I only want to...

[what2do]

sit at my computer and record my friends and I playing some bluegrass music (banjo, guitar, mandolin, male/female vocals), just because it is fun and is now easily attainable (I think!). I want to literally sit in my living room and record on my computer with Audacity, or play in chatrooms. I have a Dell Inspiron 531S with 2 gigs of Ram and AMD dual core processors (2.01 GHz). I have the 32-bit Window's Vista Operating System. I have no aspirations of ever upgrading at this point. If I suddenly decide to go "pro" I am willing to sacrifice my initial purchases if need be. Now for the FNG questions...

What do I need to simply do what I want?
I have considered the USB mic's (MXL 990, etc.). But I would like to know exactly from mic to computer what I need, including cables. Please if you would, include model numbers. Basically design a rock bottom budget way for me to record, that is better than the realtek usb mic and Windows Vista sound recorder that I have been using. I want to record using one mic! I know alot about alot of things, but recording music is not one of those things.

Thanks in advance, I have been lurking for days looking for my answer but I can't piece it all together from the hundreds of threads I looked through.

JT

[what2do]

I found this package deal. I am trying to research it. Anyone have any thoughts? $199.00

[what2do]

bump for my question

[cusebassman]

What kind of budget are we talkin here?

[COOLCAT]

looks like a great HR setup.

[rayc]

That's a nice starter package - I wish I'd had as good when I 1st plugged into my computer soundcard - add a mic stand or two & a pop screen PLUS the software (audacity/reaper etc are shareware/freeware etc and the latter is supposed to be very good) and you're happening.
You could, of couse, just work with your comp soundcard & new software but that doesn't garner great results.
Go for it - there are a lot of similar packages out there but that looks pretty cool to me.

[Anfontan]

I play with a bluegrass group as well and we recently played an assortment of old time music-Civil War 1860's era music for a local filmmaker for his soundtrack-at a local studio. The guy uses ProTools and has some nice room treatment. We played fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar and also hammered dulcimer and some upright bass was overdubbed later.
What was kind of surprising was that we used Shure Beta dynamic mics for almost all of it-I thought we would use condensors-but he said there would be too much bleed over between the mics. So you might want to try dynamics for you're project too..

[talontsiawd]

Do you want to be able to mixdown everything or just record everything to a stereo track?

If you just want to record to a stereo track, buy an interface or soundcard. Then i'd recommend an mg series mixer from yamaha, just find the one that suits you best. Then however many mics you need (i won't speak on what type as i don't do that type of music). Most likely, unless you are very diligant and paying alot of attention to what you are doing, this will not be close to cd quality. Not that you can't get the soundquality, it's just going to depend on how much work you put it.


The other option is to get something that records each track individually. Then you can mix in your computer, edit the sounds, etc. This will yeild better results but takes more work. It sounds like this isn't what you are trying to do but i wouldn't discount the idea as you may find it to be more enjoyable the more you get into it.

[what2do]

All I can say is... for $200.00 WOW!! Worth every penny!! I can't believe it. For anyone looking for beginner stuff you can't go wrong here. I have been using Audacity to record with. I haven't even had time to figure out how to use it yet---but man am I happy with this setup. It is exactly what I wanted. It even came with a USB cable--that just doesn't happen anymore.

[undergroundtoon]

cool beans ...glad you like it.

just goes to show that you dont need the best of the best
to enjoy home recording.............. sounds like your having a blast.

[Dogman]

Originally Posted by undergroundtoon

cool beans ...glad you like it.

just goes to show that you dont need the best of the best
to enjoy home recording.............. sounds like your having a blast.

And having fun is the most important thing about playing....some people just forget that. Fun....