Hi I need advice with recording vocals set up.

linz

linz

Member
I have been recording digitally into my DAW using a Delta 1010l sound card, Using my synth but no mixer, as I prefer to use the DAW /plugins no problems. I have recently bought a bass guitar and would like to record that and my vocals, I bought a dynamic mic, I don't want to buy a mixing desk so what would I need to complete the cycle to enable me to DI the bass and record vocals?
Do I need a pre-amp to go into the sound card, anything else?
Not recorded analogue instruments yet so really appreciate your advice on this set up. Great forum btw.
 
Thanks, I read that I may need a signal box to bridge the pre-amp to the sound card , Do I need to get a signal box as well ?
 
The Delta 1010 card does have two XLR mic channels but they have probably been selected for line level? You could therefore use an active DI box for the bass and, in theory, the dynamic mic in the other XLR input. However, although the DI'ed bass* will I am sure be ok I seem to remeber the mic amps of the 1010 card were not of the greatest quality in terms of gain and noise? The card is otherwise fine to use, I have had several Delta 2496 cards and only my NI KA6 betters them (by a totally undetectably 6dB!) for noise floor.

But! Why not a mixer FCS? Something from Soundcraft or Allen&Heath is THE solution to your problems! I have an A&H ZED 10. Four excellent mic inputs (better than most AIs) and two High Z inputs for guitars. Mine is a USB mixer but you don't need that. I bought my son a Soundcraft 8fx USB mixer. Does him proud. Again two super mic pres and two high impedance input. Again you don't NEED the USB (24 bits, cracking quality) atmo but if you have to go to Win10 I doubt the 1010 will work and new computers rarely have PCI slots.

You will be hard pressed to find a pre amp with the quality and facilties of those two mixers for twice their price. IF at all!

*You could feed the bass through a pedal such as the Boss GE-7 which will give a boost and do the impedance transformation. But, K.I.S.Sir, get a wee mixer!

Dave.
 
Before I purchased my Tascam, I was using a Delta 1010 and I used a Mackei mixer. Mainly for the gain and the phantom power. I also used it to control the volume on my monitors. It cost about $100, but I am sure something similar would work just as well. Your mixer doesn't have to be elaborate.

Mic/Instrument-> Mackei->1010->DAW
Output->DAW->1010->Mackei->Monitors

It is not a bad setup. Plus you can use the mixer for headphone amp. I still use the Mackei to control the monitor volume. Easier to grab a knob to turn it down.
 
I was debating whether it would be more sound to invest in a mixer rather than a pre-amp, would solve a lot of problems , but just needed confirmation I would be doing the right thing.
Thanks guys for the advice., let you know how I go on.
 
Just bought a small mixing desk 'Soundcraft Sprirt 8' which should suffice for bass and vocals.
Thanks guys and Winter festive greetings.
 
For a long time our (son and I. He play, I solder and pay) setup was the ZED 10 into the 2496. When I began an interst in computer sound the most common setup was a small mixer into a PCI card and over here THE mixer to get was the Soundcraft Compact 4, still like to find one.

The Audio Interface has virtually displaced that rig and reached a high degree of quality for a bargain price but an AI is really just a soundcard in a tin with a (very) few bits of a mixer in it. That PCI card is not going to give you any bother with latency or any of the other ills that a USB connection can cause, though I admit they are largely defeated these days. My KA6 is very well behaved.

Dave.
 
linz said:
Just bought a small mixing desk 'Soundcraft Sprirt 8' which should suffice for bass and vocals.
Thanks guys and Winter festive greetings.
Click to expand...

Super! Does not have a high impedance input for guitar but will probably be ok for bass but then you can always use practically any pedal that isn't of the daft "true bypass" ilk. Or of course a DI box.

Do you have a link? LOT of "spirits" about! (time of the year I guess)

Dave.
 
Hi Dave thanks for the info, I managed to pick this up on ebay today and a near new shure sm57 1.jpg
So here's hoping it will sufice.Didn't want to go mad on expense at this stage.
Lindsay
 
Well by my lights you HAVE gone mad! Don't know what it has cost you but I was thinking $100-$150? Still, nice mixer I am sure and enough mic channels to "do" a small band.

You will need to buy or make some cables. TRS jack to RCA and XLR to RCA I think or you might be able to run stereo in and out from the four RCA sockets. When you interface a mixer with a soundcard for recording and monitoring you can get a feedback loop (not mic feedback) so after cold plugging up, always advance faders slowly from nothing and listen!

Have fun.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Well by my lights you HAVE gone mad! Don't know what it has cost you but I was thinking $100-$150? Still, nice mixer I am sure and enough mic channels to "do" a small band.

You will need to buy or make some cables. TRS jack to RCA and XLR to RCA I think or you might be able to run stereo in and out from the four RCA sockets. When you interface a mixer with a soundcard for recording and monitoring you can get a feedback loop (not mic feedback) so after cold plugging up, always advance faders slowly from nothing and listen!

Have fun.

Dave.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave valuable information on the set up really appreciate that, I was really unsure as to which cabling/leads to use.
I only paid £70 for the mixer and £55 for SM57 (used but good bargains) So keep you posted when it all arrives.
At least I have time over Christmas to experiment with it all.:)
 
linz said:
Thanks Dave valuable information on the set up really appreciate that, I was really unsure as to which cabling/leads to use.
I only paid £70 for the mixer and £55 for SM57 (used but good bargains) So keep you posted when it all arrives.
At least I have time over Christmas to experiment with it all.:)
Click to expand...

Bar....gen! You will probably have to cobble up some form of pop shield for the 57. More or less a 58 but not much protection.
Have a crack with a pair of stereo RCA (phono) leads first. You can pick those up from Rock Bottom type shops. DON'T pay £9.99 at Home base for them!

Dave.
 
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