$300 budget. Please suggest equipment required to record vocals and master & mix them

[kratos]

$300 budget. Please suggest equipment required to record vocals and master & mix them

Heres my equipment to record vocals currently:

Shure SM58 with okish behringer preamp
FL Studio 8

I intend to make my music in FL but record vocals in another DAW. I currently use Audacity to do that but i m no where near in getting studio quality vocals.

My backing tracks are mastered but the problem is recording my vocals on top of it ruins the whole mix because as you know im a complete noob in this part coz i dont how the vocals will fit in. plus i need to remove background noise and computer hum which ruins the vocals too!

Please could you suggest what i should buy like audio interfaces, condensor mics, cables etc..to improve my vocal recording capabilities without buying any external software (i intend to use audacity only as im more familar and exp with it).

I USE PC!!!

 

[donthaveaname]

I vote you spend the 300 dollars on learning how to use the gear you think you need.

 

[moresound]

How are you getting computer hum? is it a PC or MAC?

 

[Jim Lad]

$200 for an M-Audio Fast Track Pro & $100 for a Large Condenser Microphone.
That should get you started.
Plus, go here... http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm and enjoy.

 

[kratos]

how are you getting computer hum? Is it a pc or mac?

sorry, i use pc!

 

[JinsTa]

Haha, I'm a newbie too but I asked the same question kinda. Haha well, this is what some people have told me.

Get a good audio interface, like the M-Audio and use Reaper / Audacity to record / mix your music. If you know how to use it right, it will get the job done. And reaper has a free trial, and if you really love it, buy it for 60$. And if you want a better condenser microphone, get a MXL v67g. The MXL v67g is about 70-90$ which is great, and like I said, Reaper has a free trial, and then 60$ eventually if you want to go far. Audacity is free. And the M-box is 150-200$ but, I'm sure you can find one that fits in your budget. But try those things out if you want to record only on your computer, which is what I'm going to do.

-Jin

 

[XLR]

Here's a suggestion that I know you won't take but I'll say it anyway. Read this post again in 5 yrs and you'll wish you had done it.

Book a couple hrs in best recording studio you can get with your $. Tell them you're doing it to learn about recording vocals. Take in some backing tracks to sing along with. Have the engineers record you with a number of different price levels of mics, including your own. Ask them to teach you a little about why they're setting up the mic's in the positions they are, and why the tracking room and vocal booth are designed like they are. Take pictures. Get copies of all the recordings and keep notes so you know which mic was used for which take, etc. Study the experience while you record with the gear you already have, which you'll be able to use WAY better than before, guaranteed, then base your future studio plans and gear buying on what you learned.

 

[XLR]

Oh, and...

...Get copies of all the recordings...

Then at home work on mixing the vocal tracks with the backing tracks... you'll find that it's relatively easy to mix when the tracking was done well.