direct box!!!

[Emperor !!!]

Hi,

I'm a guitar player and I have never recorded anything, so I wanted to get started recording my own music, so I went to the store and bought a fostex X-12 multitracker, a SM57 and a type II cassette as recommended in the manual.

I've been reading the posts in this forum and it seems to be that I need a direct box to get the music in the tape or a matching impedance device to really get good audio quality, I know the reason for this is the difference between the impedance coming out of the cable and the impedance in the input jack of the recorder, in this case my X-12, while doing some research on the web I've found different models, like active/passive DI, stereo line DI, tube DI, phantom DI, etc..., all this got me confused and now I don't know which one to get, nothing fancy but reliable. I think.

Can I plug the guitar cable to the DI or just XLR type cables???

What else do I need, besides a mic stand and headphones. Would I be able to mix through the headphones???
Would I be able to record my keyboard through the DI or need something else?????
What about the bass guitar???
Don't have drums to record but the keyboard have some patches that will do just fine for a few months, I hope!!!!

[crosstudio]

what's your budget?

i've got a tech21 sans amp classic that works great, but lots of folks around here use the POD.

whats the gain like on your multitracker? if the gain isn't very good you might think about getting the m-audio audio buddy or some other comparable mic pre.

but first. take your guitar, plug it into your amp. take your sm57 and plug it into your multitrack (can you?). mic your amp with the sm57 and see what you get.

what you really need are monitor speakers (and an amp) rather than headphones so that people who come over can hear your raw tracks too, but i've had some nice headphones here and there that worked well as long as i remembered that the headphones tend to jack up the bass.

[Emperor !!!]

My rig right now is simple,
Stratocaster to multieffects pedal to little 20 watts crate amp.

The gain in the X-12 is a basic gain, in line gain or mic gain,
Do I need a mic preamp??

""but first. take your guitar, plug it into your amp. take your sm57 and plug it into your multitrack (can you?). mic your amp with the sm57 and see what you get.""

I did this with an adapter for the XLR cable and got a lot of noise, I just bought the impedance matching transformer from radioshak, I'll try it as soon as I get home.

About the monitor speakers, my recording space is my bedroom right now, if I place a pair of monitors then I'll get feedback.

What do you suggest??
I'll appreciate any more advice!!

[TexRoadkill]

Does your multitracker have XLR inputs? If not you do need a preamp and a DI won't help because it is used to plug instruments into a preamp.

[Emperor !!!]

No it doesn't have XLR inputs.
Someone told me a DI (direct input) box would probably help (i think? anyone correct me if i'm wrong) because the preamps in my fostex aren't so good, that's why I was thinking of the DI, thinking I could plugged the guitar cable right through the DI into the recorder.

[Emperor !!!]

Or connecting the mic (SM57) placed in front of the amp to the DI or the impedance matching transformerand in to the recorder.

What do you think??

I also tried this, if anyone can help me with this, my keyboard has a line out and I tried running it straight to the fostex, but I got this weird sounding effect, as if I was using a phaser or flanger turn all the way up turning the music almost unrecognizable

Why?????

[turner]

Emperor, when you plug the microphone cord into the fostex recorder, make sure the line/mic knob is turned to line. Adjust this knob towards the mic setting until the lights on the display meter are peaking around the zero mark. This will have your sound in a workable area to record. A direct box is not needed nor a preamp because there is a preamp already built into the fostex x12. A direct box is used for making a 1/4 input into a XLR balanced input. Your recorder does not have a XLR input so this will be useless. You should be able to plug your guitar directly into the recorder with a guitar cord and record. Have fun and hope this cures your problems.

[TexRoadkill]

I wouldn't say a preamp isn't needed if he can't even plug his SM57 in without a bullshit transformer. It may work using the 1/4" high z inputs but it will sound like crap.

If you have some money to blow definately get a mic preamp. You will need it for vocals anyway.

[Emperor !!!]

Thanks Tex and turner,

If I mic the amp with the SM57 (own one), the cable needs an adapter, but with the different impedances I would need a transformer, RIGHT??? or am I wrong??

Can I plug the guitar directly to the recorder and it won't be damaged??

if anyone can help me with this, my keyboard has a line out and I tried running it straight to the fostex, but I got this weird sounding effect, as if I was using a phaser or flanger turn all the way up turning the music almost unrecognizable

Why?????

[grinder]

Originally posted by TexRoadkill
I wouldn't say a preamp isn't needed if he can't even plug his SM57 in without a bullshit transformer. It may work using the 1/4" high z inputs but it will sound like crap.

If you have some money to blow definately get a mic preamp. You will need it for vocals anyway.

I say take the Fostex back and get something with xlr inputs.

[Myx62]

Just buy a small Mixer like a Mackie DFX-6 or similar. They really are not that expensive and you get a lot more than you would just buying a Mic pre, IMHO.......
Myx

[Emperor !!!]

What does the preamp for me ????

I don't know!!!

Thanks by the way!!

[Emperor !!!]

Take a look at my equipment and let me know what else do I need.

Besides the preamp to get started.

I've already described my rig.

Stratocaster to multieffects pedal to crate amp to mic in front to where??
Because the mic has a balanced output not a 1/4" as the input jack, if I use an adapter like I've done it before it sounds like cr%p!!

What to do?? get the DI or preamp or impedance matching transformer???? to get the best out the unit I already own.

[Emperor !!!]

The DFX-6 cost $300 or so, right now I'm not spending that kind of money, I'm just getting started and want to get informed before spending some more without knowing if it would help!!!


Thanks again to you all for taking your time !!!!

[crosstudio]

naw dawg, all you need is a mic pre that also acts as a di.

the mic-pre/di features of my m-audio duo worked very well. i didn't like the USB stuff but that's not the point. the point is that the m-audio audio buddy (or something in the same price range) should do exactly what you want.

instead of having a xlr to 1/4" converter on the sm57 you would plug it in using xlr to the mic pre, then plug the 1/4" out of the mic-pre into the fostex.

you can also take the output of your guitar fx processor (1/4") and plug it into the DI feature of the mic-pre.

the audio buddy goes for about $150 new, and the m-audio dmp3 goes for $250.