First post and what I would like to do

B

Beemer

Member
Hi all,

I am a retired electrical/electronic engineer and play piano and acoustic guitar. I run Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and have an Echo Mia Midi sound card and Behringer mixer. I have a 61 key midi keyboard, Kurzweil Pro1200 which is an old 88 key synth (but more like a master keyboard) , Aleisis HR16 drum machine and an Alesis MicroVerb. My only mic is a Shure SM58.

My goal is to record acoustic guitar, my voice, rhythm percussion and synth.

I have over the years tried various DAW demo software but never got round to actually doing any Midi +analog recording.

The first problem I see is that all of my equipment is in one small room and any recording of my acoustic guitar and voice is sure to pick up computer fan and hard disk noise.

I was thinking about buying a digital recorder to use in a quiet room but I am concerned that I have got my intended workflow wrong and I should be first laying down a percussion/rhythm track in the DAW?

This must be a common issue so I hope I can get some advice here.

Ian
 
For your problem of computer noise, I think they make gobos that you can put around your computer which may or may not work. How small is the room? If you keep the mic facing away from the computer with the mic level somewhat low, you might not get noise anyway.

I personally would not want to have to deal with recording onto a digital recorder and then transferring that to the computer, seems like an unnecessary step that would limit your ability to do certain things, for example, play guitar over a midi track in your DAW.
As far as your workflow goes, it's whatever works for you. I would lay down a scratch guitar track over a click, then add percussion/other elements then do a 'real' guitar take and go from there
 
I have to disagree. I think you SHOULD get a dedicated multitrack. I think most people should start there. Here's why;

1. It forces you to learn to make decicisions and stick with them. Having limited tracks to work with, you learn to think about what you're going to do before you do it.

2. You have most everything you need in one unit, so you can see if you like recording, if not, you can resell the unit. It's harder to resell computer software, etc.

3. Your workflow is simplified and it CAN BE (not WILL BE) easier to work with the outboard gear you have.

I think you should invest in one or two decent condensor microphones for recording your acoustic and your voice.

This is just my $.02



oh, and welcome to the boards.
 
My room is only 8x7 and filled with computer desks and all the other gear. I could not get my mic more than three feet from my tower computer. The case is already fully acoustic foam lined but this means that the fans run faster.

I have just bought a 1500 UK pound ($2250) guitar and I don't need laptop which I realise would solve my problem.

Ian
 
Also, I think you should go here.

They have tons of great information on starting out in recording. It will help you immensly with getting set up.
 
Thanks for the welcome!

Yes I see most folk are using condenser or even ribbon mics for the guitar but I like the presence of the SM58 for my voice.

I have been looking at the Boss BR-800 and Zoom R16 recorders. They seem overkill for a solo recordist like me but they would be great to take to a party!

Ian
 
Beemer said:
Yes I see most folk are using condenser or even ribbon mics for the guitar but I like the presence of the SM58 for my voice.
Click to expand...
Then go for it! Sufjan Stevens recorded a few albums with 58s on the vocals. (or maybe 57s, but no matter) I would still consider getting at least one condensor and/or ribbon mic. Then you can experiment with the vocals and if you still like the 58 go for it.

Beemer said:
I have been looking at the Boss BR-800 and Zoom R16 recorders. They seem overkill for a solo recordist like me but they would be great to take to a party!

Ian
Click to expand...
I don't think the boss would be overkill at all. In fact it may not quite be enough. For less money you can get this which has a few more feautres and twice the tracks. This would leave you money for a mic or two and some decent monitors or cans. Having a unit that can generate MTC is awesome cause you can buy a cheap synchronizer and slave your drum machine and other midi gear to it (which is a killer way to go!!!!) (BTW I have no vested intrest in Fostex, just trying to help.)
 
The zoom unit looks pretty cool. I have two issues though:

1. it's a 24 track recorder with only 8 faders. I'm not sure how you would approach mixing.

2. Battery operated stuff scares me. This is just a personal thing. YMMV.

It is cool, however, that it can double as a control surface for a DAW.

I was looking at one US supplier and it's $500 US. SO it's almost twice the price of the fostex unit.

I think you are on the right track though. Look for something that you can carry, that will force you to learn what you are doing and why, and (almost most importatnly) that you are comfortable with.

I feel like going straight to computers with all of their indefinate options is a horrible way to start out. Like with engineering: you can learn "short cuts" but you need to start out learning the basics, learning why the short cuts work, and what they are designed to do for you. This is just MY opinion and I am by no means a PRO.

If you were increadibly adventurous I would steer you toward old cassette based portastudios. Really force you to learn and force you to commit to what you're doing and plan etc. (plus I actually like the way they sound) But I know that most people really want the ease of use of digital, and I understand that.
 
Beemer said:
I have just bought a 1500 UK pound ($2250) guitar
Click to expand...

Ian - if you can spend this much on a guitar, then I suggest you open the wallet if you can as far as recording equipment goes.

You might like an SM58 on your voice, but have you heard anything else? And you won't, I'm thinking, get much of an acoustic guitar recording with it. A decent mic for that would be a starter... depending upon the guitar, it's not going to sound very good through the pickup, which is perhaps your plan.

Why are you trying to do this in one small room.... can you keep your machinery in one room and record in an adjacent room? Or are you actually in jail and you don't want to tell us? :D The screaming might be a bit distracting...

I'm also a fan of SIAB solutions for simpler recording needs, as nate mentions. In fact I've only ever recorded on them. All sorts of stuff you can't do on them these days, of course, and if I was retooling I may do some different things, but they're a great starting point for the reasons nate mentions...

Good luck..:drunk:
 
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