Jumping in head first. What will I need?

[jhankedrums]

Hey all.

I've decided to take the plunge into recording my band. I will be investing all my money, and my money only will be going into all the equipment.

Here is what I have in mind, but im not sure if everything will be compatible in the end:

Forgive my ignorance, but a rack mounted, 8 channel piece of hardware which connects all the mics. (Man I sound dumb there, I hope you guys understand what im talking about)
SONAR interface. $99-$299 range
Preamp with built in compressor
Microphones of all varieties.

Would a setup like this be sufficient? Or would a Mixer help along with the SONAR interface?

[jhankedrums]

A little bit of info I just came across.

I found the PERFECT Firewire Interface:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRSFIREPOD

[Tifstorey]

Indeed the Presonus Firepod is a great piece of kit with 8 I/O and nice pres. The Firepod is built so you dont 'really' need a mixer. If your band has drums (And i assume it has with the firepod), you will need quite a few different mics. D112 is a nice one for the kick, SM57 are nice for snares. That's pretty much my knowledge on the 'standards' within mics, i like to play around with different mics on different areas to try and get different sounds to be honest..

Ok, So yeah, I assume you already have a computer. The Firepod comes with Cubase LE so you can take Sonar out of the equation unless you really want to use that. The microphones i have already talked about.. what else... Pre amps! The firepod comes with 8 pres, but for vocals i would recommend having a seperate one, so i would suggest maybe getting a small pre to give them vox a bit of a boost: http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/s...roduct_id/5050

Of course dont forget your cables, (Getting a cable for each microphone your going to be using + 1 extra just incase ). Boom stands, pop shield... and that's it i think..

Hope that helps a little, look forward to hearing some of your music

[pouxhawk]

First of all, start with a well paying job.

You didn't mention what type of computer you'll be using.
The software out there right now is unbelievably powerful, but will quickly run an undergunned computer into the ground.

Unless you already have a dedicated for audio computer, I would advise looking into one. The standard home computer just won't cut it for anything other than doing the simplest stuff. If your capable, build your own. If your a technosaur like me, buy a fully configured machine from Sweetwater, ADK, Rainrecording, or another company that will understand the special needs of musicians. It's gonna cost you, but in the end you'll be makin music instead of staring at a blue screen of death all the time.

poux

[TimOBrien]

Immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076...books&v=glance
(Wish I'd had that when I got started; would have save me a lot of money and time)

Good Newbie guide that also explains all the basics:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

Other recording books:
http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html


Plenty of software around to record for free to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/

Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com

[jhankedrums]

Thats a ton for the help guys!

And a quick rundown on my PC specs:

AMD 64 X2 4200+
2gb's pc3200 RAM
2x 250gb HD's
Geforce 7800gt video card

I dont believe my PC is an issue, I should have stated that before.

[Tifstorey]

Nope, that PC will more than easily handle being used for audio work.