The n00b Review - Just getting started

[Afficianado]

Hey all. Just wanted to come onto this forum and let folks know that I dropped a bit of cash over the weekend(okay, swiped a bit of plastic) on my new hobby of amateur home recording. It's something I'd been interested in for quite a while, and now I have the means to dabble in it a bit.

What I got:
DMP3 pre-amp
Delta-44 computer interface
SM57 Mic
Adobe Audition (trial)

I also bought necessary cables, a mic stand, and a pop filter. Got everything set up/installed in about an hour. Played around with the stuff for about 7 hours using only vocals, just to figure out settings, gain levels, etc. My initial impressions are these:

The Delta series computer interface cards are awesome. Highly configurable, good sound, works well with recording software. I can already tell I'll be glad I spend the money on this. The only thing I have not settled on yet is how I will monitor my recording. Right now I have a pair of AKG stereo headphones (the model # eludes me right now) plugged into output #1 of the Delta-44, which ultimately provides mono monitoring in my left headphone only. The right adapters will allow me to do headphone monitoring on channels 1 and 2.

The SM57 mic is pretty good, but might not be the best choice for vocals. I have a pretty good range of voice, and it didn't bring out the low bari/ bass range very well, but the upper bari/tenor range was extremely clear and had good definition. But I really had to pump up the gain on the DMP3 to get decent vocals. Maybe I need to be louder, but living in an apartment, I need to pick and choose the times to belt out "Crying" by Roy Orbison.

The DMP3 seems a great buy for what I got. Even though I was pumping up the gain for servicable voice levels, the amount of noise I was getting was minimal, and sound was clear. The tiny amount of noise I'm getting almost certainly has more to do with the acoustics of a spare bedroom in an apartment with a noisy homemade Athlon system running in the background.

The Audition software (formerly Cool Edit Pro) was functional and had plenty of features, but at times is awkward to use. Thank goodness the music software industry is big on providing free demos. I am going to try Cakewalk next.

Just an initial "shout out" to let folks know about my adventures into the realm of amateur recording. I still have lots of things to consider. I'm going to try mic'ing my acoustic and electric guitars, and also try plugging straight into the pre. Also additional equipment considerations: use a mixer for easy headphone monitoring? A compressor for vocals? Different mics? Multiple mic setups?

So many things to do, try, and have fun with. Eventually I will have produced my first "real" attempt at a polished recording, and I will let you all in on that as well. I also encourage everyone to suggest things to try with my setup. Thanks all for the feedback and support!

 

[ChristopherDawn]

Hey, welcome to your new debt!

Looks like you're doing good enough to where when you bought everything you actually got everything you'd need to start! You're already ahead!

Haha. Anyway. Try out Cakewalk's Sonar next (you said you were going to), it's great.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Good stuff.

I agree the delta 44 is a good card for what you want to do. I've had mine for 2 or 3 months now and I'm pleased with the results I'm getting with it.

Next up you'll probably want to get yourself a little mixer and a pair of monitors.

For mixers check out the Yamaha MG range. The MG12/4 is what I use and with 4 outs, it works well with the delta 44

 

[chessrock]

Eventually I will have produced my first "real" attempt at a polished recording, and I will let you all in on that as well.

Ooh boy. I can hardly wait.

 

[Afficianado]

>>Ooh boy. I can hardly wait.

Yeah buddy. I can detect the sarcasm through the electronic pipeline miles away.

Incidentally, I did make a decent recording last night after fooling around for a few hours. Hardly polished, but a good first attempt. I first wanted to try plugging electric and acoustic directly into the DMP3, just to see the sounds I got. Keep in mind the acoustic already has a Fishman 9V powered pre built in. The acoustic sounded really clear and sharp, but with a slight tinsly edge to it. The Les Paul into the DMP3 was a different story. I got vastly different tones depending on which of the pickups on the guitar I was using, ranging from an almost chorus-like sound from the bridge pickups, to a deep, warm bass sound from the low pickups. Since I do not own a bass guitar, I went ahead and finger picked the bottom strings for a suprisingly good bass sound.

As for vocals, I don't like the way I naturally sound on the SM57, so I did my best Waits/Mellencamp impersonation for a sound I liked. After setting levels and tweaking in Audition, I got a song that I was way more happy with than I thought I would be for a first attempt.

Next, I try the same piece, only with mic'ed guitars.