A gazillon options - and so, ????

P

Postacaglivino

New member
Hi all -

Very new to recording. Have Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies, and will obviously read through it.

That said - and I make no pretense that I am alone in this - my emphasis is on playing music, and simply want a means to record it decently. I am utterly lost among the specs and equip. considerations. By "decently" recorded, I mean better than the bad-sound I've been getting in roughshod sessions in the past. Perhaps even my own bootleg sales at gigs, but nothing on the order of $1 Mil. studio sessions. So, I will toss this out, scattershot across the bow, in the hopes someone has suggestions for any absolute technophobe, guy lost in 1890's-1939....

Let's say, a budget of $3000. No desire for MIDI stuff, recording acoustic (gypsy swing - rhythm, solo, bass, violin, vocals, etc. - all mic'ed). Whether I can really use them or not, I have on hand a non-dedicated Computer (ASUS, 2 Core, 3.2 GHZ; 6 GB RAM), Presonus Bluetube, and 2 MXL mikes (603S Pencil, 990). I also have Audacity, and Sonar XI Producer on a trial basis, that I'm playing with for purchase (accustomed to Cakewalk software). That's it.

Can anyone suggest a decent setup of Computer: if I were to build an audio-only computer, specs on CPU, RAM, hard drives, etc.; Software/Hardware needs - software mixer/recording, digital mixer, other pre-amp setup?; Monitor speakers?; and whether these mikes should be OK? (I realize this may be impossible to do all this for under $3000 - but let's call that a hard limit, and what can be done with that?)

I know this is a nebulous question, but I'm hopeful someone who has trod this path before has some concrete recommendations for a guy who is so out of the loop, it's almost tragic.:o
 
Sorry, both for the unintentional double posting and for not reading the stickies first. Doing that now, so apologies and will return.
 
Hmmm....I'll take a shot....


DAW (aka recording program)-Reaper ($40)

Mics:
2 SM81's ($700)--acoustic, violin
SM57 ($80ish used)--bass assuming you have an amp
Sennheiser MK4 ($300 new)--vocals

Monitors:
I won't give a specific recommendation, but you get something very nice for about $700ish for a pair

Then...what. That leaves you around $1,300 for a computer? I'm no expert, but you could build a FINE machine at that budget.




Note: all this stuff is just a suggestion, so feel free to discard my ideas as you wish! You can definitely accomplish what you want with this budget though!
 
First suggestion: don't go buying a bunch of equipment with no direction in mind. You've got some mics you can use. The computer will work fine for you starting out and for some time.
You need an audio interface - the Presonus is a preamp only. Consider the maximum amount of individual track you would ever want to record at one time when selecting an AI.
You need monitors - with your budget, you don't need to skimp at this point.
If you don't have them, you'll need: closed-back headphones for tracking, mic stands, cables, pop filter.
Reaper is now $60, but free to download and try out the full version, consider it.
Don't blow your whole budget now then think 'wish I had bought ____ instead'.
 
If I could start from scratch in your shoes with that budget.

DAW: Cubase Artist 6.5 - Bout 300

Monitors: Yamaha HS50m - Bout 300 a pair

Interface: M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8-r - Bout 400

So far just over 1000,

Desk, hmmm hard one Maybe the alen and heath zed 10, - bout 200

Generic patchbay - 50
Lexicon MX300 - bout 280
SPL Gold Mic 9844 - <500

around 2200 so far.. hmm

Akg Perception 220 - 150
two sm57's - 100 each

Rest on room treatment and cables but you'd be pushing it price wise :)
 
Wow, thank you everyone for your replies. Heading out for a week, so will be out of touch but you've all provided some really concrete things to think about, and act on - many thanks, all.

Paul

Edit: Been reading up a bit more, some have some issues with both the M-Audio and the Presonus Firestudio Mobile; recommending instead the Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 as AI. Any specific experiences among these interfaces, anyone?
 
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Mike, sorry to be obtuse (I really am not up on this stuff), but my presumption is an AI, like the M-Audio 8R; a pair of monitors, like the Yahama HS80M; my existing computer, mikes, pre-amp; proper headphones; and something like Reaper as a computer-based mixer/recorder, yes - so you're saying no need for a desk, like the Allen and Heath, at this point?
 
If, as I assume from your first post, you're primarily a solo musician, then no need for a desk at all.

Like some others have said, I'd start with your present computer. Add a basic stereo interface (maybe an M Audio Fasttrack Pro which I know to be good. Go with Reaper (by the way, it's now $60, not $40, but still the best bang for the buck out there) and buy some good monitors. I personally like Tannoy Reveals more than the Yamahas, but that's just my ear. Find a good shop and listen.

Use your existing mics until you're unhappy with them and know what makes you unhappy.

Then just get started. I know you want to be a musician but, just like playing an instrument, getting a good recording takes practice. There's lots of good reading out there to point you in the right direction though.

Put the rest of your $3000 in the bank for when gear acquisition syndrome kicks in.
 
Thanks, Bobbsy. I am primarily solo, but would like the ability to record an acoustic quintette (+ vocals) at some point. The Fasttrack Pro has only 2 inputs, so basically, we'd be doing the old style recording - couple of mikes, all at once, yes? Do the monitor speakers hookup into the Fasttrack? Headphones? (Again, sorry for the newb questions, this is entirely new to me).

Edit: Sorry, see the unit has both headphones and analog outputs, which could be used for the monitor speakers. (Thinking of just the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones).
 
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If you need more inputs regularly enough, there are always interfaces that have more inputs--people have been getting great deals on the Tascam US 1800 lately for example. However, to record that many inputs at once is an exponential leap in the complication of the recording in terms of the number of mics, stands, cables, headphone feeds, etc. etc.

You're right that one way to handle more sources with a simple interface would be a single stereo pair--in a nice acoustic environment it can work well but it limits your mixing options.

Or, the other way would be to record things a track or two at a time and mix them later. Frankly, even in pro studios the music you hear is often done that way.

In either case though, you don't need a mixer. Indeed, unless you spend a fair bit of money on the mixer, you may be limited to two outputs anyway. There are pros and cons to the idea of using a mixing desk...a while back I wrote a FAQ on this specific topic which you can read HERE.
 
Thank you again, Bobbsy. I wanted to get back to you as I'm literally leaving right now for a week up north, but wanted to thank you for your help. Will take a look again on my return, and move ahead with it.

Paul
 
You can do this well for well under $3000!

But I agree with the sentiment...don't buy a ton of stuff until you've experimented and are getting good sounds from what you have. Also, what are you gonna be recording? did I miss that? I'll assume full band rock stuff?

That said (and that was the most important part of this post), you'll need a couple things to get started:

DAW: as everyone said, Reaper ($60)
Interface: one you can grow into is the Tascam 1800...I've never used it...I use a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 ($250-500)
Mics: what you have should be good to learn with...you'll probably want an SM57 for guitar cabs and snare ($90), vocals you can get by with the MXL for now, learn before getting anything too much more, SDCs for drum overhead and stereo guitar (SM81...moresound has a pair for $400 in the for sale section.
Monitors: $500-700 will get you a nice set.

So to get started you can drop about $1000-1200 and have a rad setup...but the essentials are an interface, DAW and monitors...get that and learn then ask more questions and get more stuff!!!
 
Thanks, Aaron, sorry for the late reply, been away for the week. I'm solely an acoustic player (well, almost exclusively - play gypsy swing, with some electric on occasion), so my needs are pretty limited to good sound with very little but myself, and on occasion some other strings. Completely cashed right now, just drove across country, but wanted to thank you for the reply and will be coming back to think more deeply on what folks have contributed. Thanks, all.
 
And can you record gyspy swing quintets piece by piece or is it essential that you all play together in the one room...
 
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