Small scale recording

[packratlouie]

I have been looking into setting up a digital recording studio, and using it to record drums, bass, acoustic... the whole deal. I was not looking to record every track at once, but add one track at a time. My budget before mics and such, just a mixing board, and a compressor is about 1000 canadian. Im not looking for the best quality, but I am lookin for something which weill give me better results that using my microphone thats plugged into my computer lol. I am using the newest version of cool edit pro, and for my purposes it seems to do the trick. The sound card i was looking at is the sound blaster audigy zs platinum pro. I dont know a heck of alot about this stuff, i am a newbie to the whole recording scene, so I was hoping that someone could give me some suggestions on what to purchase, and what kinds of things I should be looking for when I purchase my equpitment. I dont know if i need any other gear besides a compressor and a mixing board. I was wondering if the mackie 1402 would be a pretty decent entry level mixer. Thanks alot guys

[Scinx]

Look at the DMP3 preamp. You dont really need a mixing board if you are just doing one mic at once. If you ARE going the board route - Id look at Soundcraft mixers in addition to Mackie. A compressor thatll almost always be recommended is the RNC by FMR Audio ($175US)
I would, if you can, avoid Behringer as the boards seem to be hit or miss. Ive also heard a couple which leak sounds between channels which is annoying.
For soundcards - I dont know the Soundblaster would be my first choice for recording...maybe look at the MAudio 2496 Card...

As a tip - the search function on this board is very good to use. Itll save you time and you will learn a ton more...

[Garak]

I would go with the M-audio Delta 1010LT, you can buy it from kellysmusic in alberta for just over $400. It has two built in preamps(no phantom power, so no condesor mics, dynamics like the SM-57 work fine tho) 6 other RCA inputs, and 8 RCA outputs. It also has midi, wordclock and S/PDIF.

For consoles avoid behringer, even mackie, personally I like the sound of British mixers by Allen and Heath and Soundcraft. Also behringers and mackies are harder to repair than Allen and heath, an Allen and Heath console is a long term investment and they keep their value.

You don't really need a compressor in a small setup, you can use software plugins to compress your material when mixing down. When tracking digital your noise floor is so low you can track with very consertive gain to avoid cliping. I usually track at -15 dB peak, so I got lots of head room, I normallize all tracks and compress some before I start the mix down process.

There are lots of cheap preamps to pick from. From the ART tube MP goes for around $150 for a single channel while you can get the M-Audio Audio buddy for around the same price for two channels. Ofcouse like any thing you get what you pay for, so if you got more money to work with put it into preamps.

Mics are the other very important componet in your studio. Again lots to choose from. Starting with the good old Shure SM-57, Shop around for these, I bought most of mine for under $100 CND each. MXL-603S are great value at alittle over $100 each, but I haven't found a good Canadian source for them. Their are many other mics, I could go on all night.

Anyway, start small and build up, you could spend millions on a studio and not have everything you want, but you can still spend a few hundred and have a functioning recording setup.

[chessrock]

Actually, I'd have to say the 1010LT, although a good bargain, is a little overkill. And the preamps are pretty sub-par . . . you won't even get any phantom power out of 'em.

If you're doing a track at a time, then you don't need any more than a two-channel deal. But you still want something better than a soundblaster, trust me on this one.

I'd say an m-audio audiophile would do just fine. You don't really need a mixer, at this point. Like Scinx says, you can get by with just a one or two-channel preamp, and the dmp3 is a good choice.

Spend as much as you can on the mic. That's probably going to be your most important purchase, at this stage, so select wisely.

[Scinx]

And selecting wisely really does mean "trying out"