Do I need this gear?

C

Cacique

New member
Hi folks,

I thought I'd like to dabble in doing some recording here. I play guitar and sing. Occasionally I play a harmonica as well. I currently have a new notebook pc, an acoustic guitar with built-in pick-up, and a harp, as well as the notebook pc which has built-in soundcard, buit-in speakers, and I've got a mic/headset for it.

What is the minimum level of equipment I should buy in order to do some decent quality recording? According to what i've read so far, these computer microphones are crap, so I should toss this and buy a good mic? But what would the good mic plug into? Would I need a pre-amp, a mixer, or something else? And would I need two mics (one for the guitar and one for vocals) or would i plug the guitar's pickup directly into a pre-amp or a mixer? Sorry for the barrage of questions but i am rather confused.

An acquaintance here as offered to sell the following hardware to me:

MBox http://www.digidesign.com/products/mbox/ $300
Pre Amp http://www.music123.com/ART-Tube-MP...V3-i21135.music $60
Effects Pedals http://www.danelectro.com/big2.htm DaddyO, Fabtone, DanEcho $60 each

It looks like the Mbox would just plug into the USB on the notebook and would simplify the interface with the mic and the guitar, but it's not cheap at $300, and budget is also a consideration. I'm wondering if there is a much cheaper way to achieve the same results, ie. purchasing the ART preamp and plugging the mic and guitar into that and then connecting the preamp to the pc at line level, if that's possible? Or perhaps some altogether different route to take in terms of what to buy in order to get started. I would like to buy some equipment that I can grow with in the future if I was to incorporate another guitar or vocalist, or perhpaps bass or drums into the mix.

Thank-you in advance for your help.
 
you can get something similar to the mbox without the software and 16 bit sound(cd quality) instead of 24 called the m-audio mobile pre for 150 dollars.
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOMOBILEPRE

it's an external soundcard with 2 direct inputs. if all you're ever going to need it for is your vocals and guitar...then 2 inputs should be enough. also if you think your soundcard is good enough you could opt for a mixer or a preamp instead...and save some more money, at the expense of losing portability. the nice thing about the mobile pre is it's small, and you dont have to plug it in or use a walwart...it's completely powered just by plugging it into your computer via usb. good for laptops.
 
[I'm wondering if there is a much cheaper way to achieve the same results, ie. purchasing the ART preamp and plugging the mic and guitar into that and then connecting the preamp to the pc at line level, if that's possible?]

that is possible too
 
riznich said:
[I'm wondering if there is a much cheaper way to achieve the same results, ie. purchasing the ART preamp and plugging the mic and guitar into that and then connecting the preamp to the pc at line level, if that's possible?]

that is possible too
Click to expand...

OK, thanks for the advice. One more question...would I be better off using the ART PreAmp or a cheap DJ Mixer? I read on this site that DJ mixers are not good quality but since they have both mic and line-inputs I thought it might be good enough? What do you guys think?

This is the DJ mixer that is available to me:
http://www.ptme.com/et/audio/dj/dyna/djtech.asp?section=gemini&sub=menu


Thanks.
 
Cacique said:
Hi folks,

I thought I'd like to dabble in doing some recording here. I play guitar and sing. Occasionally I play a harmonica as well. I currently have a new notebook pc, an acoustic guitar with built-in pick-up, and a harp, as well as the notebook pc which has built-in soundcard, buit-in speakers, and I've got a mic/headset for it.

What is the minimum level of equipment I should buy in order to do some decent quality recording? According to what i've read so far, these computer microphones are crap, so I should toss this and buy a good mic? But what would the good mic plug into? Would I need a pre-amp, a mixer, or something else? And would I need two mics (one for the guitar and one for vocals) or would i plug the guitar's pickup directly into a pre-amp or a mixer? Sorry for the barrage of questions but i am rather confused.

An acquaintance here as offered to sell the following hardware to me:

MBox http://www.digidesign.com/products/mbox/ $300
Pre Amp http://www.music123.com/ART-Tube-MP...V3-i21135.music $60
Effects Pedals http://www.danelectro.com/big2.htm DaddyO, Fabtone, DanEcho $60 each

It looks like the Mbox would just plug into the USB on the notebook and would simplify the interface with the mic and the guitar, but it's not cheap at $300, and budget is also a consideration. I'm wondering if there is a much cheaper way to achieve the same results, ie. purchasing the ART preamp and plugging the mic and guitar into that and then connecting the preamp to the pc at line level, if that's possible? Or perhaps some altogether different route to take in terms of what to buy in order to get started. I would like to buy some equipment that I can grow with in the future if I was to incorporate another guitar or vocalist, or perhpaps bass or drums into the mix.

Thank-you in advance for your help.
Click to expand...

thoes are like new prices (close enough)....... don't buy from him.
 
You will need a decent mic and probably a decent preamp. You can still use the laptop but would need some recording software and an interface (the mBox is good). Do you have USB and/or Firewire? You could also take the other approach and get a standalone unit. But you still need a good mic and preamp.
 
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