Need advice on certain things.

T

theclashrock

New member
Hey guys I have been doing occasional recordings for a while and this is my current setup:
Dell dimension 9150
3.6ghz P4 ht
2056mb
2 250gb sata hdd in raid 0
160gig external firewire hdd
Radeon X600 256mb
Soundblaster Xifi
M audio audiophile something or other

SM57, quik lok stand, stagg pop filter.

All home made cables connecting it up.
Cubase and fruityloops

Behringer 2 xlr input mixer connected by rca
Some pair of AKG headphones, not sure what model, they were about £30.

I have recorded some basic stuff, mainly just messing about on my own but i'm looking into doing another album with my band and perhaps some solo stuff.

well anyways I'm going to get a completely new setup and I need some advice, i got plenty of cash laying about so money isn't too much of an issue.
The space i'm going to be using as a music room/ recording space I can't fit a desktop in with my instruments so i'm going for a laptop setup, I also like the idea of being able to do a live recording as well so thats an added bonus.

Spec wise on the laptop i'm going for this:
Dell XPS (I know an ebay dealer who does this spec quite cheaply)
2.16 centrino
2056mb ram
100gb 7200rpm hdd
Decent graphics card (can't remember what it was)
17" screen
Adding an external 500gig firewire hdd to it most probably.

Cubase and fruityloops

I need adivce on an external soundcard for it to plug the mixer into which will be a yamaha MG24, advice on the best way to connect the mixer would be good.

Drum mics:
SM57's on toms (8,10,12,14,16) and snares (14x6.5 and 13x3.5)
AKG D112 on kicks (an 18x14 and 22x18)
PG81's as overheads

And I will reuse the SM57's on guitar amps

AKG D112 and Line out the bass amp

I need advice on what to use for saxophone and french horn

I'm going to home brew the cables, klotz cable with neutrik connectors.

Probably any old 6m multicore I can lay my hands on (provided its half decent)

I need advice on a compression unit, i want something nice but under £300.

And I need advice on a large diaphragm condensor and shockmount for vocals.
I plan to make a cheap frame and hang duvets from it as a vocal booth.

I need advice on some good active monitors, headphones and a headphone amp.

So what say you people of the forum?

Oh by the way, I know cubase okay but i'm not great at mastering. I know quite a bit about gear though. And a bit of micing.
So hopefully I can learn a lot from all of you and i'll contribute where I can.
 
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i say you break the kit down a lil..

thats too big of a kit to start with i think.

i wouldnt use pg81's. if you have plenty of cash, go with SM81's, or NT5's, or something better.
 
and i dont think you need a 500gb external. i would get another internal, say 10,000rpm, i think they go to 150gb or something. or two.
 
Its not to start with, like i say I have done recordings before, not many but a few, cheers for the advice on the overheads, i'll probably stretch to the SM81's, if your going to do something right do it the first time eh? otherwise i'll just have to upgrade 6 months down the line.

Anyone else got any advice and comments?

I doubt there is space for a second hard drive in the laptop, and even if there was I doubt they make scsi controllers for laptops.
I'm adding a 500gig external because I like the keep full backups of my hard drive by the way. I also have a lot of music and stuff I want to keep on it.
 
If you also plan on doing live recordings, what is your bands setup - like how how many instruments (incl. vox, etc..) will you have? Also, what software have you looked into? have you checked out how many ins/outs you need? What is your budget - figure specific...

I ask this, because this is going to have to equate to something with much larger inputs and more headaches if you don't plan ahead, especially if you are ready to get alot of gear at once. Usually, most bands you can just make it on an interface with 8-ins with studio work, even scrape through on that live, but having more is always good just incase if your going to alternate between the different environments.

Even if you have alot of money, it will go very fast if you just buy on-site, so your best bet is to pull the band together, have a talk of what you have (and what you plan to have in the future) then delve into some research and look at what gear is worth the buck. This forum will help you alot so.

Also, i agree with TragikRemix, your putting way to many mics on the kit to satisfy the drums, i have never recorded drums with more than 7 mics.

What do i recommend overall? what i consider to be the most comprehensive and helpful guide on the web.

Tweaks Guide

I'd highly recommend reading, pretty much everything on that guide before you buy a thing. It can be a bit much to take in, and a fair read but you'll be glad you read it.
 
Well my bands setup, the one I will be recording with is:
1 Guitarist and backup vocalist
1 vocalist
1 bassist and back vocalist (me)
drummer with a 6 piece setup (4 toms, kick and snare)
Saxophone and french horn players
Keyboard player

But i'll be doing recording on my kit too so i'll need mics for that (see in my post for specs)
I think that 16 xlr inputs will be enough if I record individually.

My budget i'm willing to stretch to about £8000 but I would rather keep it at about £5000.

I do realise theres a lot of mics on drum's but i see no other way to record them. Its basically how we used to mic them live but with crap mics and i'm no longer in that band.

Okay cheers for the guide, i'll have a read through it today.
 
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