iPad or home studio?

M

mr.zebra

New member
hi all,

wondering if you can give me some advice. i want to start recording some of my music at home. i'm a multi-instrumentalist and singer, and most of my instruments are very definitely acoustic.

i was looking into getting a lambda desktop studio but suddenly occurred to me an ipad and recording music app might suit me just as well. what are your thoughts? if the latter - which app? and can i plug mics etc into an ipad?! i'm a pretty experienced musician but have always left the electronics to someone else and feel like a total beginner...

thanks anyone for any help!

mr.zebra
 
Ahoy Mr.Zebra

There are apps but your gonna need a bunch of other things.
I'll get a list together and post it later.
 
First questions:
What is the purpose of the recordings - do you want to post these on line/burn to CD for distribution, etc?
How intricate to you want to get with the recordings - multi-tracking, mixing, adding effects, or just 'you and your acoustic guitar single take'?
What do you have for microphones?
What's your budget?
 
hi mike,

thanks very much - so it's quite complicated as i play a number of instruments including piano, accordion, percussion, hammered dulcimer (tricky to mic but that's a different thread!). I'd need to be able to record them all over each other and mix/edit fairly easily - I think CuBase would suit my needs but was wondering whether GarageBand or MusicStudio apps for ipad would suit just as well (if Bjork can record a full album on an ipad i should be able to! if that's true, obviously) :)

budget is around 200GBP which I guess is sort of $300-350ish. and i don't have mics yet! but realise i'll need to...
 
Not much of a budget.
I just read an interview in Tape Op magazine with the guy who did the iPad thing with Bjork - it actually started out with a dedicated tablet, then the iPad came along so they developed it for that instead.

There are all sorts of devices that you can use an inputs for the iPad for recording, but in the long run, assuming you have a fairly new computer with at least 4-6G RAM, I would advise going the full DAW route.
Audio interface - get one with as many mic preamps as you think you will ever use at one time. For example if you want to use 6 mics to record a drum set (you mention 'percussion) you'll need at least 6 mic preamps. If you want to use 2 mics plus a DI form a pickup to record your acoustic guitar, you'd need 2 mic preamps PLUS at least 1 instrument input.
Microphone(s) - plus cable, stand, pop filter.
Headphones (closed back for tracking)
Monitors (for mixing)
DAW - most audio interfaces come with a limited edition DAW, btu otherwise consider Reaper, free to download and try out, pay $60 when you're ready.
 
mjbphotos said:
Not much of a budget.
I just read an interview in Tape Op magazine with the guy who did the iPad thing with Bjork - it actually started out with a dedicated tablet, then the iPad came along so they developed it for that instead.

There are all sorts of devices that you can use an inputs for the iPad for recording, but in the long run, assuming you have a fairly new computer with at least 4-6G RAM, I would advise going the full DAW route.
Audio interface - get one with as many mic preamps as you think you will ever use at one time. For example if you want to use 6 mics to record a drum set (you mention 'percussion) you'll need at least 6 mic preamps. If you want to use 2 mics plus a DI form a pickup to record your acoustic guitar, you'd need 2 mic preamps PLUS at least 1 instrument input.
Microphone(s) - plus cable, stand, pop filter.
Headphones (closed back for tracking)
Monitors (for mixing)
DAW - most audio interfaces come with a limited edition DAW, btu otherwise consider Reaper, free to download and try out, pay $60 when you're ready.
Click to expand...
The iStudio route is a cheaper solution in most situations, but cheaper always comes with downsides.
 
mjbphotos said:
Not much of a budget.
I just read an interview in Tape Op magazine with the guy who did the iPad thing with Bjork - it actually started out with a dedicated tablet, then the iPad came along so they developed it for that instead.

There are all sorts of devices that you can use an inputs for the iPad for recording, but in the long run, assuming you have a fairly new computer with at least 4-6G RAM, I would advise going the full DAW route.
Audio interface - get one with as many mic preamps as you think you will ever use at one time. For example if you want to use 6 mics to record a drum set (you mention 'percussion) you'll need at least 6 mic preamps. If you want to use 2 mics plus a DI form a pickup to record your acoustic guitar, you'd need 2 mic preamps PLUS at least 1 instrument input.
Microphone(s) - plus cable, stand, pop filter.
Headphones (closed back for tracking)
Monitors (for mixing)
DAW - most audio interfaces come with a limited edition DAW, btu otherwise consider Reaper, free to download and try out, pay $60 when you're ready.
Click to expand...

+1 This would be my recommendation as well.
 
yea that 350 would best be spent on a new desktop pc, I bought one for $400 with 8gb ram So i know you can get one just as good or close. then whenever you can save up a couple hundred more, invest in the rest of the equipment (interface,mic,headphones,speakers). Its all well worth it for a true musician!
 
brilliant thanks everyone! what i suspected really... will go with your suggestions.

see you at the Mercury Prize... (or whatever new music prize there is in the US)
 
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