitar directly into the mixer?

How 'bout for voice recording, do I need another amp or preamp? Just what does a preamp do and how much do they cost? I ultimately would like to eventually figure this out so that I can burn recordings onto CDs.

How 'bout monitors? I have my cheesy little computer "monitor" speakers hooked up to the mixer, do I need better, more expensive monitors? Should I use the big floor monitors I use for guitar as my studio monitors? They have two holes in the back of each speaker, so what kind of wiring would I need to configure if you do suggest I use them as studio monitors. I guess I'd be just as happy using the cheesy computer ones for now, but the right speaker doesn't seem to working right now.

Finally...do you recommend any recently published books on digital recording with a PC? Some books are outdated these days and looking to spend my money wisely.

Thanks to all who can respond.
Cheers!
 
hey you are new @ this too!

I can't help you with your questions yet, but if I do find some good books, videos I will let ya know.

CRISB
 
Thanks Chrisb. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Hopefully someone out there on a distant wavelength has some answers for us...
 
Well, I'm no engineer but perhaps I can offer a little help anyway...

Where do I plug the mics in for vocal recording and also guitar recording? I have a rack of equipment for electric guitar that includes floor monitor speakers, power amp, effects processor, etc. ... Do I run wires from the guitar rack directly into the mixer? Can I plug the guitar directly into the mixer?
Click to expand...

You can certainly send the outputs of your effects into a typical mixer. You can also plug the guitar straight into the mixer but it's not likely to sound very good like that. The general wisdom is that micing a guitar amp is the best way to get good guitar sounds on "tape." But depending on what kind of music you are doing and judicious use of effects, a direct-injected guitar signal can often be manipulated to sounds very good. Why not try various things and discover what you like? There are tons of articles in many magazines and books on getting guitar sounds recorded to give you ideas.

How 'bout for voice recording, do I need another amp or preamp? Just what does a preamp do and how much do they cost?
Click to expand...
Well, depending on the mixer you're talking about, it is likely to have at least a couple of channels with a mic preamp on them. A preamp takes the signal from a mic, which is usually a very tiny signal, and boosts it to line level so that it can be dealt with by the mixer's EQ, sent out to external effects, sent out to be recorded, etc.

How 'bout monitors? I have my cheesy little computer "monitor" speakers hooked up to the mixer, do I need better, more expensive monitors? Should I use the big floor monitors I use for guitar as my studio monitors? They have two holes in the back of each speaker, so what kind of wiring would I need to configure if you do suggest I use them as studio monitors. I guess I'd be just as happy using the cheesy computer ones for now, but the right speaker doesn't seem to working right now.
Click to expand...
The computer speakers are inadequate to do a reasonable job of letting you hear what you're really recording, which is crucial for being able to mix well. The guitar monitors you mention will not be adequate either. You can get by for a while with the computer speakers, but the likely result is that when you finish a CD and take it to someone's boom box or stereo, it will not sounds like you thought it did. If you're really serious about recording, good studio monitors are critical.

That said, for several years I used a pair of small Bose stereo speakers meant for outdoors. The recordings I made sounded reasonably OK, though a far cry from what a real engineer would get. But then I was not that particular, and my stuff was very simple, just a pair of guitars, bass, and drum machine, and occasionally a synth part. When I bought a pair of recording monitors last year, I was totally amazed at how much detail I could hear compared to what the Bose speakers put out.

Finally...do you recommend any recently published books on digital recording with a PC? Some books are outdated these days and looking to spend my money wisely.
Click to expand...
Not too many books that are strictly about digital recording with a PC that aren't, as you say, somewhat dated. But there's lots of good books about recording in general and the same basic principles apply. The major operational difference is that with an analog tape machine you can get away with saturating the signal a bit -- it will distort but gently and pleasingly at first -- but with a digital recorder, anything too loud will simply be clipped, leading to a very nasty sounding distortion that is not desireable. So you have to be a little more careful about your peaks.
 
AlChuck,
Thanks for your wealth of info...Much appreciated. If you wouldn't mind, I have a couple more questions about those guitar floor monitors I have...They are 2 stackable 12s made by ADA with 100 watts each and 8ohms. Okay, here's a really stupid question: why do the ADAs have two holes in the back? I'm only plugged into one on each speaker...Should I really have some sort of Y splitter that then connects to the speaker wire that connects to the amp?

Okay, now if I read you correctly, even though they are somewhat powerful, they are not designed for the purpose of precise sound for studio monitoring and I should perhaps invest in a good pair of studio monitor speakers? Do you have any recommendations as to kind and cost? How about shape and size? I'm hoping that they wouldn't need to be much bigger than the typical size of computer speakers because my standalone recording workstation is getting a little crowded! Any advice on whether studio monitors can be hung on the wall and if so, advice on how to mount for best sound?

With regard to your info on the mixing board and whether it has a preamp or not...I think it does, but maybe you would know better than I...It is a Peavey Cakewalk Studio Mix mixer with 8 inputs. It has inputs for microphone, so for recording vocals, can I just go directly into the mixer, or do I also need to connect the voice mic to an amplifier first? In which case, I don't have any mic inputs on my guitar rack, so does this mean going out to buy a separate amp for vocals? I just wish I could borrow somebody for one day to help me configure all of the cabling correctly! Thanks again for your time and patience!
 
shootingstarpro said:
... I have a couple more questions about those guitar floor monitors I have...They are 2 stackable 12s made by ADA with 100 watts each and 8ohms. Okay, here's a really stupid question: why do the ADAs have two holes in the back? I'm only plugged into one on each speaker...Should I really have some sort of Y splitter that then connects to the speaker wire that connects to the amp?
Click to expand...

I have no idea... by "two holes," do you mean two jacks?

Okay, now if I read you correctly, even though they are somewhat powerful, they are not designed for the purpose of precise sound for studio monitoring and I should perhaps invest in a good pair of studio monitor speakers? Do you have any recommendations as to kind and cost? How about shape and size? I'm hoping that they wouldn't need to be much bigger than the typical size of computer speakers because my standalone recording workstation is getting a little crowded! Any advice on whether studio monitors can be hung on the wall and if so, advice on how to mount for best sound?
Click to expand...

Well, I think powered near-field monitors are a good bet these days -- the amplifiers and crossover circuitry are built into each cabinet, so you can connect them directly to the stereo outputs of the mixer without an amplifier in between. The smallest near-field monitors, though, are still significantly larger than small computer speakers. They have to be to get reasonable bass response. Think mid-sized bookshelf speakers for an idea of size. Good ones are made by Event, Yamaha, Alesis, Genelec, Mackie... there's a whole bunch more. I cannot really recommend any, having practical experience only with the Alesis (which I like just fine, but as I said before, I'm not very particular).

With regard to your info on the mixing board and whether it has a preamp or not...I think it does, but maybe you would know better than I...It is a Peavey Cakewalk Studio Mix mixer with 8 inputs. It has inputs for microphone, so for recording vocals, can I just go directly into the mixer, or do I also need to connect the voice mic to an amplifier first? In which case, I don't have any mic inputs on my guitar rack, so does this mean going out to buy a separate amp for vocals?
Click to expand...

Hmmm.. I don't really know. Condenser mics usually require an external source of phantom power, which mixers often provide, but I don't know if that Peavy has that. I thought that mixer was more for having physical faders to control the volume and pan in Cakewalk, and it only had maybe a pair of actual inputs... yeah, looking at the Peavey website, it only has a stereo line in and a Mic in, an offers no phantom power. So you can only use a dynamic mic.
 
Thanks Freudian Slip. I will definitely check out that site.

AlChuck: Thanks again for additional info. The two holes in the back of the ADA speakers are inputs. But again, it looks like you're telling me they won't work but speaker monitors that are self-powered will do the job.

As for the mic I was planning to use. I have an Shure SM 57...will that work by plugging directly into the the Peavey mixer or do I have to amplify vocals first? I'm afraid I may blow something. Thanks again.
 
Re the monitors, I'm just suggesting that powered near-fields might be your best bet.

The SM-57 is a dynamic mic, so you can use it in the mic input of the Studio Mix, I assume. Is it a 1/4" jack or an XLR jack? There should be a gain trim control on the Mic input so you can adjust the gain.
 
Here you are:

EXPRESSIONS TO AVOID DURING A RECORDING SESSION

From the control room:
I like what you're trying to do but not the way you're doing it.
That was great. Let's do it again.
That was a pretty good take for this time of night.
Is that about as tight as you boys want to get it?
So many drummers...so little time...
Just let your spirit soar.
Does your amp have an underdrive channel?
We'll catch that in the mix.
That vocal's not a keeper, is it?
I can't think of any improvements that won't make it worse.

From the recording booth:
The headphones sound O.K. but I need more of myself.
We won't need a click.
You can erase that one. I remember exactly what I played.
I think thats a pretty good sounding take for what were getting paid.
My girlfriend sings great background vocals.
Is it possible the click is speeding up?
You guys can fix that in Pro Tools, right?
That ground loop is a trademark thing for me.
No dynamics? We're playing as loud as we can.

:)

Cann't credit anyone cause I cann't remember where I got them.
 
warlock, that is funny shit!

I have heard just about every one of those statements in the studio before. Have said many of them too....;)

Ed
 
Got this off of Bob Katz's Site

Translation Guide to a Recording Session

Musician to engineer. "Could we have more band in the phones?"
Translation: "The singer is too f**king loud in the phones !"

Singer to engineer: "I can't hear myself."
Translation. "I don't want to hear anyone but myself."

Musician to guitarist: "Can you hear yourself okay?"
Translation: "You're too f**king loud in the phones !"

Bassist to band. "Can everybody hear the drums?"
Translation: "This band is swinging like a broken record !"

Drummer to bassist: "Can you hear the kick drum?"
Translation: "We're not locking..... !!

Bassist to producer: "Could we have more steel/fiddle/accordion in the phones?"
Translation: "I will punish the band for rushing."

Musician to producer: "Could we have more piano in the phones?"
Translation: "Your artist can't sing in tune."

Musician to writer: "This song has nice changes."
Translation. "It's amazing what you can do with two chords."

Musician to producer or artist: "This song sounds like a hit."
Translation: "This song sounds like another song."

Producer to band: "It's a feel thing."
Translation: "I know the song sucks, but the artist wrote it."

Musician to producer: "I don't think we'll beat the magic of that first take."
Translation: "Please don't make us play this piece of s**t again."

Drummer to band: "Should we speed up the tempo a couple of clicks?"
Translation:"Do you all intend to keep rushing?"

musician: "Could we listen to one in the control room?"
Translation: "The way these phones sound, we might as well be listening to Radio Free Europe."

Producer to band: "Let's take a break and come back and try one more."
Translation: "I think I'm having a nervous breakdown."

Musician to producer- "Were we booked for two sessions today?"
Translation: "Another three hours of this and I may have to kill you."

Producer to band: "We're supposed to be done at six, but we've got only
one more tune and I was wondering if we could skip our dinner break and work straight through."
Translation: "You'll be done at nine, and you'll be hungry."

Artist to producer: I don't like this song* it really sucks."
Translation: "I didn't write this song."

Producer to artist: "Trust me. It is a good song. Radio will love it."
Translation: "F**k you, I own the publishing on this song. Morons will love it.,,

Singer to musician: "Can you play something like (so-and-so) would play?"
Translation: "I really wanted (so-and-so) on this record."
 
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