Starting Out.

[jackhammerslam]

Alright, I have a budget between $1000-$4000. I don't want to spend too much on something, but not too little either. I have Cakewalk Sonar XL on my PC. But I need to know what else I need to complete my set. Right now, I'm trying to start an at home studio for other bands to use too, I don't have a soundproofed room, although I might use the garage, but I can't soundproof it. Can I get some ideas on what to get?

[sixways]

http://homerecording.com/bbs/search.php?


Tons of posts on this, read up, and be prepared to answer several questions before receiving answers.

Welcome to the forum,
6

[jackhammerslam]

I want to be able to record to my PC straight from a mixer, and I need to know what is a good mixer to get. Any equipment details would be good too such as mics and sorts.

[jackhammerslam]

Anyone? Any advice on what to buy is appreciated.

[Creamyapples1]

This topic is as broad as it is long. I'm affraid we need just a tad more than "what do I need to record a band?" What's the makeup of the band? How big is the drum set? How many members? Guitarists? Singers? back-up vocals? Type of amps and what not and style music?

[jackhammerslam]

This is to record numerous bands, drum sets could go up to 7 pieces. 2 guitarists 1 bassist, 4 vocals, style of music being Rock/Indie/Pop. Members 4-6.

[cpl_crud]

As others have mentioned, this is a really, really broad question, however I would suggest researching the following first:
1) What type of recording best suits you? Are you jsut going to be recording the main outs of a mixer, or do you want to have them on seperate tracks and mix them later?
This will determine your recorder, and any interfaces you need.

2) What level of quality are you going for? Are you aiming to sell retail CDs, demos, or jsut something to show your mates.
This will determine the level of gear you need, and things that you may be able to go "budget" on.

3) What is the rough size of what you plan to record, and what does this usually entail?
This will determine the number and type of mcrophones that you need.

4) How much of your life are you willing to devote to this?
This will determine if you've got a hobboy or an obsession.

5) Can you make any money? Really?
Please, oh god please tell me how...

My advice to you would be to read, read, read. There are a number of guides out there that will cover the basics. Draw out a basic plan of what you want to buy, then "thought experiment" with it in different situation.
My mobile rack took about 6 months to plan, and the studio I'm building has taken a good 2 years to get close to a solid plan.
Once you have your plan, post it up here and ask for opinions. Got a question about a bit of kit? Sure, we'll be able t ohelp you out there, and give you sample on how it sounds. Want to know if one mic is better than another for a specific application? Hell, we've got a whole forum set up just for that.
What we can't tell you is how to do everything. What works for me probably won't work for you.

Hope that helps.

[jackhammerslam]

Alright, I can work with those....

1) I prefer to record the main outs of a mixer. I'm not exactly sure, but I thought I heard it's much more of a long process doing all different tracks. For now though I prefer just coming out of a mixer.

2) I'm planning on selling CD's.

3) For this, do you mean what equipment such as guitars bass drums?

4) I'm willing to invest about 75% of my time in this.

5) As for the last one I'm pretty darn sure I can make money.

[jkokura]

Originally Posted by jackhammerslam

Alright, I have a budget between $1000-$4000. I don't want to spend too much on something, but not too little either. I have Cakewalk Sonar XL on my PC. But I need to know what else I need to complete my set. Right now, I'm trying to start an at home studio for other bands to use too, I don't have a soundproofed room, although I might use the garage, but I can't soundproof it. Can I get some ideas on what to get?

Check this post out...it'll answer some questions...and give some examples of some possible setups. http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=193936

Jacob

[guitarboi89]

seriously if your investing a couple of thousand i would reccomend multitracking (recording all the the instruments seperately). You could get something like the presonous firepod which has 8 built in preamps getting rid of the need of a mixer. Then you can concentrate on 2 or 4 channels of good compression (FMR Really Nice Compressor). Then get some really nice microphones, get plently of leads/ mic stands etc. OOh and some quality monitors , i think a lot of the pros around here reccomend spending 1/4 of your budget on studio monitors. Last thing, Acoustic Treatment. Read up on the studio building section of this forum... theres soo much to learn!
Good Luck

[cpl_crud]

As guitarboi said, if you're planning on selling CDs, and oyu're going to put a lot of money into this, then I'd suggest multitracking- even if you multitrack "groups"
(ie, group the drums together, mix them on site, and record them as one track)
That way you don't have to mix so much later.

The main advantagte to multitracking is that if something doesn't sound right, you can just re-record that bit. But if you just reacord the mix, and someone hits a bum note, then you've got to re-record the whole thing.

Advantages of recording a mix straight up are pretty much as you said- it takes less time.

My advice on what to buy? Probably an 8-way pre/ADA, like the Firepod, or onyx 1200F (when they hit the market). They're not going to break the budget, but they will get sound into your computer at a relativley high quality.
I'd also get some monitors, that would be a big bit of the budget right there.
Maybe a few compressors etc, like the RNC mentioned above, and some decent pres- better than the ones you'll find in your mixer (however, if you mixer is something like a Heritage 3000, you probably won't need new outboard pres).

I'd also look into things like the UAD-1 sound processing unit- it's a PCI card that is designed soley for processing audio in the box.

maybe some decent mics if you haven't really got any good ones- pick things that are goign to be generic, like a few sdcs, a couple of LDCs for vox etc, maybe a few dynamics for the drum kit (for specifics on mics, check out hte "microphones" forum).

As for spending 75% of your time... well, that makes it an obsession... don't get trapped by it (it's hard to escape... i've stopped trying).
As for making money... best of luck. I can almost garuntee you that there will be times that you'll be eating rice becuase of lack of funds. But then that gig comes in and you're rich again...

Selling CDs is a problem in itself. People can tell the difference between a good CD and a bad one, and the whole "mastering" process is far beyond most HomeReccers. Sure, you can run a limiter over your tracks, and burn it to a CD, but it won't sound like something you'd pick up of your music store's shelf. In the beginning, I'd reccommend that you get someone else to master your mixes. It costs a bit, but if you're trying ot sell CDs, I strongly reccommned it. There are a few mastering houses represented on these boards, jsut ask around and you're bound to run into at lesat one of them.

Oh, yeah, and those questions were more rethorical, in order to get you to think about your situation and work out what you needed... but no harm done...

[jackhammerslam]

Alright, I've been doing some looking and I found the Roland VS2000CD. I'm not sure exactly if I should go with it or not http://www.zzounds.com/item--ROLVS2000CD. If I did however go with it, what else exactly would I need to complete my studio? I know I'll need mics and monitors, and I'll be posting links of what ones I'm getting in a few days.

[cpl_crud]

For a basic setup, mics and monitors are pretty much all you'll need to start up, then in future you can think about adding effects uints, preamps, and the like.

[DemonicGoldfish]

I am a bet of a newbie to this stuff as well, so I basically have the same questions.

Firstly, do I need a soundboard if I am just multitracking onto a PC? I know a decent PC mixing program, and if I were to record each part separately, I wouldn't need a mixer, right? I'm not thinking about retail CD's just yet, more about putting a couple tracks on the net and building some cash off banner ads, so I need OK sound but it doesn't have to be crystal clear. I have quite a low budget, so I can't yet buy things that aren't necessary or extremely helpful.

[jackhammerslam]

I know you need help too, but could you just start your own topic please?

[jackhammerslam]

Originally Posted by cpl_crud

For a basic setup, mics and monitors are pretty much all you'll need to start up, then in future you can think about adding effects uints, preamps, and the like.

Are those additional to the Roland. Meaning I need to get those and the Roland both, right?

[cpl_crud]

Yes, i mean in addtion to the roland.

And goldfish, you really should start another thread if you want some "personal" attention, or just PM someone.

But, in answer to your question, no, you don't need a mixer to multitrack. If you're mixing In The Box (abbreviated to "ITB" most of the time), ie, using software to do your mixing, then all you need is a number of preamps and a way of getting the signals into the digital domain, then into your computer.
There are a number of "all in one" units that do this, like the Mackie Onyx 400F and the Presonus Firepod.