Solitary Recording Advice Needed!

A

AccidentalDream

New member
I just made a major purchase (house) and am in the market to update (from 10-20 year old keys, mics, cables, recording gear, etc.) to a cost effective way I can record great sounding CD's on a budget that will allow me to spend perhaps up to 1600.00. I don't trust the computer (although I hold a degree in educational technology!) to create music and am much happier using a stand-alone recorder/workstation. Let me know what you think of what I am about to purchase:
1. Yamaha AW16G Multitrack Recorder with CD
2. MXL 2001 and MXL 603s condenser mic package
3. Boss DR-5 Rhythm Section
4. Event Electronics TR-5 tuned reference monitors.

The above, along with my plethora of musical instruments, I hope will be all I will need to get started on the right track....digitally, that is. I am not "down with" the whole digital recording thing, but I'm a quick learner and have ample time on my hands. Do you think I am going in the right direction? I play keys, piano, guitar, flute, clarinet, and other multicultural gizmos, and love to sing harmonies. I DON'T want to make a costly mistake! This system has been priced at about 1500.00 to me sans cables and I'm ready to make purchase. Stop me, support my decision, or make other suggestions to help lead me on my way to creative paradise. Merci!
 
Wheres the Preamp? compressor? Hell, wheres the sm57! Dont know much about the Yamaha, never liked those type of machines though, a glaring fact missing from the info i found on it (http://www.humbuckermusic.com/yamawdigrecw2.html) is what , if any sort of internal drive it has, for holding data pre-cd. A guy i knew had a roland vs840 i think, and i hated the fact that at max quality we could barely fit a whole song on one zip disk. Now granted its a few years later and these machine use bigger drivers, but id find out what kind of internal storage it has. And if you dont need portability, whats wrong with using the computer? Assuming your PC is up to spec(1ghz ish,512mb ram,40gigs or so HD) you can do the following.....
24bit-96khz sound card-$150-400 depending on how many tracks you have to do at one time
Cool edit pro software-$250,very easy to use and very powerful
Sony CD burner-$100
So, for about $500-800 dollars i replaced the yamaha , gave you up to 128 tracks ,a more likely easier to use interface, easy cut and paste editing....and prolly better audio quality to boot!
now through in a few extras...
RNC compessor$175
Dynamic mics?
mackie mixer-$250ish(used)-400(new) brings everything together...somewhat optional depending on what all you have going on..
A decent mic pre-SP's VTB-1 for $179 or FMR audios RNp for 500. Id suggest you dump the Dr-5 for an alesis SR-16(do you really need some crappy digital bass line following your parts? )
A good mic pre is gonna make a bigger differ than almost anything else....And regardless of if you go computer or digital workstation, you gotta work in a decent pre into your budget...
 
Yo Accidental Narcosis:]

I think that it is more important to "get started" rather than worrying about every little piece of gear you might need. The stores are open every day if you need to add an item after you research it.

Also, since I use the 2816 and it is similar to the AW16, you will have plenty of room on the hard drive for songs. I have about 25 songs on my HD and their stereo tracks for CD recording and I still have over ten hours to time left on the HD. Plenty for me. And, you won't want to keep everything on the HD there forever; thus, the "delete" function.

I'm sure you'll enjoy the sound quality of the AW16 if it is anything like the 4416 and 2816, and, I'm sure it is.

You might want to think about buying a UPS aux power supply. This is recommended in the 2816 manual. If you lose power while the unit is on, you could botch up your HD and you will lose data. Yamaha doesn't advertise that aspect of the 2816/4416 and I'm sure the AW16 falls into the same catagory.

My UPS will give me eleven minutes of power if regular power quits, and it does quit in my area often. It only takes 15 seconds to properly shut down the unit.

I have the shutdown sequence on a card which rests under my unit if I need a quick shutdown.

Have fun and Happy New Year.






Green Hornet :D :D :cool:
 
I would go either PC or analog tape. PC if you have patience, and you want to have amazing control, or analog tape if you want to RECORD. I am using a PC based DAW and often think about buying a 1/2" 8 Track recorder....

Power On > RECORD!
 
I don't see anything wrong with your choices (or the other ones suggested so far), but regarding your choices, there's a couple of things I'd consider:

1) I've heard bad things about the 2001 condenser - the package is cheap, but so is the quality. In my book, the first mic to buy is an SM57, then build from there. Maybe an Oktava MK319 (or even a 219) for a LD condenser, and see what else you're going to need. Maybe a SD too, for all the multicultural gizmos.

2) Are the TR-5's powered? If not, you'll still need an amp

3) This one's mostly preference. I owned a Boss DR-5 and hated it. It all depends on what you'll need to do with it. All the violins and fairly cheesy horns might be a hair better than your 20 year old keyboard, but not much. I like the Zoom 234 - more flexibility, and outstanding drums sounds.

The only standalone I've worked with was a Roland VS1680 (which was very, very nice), so I can't really comment on the Yamaha.

Best O' Luck, either way.
 
Seanmorse79 said:
1) I've heard bad things about the 2001 condenser - the package is cheap, but so is the quality. In my book, the first mic to buy is an SM57, then build from there. Maybe an Oktava MK319 (or even a 219) for a LD condenser, and see what else you're going to need. Maybe a SD too, for all the multicultural gizmos.
Click to expand...

It really depends on what you will be recording. Acoustic guitar? Piano? Electric guitar? I would figure out what instruments you will be recording most of the time, and then get a couple mics that will be able to record them all between the two.

The MXL2001 is an OK starter LD mic, and the MXL603 has received good reviews. I would not get an Oktava MK219 without modifying it.

Sorry for the short inital response. If you are not too comfortable with digital, I would not use a PC for recording. Maybe an integrated package like the Yamaha is best for you.
 
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