First Setup

[himynameisbuddy]

Well, I've been really into writing my own music and performing it for the last 3 or 4 years now. I record every now and again in my buddy's basement, but it's high time for me to begin building my own first "studio." In the future (when I've got my own house and all that), I'm definitely going to have a room 100% dedicated to home recording.

All that aside, I need some information - I've been doing some research, and from what it sounds like (please correct me if I'm wrong), to get started, I should just need a microphone and a recorder. My friend, where I've been recording, uses a mixer but I've never known what it does. Do I need one? Really, all I want to do is record acoustic guitar and vocals.

I've been shopping around, and this is what I've landed on to start my setup:



Fostex MR8HD 8-Track Digital Recorder with 40GB Hard Drive:
(I would post links, but can't until I've got 5 posts :P)

and

M-Audio MXL 990/991 Recording Mic Duo and M-Audio AudioBuddy Package:



Now, if I'm way off course here, let me down gently . Like I said, I'm super new at this stuff. Oh, and also, a giant factor here is price. I'm in college now, and can't afford too many bells and whistles.

Any help is appreciated

Thanks,
~Buddy~

[leaversday]

Welcome to home recording!

I think for what you want to do, the Fostex will get the job done. You should do a little research on it and compare to others in it's class/price range. Some are certainly easier to use than others. I would go to the online music stores and read the reviews. You can normally develop a pattern from the majority of posts.

I started out recording on standalone recorders like this and eventually moved to computer-based recording. If you have a pretty decent computer (since your in college), you may want to consider a Fireware interface. Some of the entry level interfaces are within the price range of the Fostex and come with a stripped-down version of a higher-end recording suite.

As for the mic package, I'm not an expert on what the best mics would be but these certainly got good reviews and for the price again, should do what you need.

Good luck and do the research before you buy...

[himynameisbuddy]

Oh good, that's what I wanted to hear - I'm glad I'm not totally off-track. I have been reading reviews and comparing both products to their "equals" and will continue to do so. I do have a fairly decent computer and would love to be able to (one day) record solely using my computer... not sure how to do that yet, or what I'll need, but that's for another thread . Thanks for the help!