How can I make the best quality recording with the cheapest equipments

Juan Francis

New member
I think today we can make good recordings with cheap equipments, but I don´t know exactly what equipment they are. Could one of you tell me what are these equipment?. Please specify the brand, the version, etc of each one of them.
 
I mean a equipment that any interested person can buy, not the cheapest and gives a bad quality sound but not the most expensive and gives a excellent quality sound neither, I am looking for a normal price equipments that can give a good quality sound by setting up a home studio.
I need this information because I´m doing my tesis about how to set up a home studio that can make good recordings like a pro studio.
 
I mean a equipment that any interested person can buy, not the cheapest and gives a bad quality sound but not the most expensive and gives a excellent quality sound neither, I am looking for a normal price equipments that can give a good quality sound by setting up a home studio.
I need this information because I´m doing my tesis about how to set up a home studio that can make good recordings like a pro studio.

[This message has been edited by Juan Francis (edited 07-19-2000).]
 
How cheap is "cheap" for you, and how much "quality" do you want? And what kind of recording do you intend to do? Though the gap is narrowing, despite what you may hear, quality still does not come cheap.
 
Ok!!!

spend some money in adecuate your room for rec ($200)

mics:
2 condensors (around $200 each).
1 akg d112 for bass and kick ($220).
2 sm57 ($90).
3 hypercardiodynamics, samson. ($80 all).
2 sm58 "maybe" for vocals. ($100)

mixer:
beringuer, mackie or yamaha. ($350 - $550)

rack:
-an rfx 1000 0r 2000 ($200 - $300)
because they are for rec, not to play with them like the microverb; I think microverb is perfect for radio production or for a band to make their sound, but for general use, I go with the rfx...

- a compressor. ($160)
everybody says that beringer is ok and the nano compressor sucks....

computer: ($550)
AMD K6-II do the work, is not a pentium but works fine.
128 RAM and 500mhz

software: COOL EDIT PRO 1.2 (free or $350)

sound card:
gadget labs 496 or delta 44 ($350 - $400)

a cd burner. (read about them)

and... GOOD cables!!!

then.... good instruments, but that, is another history....


I think it is not very cheap.
 
Para tu tesis puedes decir que con $4000 dolares tienes un home studio de lo mejor, de primera calidad, dependiendo del ingeniero de audio.

if you have all the best intruments, but you don´t know where to put the mic in front of, you will never have a GOOD RECORDING.

with a 4 track you can make good recordings, all depends in the sound enginner...
 
Proveras is right--even with a four track recorder you can make good recordings--if you know how to use your equipment.

Since your question is so general, it sounds as though you are just starting out in recording. If that is not the case, my apologies. But if it is, I would advise you to not spend too much at the beginning. The amount you can afford to spend will be the deciding factor as to what kind of equipment you can buy. If the computer you are using is your own, I'd say that is where you should start--unless you need something portable, in which case there are more factors (most notably, expense) to consider.

Are you recording mostly yourself or will there be a band involved? Do you use acoustic instruments or are you more of a MIDI/electronic musician? These factors should determine what to buy (microphone(s), preamp, mixer, soundcard, etc.) in order to get sound into your computer. For example, some people may not need an external mixer--only a soundcard with enough inputs.

I think it is possible to make excellent quality recordings at home for a few thousand dollars. Below $1000, you can still do very, very well, but don't expect to rival the pros. Even $10,000 of gear may not be enough to get that "professional" sound.
 
ok.
There are COOL EDIT and COOL EDIT PRO,
the first one does not have a multitrack, and the second have a multitrack rec, and you can choose the audio source.

Lets say you have a wave pro 496 soundcard, 4 ins and 4 outs, you can choose in every single track from where is recording and where is gonna be playing.

It is a full duplex soundcard, it means that you can listen something (tape cue) when you are recording something.

It is like an analog four track, but you dont need to bounce and loose quality because you have more tracks to rec.

I really like COOL EDIT PRO v1.2, there are a lot of things you can do (plugins) like direct x, and you can use the fx of cakewalk, wavelab, soundforge...

I preffer COOL EDIT PRO then another software "in these price range and space it need in the computer", but with the direct x to use the fx of the other softwares, this mean you need the other softwares too.

It is very simple to use and I think it has a very good sound quality with a good computer and cables.
 
A question to Proveras:
And how about the software for recording in the tracks? Cubase, Cakewalk or logic?
which of them do I have to take?
Most of people have told me that Cool Edit is only used for mixing, not for recording in the tracks.
A question to MM2:
What is the difference between "professional sound" and "excellent quality recordings at home"?
 
Juan Francis, I suppose there are many things that make the difference between great home recordings or project studio recordings and recordings done in professional studios. In my opinion, if a record is well-written or well-played, I don't care where it was done.

I can tell you this: I have recorded in every environment: my small setup, several project studios, and several professional studios. Even though much more care was put into recordings in the project studios (because time/cost was less), a simple rough mix at a pro studio sounded better than the best mix at the project studio.

The difference came down to two things: the professional experience of the engineer, and $500,000 worth of equipment vs. $25,000.

I've heard plenty of self-recorded records that sound fantastic, but sonically, can't rival professionally recorded things. To me, the best of both worlds is this: record the best you can at home, then bring your tracks to a professional studio and have them mixed.

Does anyone else have an opinion on this?
 
MM2, in my opinion I think the difference is only one: the professional experience of the engineer. Actually we can find The cheapest equipment or softwares that can do the job of the pro studios´ expensive equipment. This is because of the digital revolution.
There is another condition: the enginneer must have knowledge not only about recordings and using of all the equipment/softwares that exist in the pro studios but he also must have knowledge about using of the equipment/softwares that could exist in a home studio.I am doing my thesis about how to do the best pro recordings in a home studio and I agree that any person can do the best recordings at home but must to have experience in working in pro studios and knowledge about the using of equipment/softwares usable in a pro studio and in a home studio.
 
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