Newbie: Some Suggestions for Current Setup

[slowly]

Hi,

I'm a songwriter/guitarist (I try at least) and am currently doing some recordings with GarageBand. I do mainly folk/acoustic/re-tuned hymns/etc. My experience level with recording is pretty basic.

My current set-up is:

ART MSIX condenser mic --> Steinberg CI1 Audio Interface --> GarageBand
(Also have a Ear Trumpet Louise Mic)

Here is a recording I did with this set-up View attachment Lift Up Your Heads - updated.mp3

I want to get a little more serious and attempt to make better recordings. I have some things I would be eyeing and reading up on in regards to upgrades:

Mic:
I'm looking to upgrade my mic. My ART condenser mic is pretty cheap and I'm not sure how much an upgraded mic would improve general. My Louise Mic is a good live mic and I've used it with recordings as well. There seems to be more high-end and 'presence' in the Louise Mic vs my ART mic. Anyways, I'm eying to get a SM58 to try out, although I'm worried it might not be as sensitive/nuanced as a condenser. Any other recommended mics? Anything decent near the $250-350 range (my current budget)? Or should I save up for something more expensive (i.e. Neummans, AKG, etc)? I also just bought a pop-filter.

Audio Interface/Pre-amp:
As far as I can tell my Steinberg seems good for my uses. Would an external pre-amp help a lot with sound quality? Or would my Steinberg suffice?

DAW:
I've been using GarageBand for mixing. I've tampered a bit with its Compression, EQ functions, and Reverb. I've done a bit of searching and it seems like this board is pretty pro Reaper. I was originally thinking of going to Logic Pro as it seemed like a logical place to go from GB. Reaper's price tag seems cheaper though. There's also Pro Tools which I've heard good things about too. I'm open for suggestions as to where I should go.

Another thing I want to be able to do with the DAW is pitch correction. I'm not the greatest singer so I'm looking for tools to help aide with some pitchiness. I've tried GB's auto-tune function, but it's extremely mechanical/artificial sounding even at its lowest setting.

Monitors/Headphones:
I'm a little confused here actually. Do people use headphones as monitors? Or is it that monitors are external speakers and headphones are completely separate? So far I'm using cheap earbuds strictly for recording tracks. I don't have any monitoring functions right now. I've read the importance of monitors/headphones, so any suggestions here would be great.

Room Treatment:
I'm currently recording in a small untreated room. Floors are hardwood and I don't have too much absorbing furniture/upholstery/etc. Am looking into cost effective ways to treat the room.

I guess I'm just looking for a little guidance in regards to some of my thoughts. Am I going in the right track? Where should I be focusing more of my resources on given a limited budget (~$400)?

 

[Massive Master]

Monitors: (snip) Room Treatment:

The absolute, far and away, no question about it, by a long-shot, most important part of any recording rig.

I don't have any particular specific suggestions in your budget -- Unless Equator D5's fit in there (they might). And bags of Roxul Safe 'n Sound stacked in the corners. But in any case, concentrate on the monitoring chain and the space -- everything else pretty much falls into place after that's taken care of. None of it falls into place *until* that's taken care of (unless it's by accident).

 

[mjbphotos]

There's a lot of reverb on your recording, assume that is not the room, but what you added to the recording, I'd tame that to start off. If you're only listening with earbuds, you're not getting a good idea what the mix will sound like on different listening systems, so monitors should be your next item.
Don't get any smaller speaker than a 5", but since you're only doing acoustic/vocal, the lack of real bass response in 5" shouldn't hurt you. The Equators Massive mentioned are at the top (or above) your whole budget, though. See if you can audition some monitors at a store near you (Guitar Center?) or buy from a place that will let you return them if you dont' like the way they sound in your room.
Stick with the mics and interface you have now - SM58s are great live mics for vocals, but not what you're looking for to record. Similarly, 'budget' mic preamps won't do anything for you.

 

[slowly]

Thanks both for your feedback/replies. I will look into getting me some monitors.

 

[ecc83]

Steinberg CI2 | Sound On Sound

That ^ makes special mention of the good quality of the mic amps so I am with Mike, no need for a pre amp.

Yes, monitors and some room treatment but while you save the Sennheiser HD 202 closed back headphone will be way better than buds for about $20.

Ah, just noticed, Google gave me the C 12 review. No matter, the C11 almost certainly uses the same front end electronics.
Dave.

 

[Shiznizzle]

If you like Garageband, you will love Logic. Logic even has built in pitch correction plugins.

 

[Djard]

I read somewhere that Logic Pro does not support windows. Open Source Audacity has surprised me how well it delivers, but I haven't compared it to anything but nTrack, Sound Forge and the unfriendly Fruity Loops.

The idea of adding in-line phantom power appeals to me, since I have a souped-up TEAC mixing board. Thanks.

 

[slowly]

If you like Garageband, you will love Logic. Logic even has built in pitch correction plugins.

Is it anything like the pitch correction in Garageband? I find if you turn it on in GB, it is extremely mechanical and more auto-tune like than anything remotely natural.