In need of some suggestions on the setup I will be purchasing this weekend

I

iBrAzY

New member
Hello everyone, I am planning on setting up a studio in my basement room and I have researched a bit but yestarday i found this forum and its sort of changing my mind on the setup. So I want to purchase the Audio-Technica (AT2035) Cardioid Condenser Microphone and the Scarlett USB Audio Interface 2i2. And for the monitor headset I thought about the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. Is this setup decent? Will the music created on this set up sounds somewhat professional? Its my first setup, so I will purchase better quality products as I go. But I just want to know if this is a decent setup as my first setup ever used. And I know its a pretty inexpensive set up but like I said I will purchase better gear as I learn more about products, etc.

Thanks in advance!!!
 
Welcome. Your gear will do fine as far as getting the signal into the computer. More importantly, the quality of your recordings will be a direct result of the recording environment. Can you give some dimensions like length, width and ceiling height? Do you have carpet, concrete, tile or hardwood floors? Are you in the country or can you hear kids playing outside? Are you near an airport or next to a fire house? Etc.
 
Agreed, nothing wrong in that list but!

I do not consider the 2i2 a good value AI (F'rtite have a very good marketing machine!) . The Steinberg UR22 is AS good, cheaper and has MIDI and a very powerful copy of Cubase A1.

Don't forget incidentals, mic cables (get two) mic stand.

OP did not mention DAW software. There is always Reaper of course but if he can master Cubase it is P.B.Good and will save him $60.

Dave.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the 'money pit' that can be home recording! If you are recording vocals, you will want a pop filter. The gear you list is a start, but don't think that you will just come fresh out of the box with 'professional' sound. It takes experimentation, practice, and a lot of trial and error - and advice from others that you can get here.
 
What [MENTION=39487]mjbphotos[/MENTION] said.

Start recording and work on honing your listening skills and figuring out things like mic placement, using your selected DAW and EQ, compression plugins. Post your efforts here and elsewhere to get feedback.

Better/more hardware should be the last thing you'll need for a while, though you'll get some advice otherwise. This forum seems to like room treatments and I confess to being in that group. But that can be pretty simple, once you have your ears tuned to hearing what's actually being captured by the stuff you have, and it has to be related to what you are recording and trying to produce. Getting a lot of expensive stuff before you've optimized what you have is not going to make your recordings better. In fact, I can listen to some I made with a cheap USB interface and a Shure mic in my office, and compare it to something done 5 years later in a treated room with about $1k in mics and interface and wonder why I bothered sometimes ;)
 
What you listed will do just fine. I would mention that you are very likely to experience problems if you only mix on headphones. That's not to say you can't do that...........but I'm sure you'll read about those issues here on this forum. If you start with headphones.........that's fine..........and in a way it helps you to avoid any immediate treatment to your recording room (which you will likely need) for a while. However..........keep in mind that your set up will one day need to include decent monitors. Good luck to you!! Let's hear from you as you go!!
 
My bedroom is in the basement so I don't get much noise from the outside, almost noone actually. The entire bedroom is 16'x10'. But I am planning on making a portable vocal booth about 3'x3' or slightly bigger. The booth will be on one end of the room and the computer etc. on the other end. I have a closet that I can use, But its only 2.5'x3' and low ceiling. But I will try and see how that looks and works. But I am leaning towards the vocal booth from ebay. If you type "vocal booth" into ebay search it will be the second ad.(Sorry but I can't post links yet) . This is somewhat of what I am looking for but with the ceiling also closed off. What do you think of these sorts of booths? I am very great full for all the tips and help.

Thanks in advance,
 
Yes, I plan on purchasing the monitors sometime next week. I have a quick noob question. When recording I will be hearing the beat through the headphones correct? And then when I am mixing the song on the computer I would listen through the monitors right? Sorry but I am new to this.
Thank you!
 
Also, the focusrite 2i2 comes with Pro Tools. I heard its one of the best programs, is that true? Or should I look into something different?

P.S Next week I will post pics of the studio once I set it up.

Thank you!
 
iBrAzY said:
My bedroom is in the basement so I don't get much noise from the outside, almost noone actually. The entire bedroom is 16'x10'. But I am planning on making a portable vocal booth about 3'x3' or slightly bigger. The booth will be on one end of the room and the computer etc. on the other end. I have a closet that I can use, But its only 2.5'x3' and low ceiling. But I will try and see how that looks and works. But I am leaning towards the vocal booth from ebay. If you type "vocal booth" into ebay search it will be the second ad.(Sorry but I can't post links yet) . This is somewhat of what I am looking for but with the ceiling also closed off. What do you think of these sorts of booths? I am very great full for all the tips and help.

Thanks in advance,
Click to expand...

The thing about vocal booths is that they will sometimes kill your vocals due to making them sound dead. They have a tendency of sucking the "live" out of your voice. If everything in the booth is treated to absorb sound, than that is what will be recorded. Since you have such a large room, you may be better off using something like the pic below in front of you, with a heavy quilt or blanket hanging behind you.

View attachment 100507

iBrAzY said:
Yes, I plan on purchasing the monitors sometime next week. I have a quick noob question. When recording I will be hearing the beat through the headphones correct? And then when I am mixing the song on the computer I would listen through the monitors right? Sorry but I am new to this.
Thank you!
Click to expand...

You are correct BUT if your room is not treated correctly, you will be better off using your headphones then your monitors. Bass traps in all the corners, (each square room has 12) and they are expensive, as well as wall and ceiling treatments to control room flutter. If you have carpet this will need to come out as well. Concrete, tile or hardwood floors are the best.
 
Just like to say. No need to remove carpets, you can just lay reflective material on top.

We used 3mm 'Hardboard' (don't know the US word) in 8'x4' sheets and that brightened up acoustic guitar in a very dead room quite nicely.

You could use flooring grade chipboard and secure it with d'sided carpet tape. Often useful to have a 'bright' and a 'duller' ends of room?

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Just like to say. No need to remove carpets, you can just lay reflective material on top. We used 3mm 'Hardboard' (don't know the US word) in 8'x4' sheets and that brightened up acoustic guitar in a very dead room quite nicely. You could use flooring grade chipboard and secure it with d'sided carpet tape. Often useful to have a 'bright' and a 'duller' ends of room?
Dave.
Click to expand...

In the US we call it Masonite as it was developed by the Masonite Corporation. It runs around $13.00 per 4 x 8 sheet. It is also extremely smooth so if you plan on using any throw rugs, like Dave mentioned, you will need to use double sided carpet tape. It is also a good ideal to use something like duct tape to cover the seams as Masonite has a tendency to chip at the edges. (I use this product for backing cabinets/bookshelves).
 
Mack Caster said:
In the US we call it Masonite as it was developed by the Masonite Corporation. It runs around $13.00 per 4 x 8 sheet. It is also extremely smooth so if you plan on using any throw rugs, like Dave mentioned, you will need to use double sided carpet tape. It is also a good ideal to use something like duct tape to cover the seams as Masonite has a tendency to chip at the edges. (I use this product for backing cabinets/bookshelves).
Click to expand...

Yes, I used HD masking tape to cover the edges of our sheets. If you mean the mats will slip Mack? It makes no sonic difference to have the stuff 'pimples up' . General trick for rugs, paint with strips of Copydex, leave to dry overnight...Ain't going nowhere!

Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top