Home Recording Setup

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Brendan_Owens

New member
Hey, I was emailed the other day about my other tread on digital recording. They recommended the Fostex VF160. I looked it up and the 16 track recorder was selling for like 589 pounds. That sounded a bit too good to be true. Since i'm new, i really dont know what brands are good or not so if someone could let know how good this SIAB is, I would apprecitate it.

Now the main part of my thread. I have received a lot help from everyone here and i really appreciate it. I need someone, if possible, to go on a pretend shopping spree for me. The project is, of course, an amateur home recording studio. You have been given $2,000 to build with. What would you get both going the pc route and SIAB route.

Thanks again!
 
i'd go pc. if you already have a pc, alls you need is:

M-audio audiophile $150~
M-audio DMP3 $160~
Behringer Truth monitors $320~
SM57 $90~
SP B1 $90~
cables $100~
home studio 2004 $90

total= $1000

if not pc, then build one yourself for $500

total= $1500

and those prices are slightly higher to account for shipping and such. of course this setup can only be used for two inputs, e.g. vocals and guitar at the same time.

that setup is very respectable, and should last for a while.
 
oh yeah, buy everything from respectable online dealers, such as musiciansfriend.com, zzounds.com, 8thstreet.com, etc.
 
Thank you for the list. What is an audiophile? I always seem people talking about them, also the same with monitors, what are they used for? I guess I actually need to know what the general purpose for everything is with the exception of the cables and software of course. Thanks again!
 
what is the purpose of the pre amp? and how does it work in the setup you mentioned. im an equipment idiot

Thanks
 
I guess if anybody could list what was needed for amateur studio along with a brief discription on what the function of the piece of equipment does would be ideal. If anyone could provide that I would appreciate it.
 
M-audio audiophile= computer sound card
M-audio DMP3= mic preamp
Behringer Truth monitors= speakers
SM57= dynamic mic
SP B1= condenser mic
home studio 2004=recording program
 
Thank you for that clarification, but, as drgonzo91 also asked, what is the purpose of the pre amp. Also, what are the functions oh the two different microphones? Do you just use the microphones to record directly from the amp or do you plug your guitar into some other piece of hardware? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a pc and the same for a studio in a box? Thanks!
 
Brendan_Owens said:
Thank you for that clarification, but, as drgonzo91 also asked, what is the purpose of the pre amp. Also, what are the functions oh the two different microphones? Do you just use the microphones to record directly from the amp or do you plug your guitar into some other piece of hardware? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a pc and the same for a studio in a box? Thanks!
Click to expand...

First, Grinder's list contains excellent equipment/software for starting out. You will be able to achieve, with experience, very good recordings with that equipment.

Microphones basically convert sound waves into voltage. Microphone output is very low and needs to be amplified to "line-level" before other equipment can use it. That's where the microphone preamplifier comes in. Most mic preamp units also have "Direct Input" preamps to bring instrument level signals up to line level as well.

So, if you have a two channel preamp like the M-audio DMP3 you can plug your microphone into one channel and your guitar into the other channel and record both at once. In the back of the preamp unit there will be two "out" jacks. You connect a cable from each of these "out" jacks to one of the "input" jacks of your sound card, which converts the analog signal to digital code that the computer software (Cakewalk Homestudio 2003) can understand.

You will run cables from the "output" jacks of your sound card into a power amp or powered speakers so you can hear what you just recorded.
 
Don't the card sends go back to the preamp for monitoring (headphones), or else you'll get feed back while recording? What is an easy way to switch between phones and speakers for monitoring or am I confused?

Thanks
 
harphunt said:
Don't the card sends go back to the preamp for monitoring (headphones), or else you'll get feed back while recording? What is an easy way to switch between phones and speakers for monitoring or am I confused?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Most preamps don't have headphone amps, so you don't monitor from a preamp. Most mixers, OTOH, do have built in headphone preamps. Some of the newer all-in-one digital interfaces contain everthing (mic preamps, AD/DA converters, headphone amps), but you would still need a power amp and passive speakers or powered speakers to mix. I am not a fan of the all-in-one boxes, although many are.

I use two soundcards. My M-Audio card is for recording audio. I have two of my outputs going into a Hafler power amp that feeds my KRK monitors. I use a Soundblaster Live for it's MIDI and soundfonts capabilities. I have the stereo out from this card going into channels 7 and 8 of my mixer, and when I'm using headphones to track or do scratch mixes I use the headphone amp in the mixer.
 
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