Chili
Site Moderator
Done. Thanks for catching that!!
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stevem911
New member
Right on...move to where you think i would get the best response for what i need. And wow..thank you so much for the help as alot people would not do that! Thank you.
Chili
Site Moderator
Read through the Newbies section. There is a lot of garbage to sift through, but some real nuggets of useful knowledge can be found. You are on a good start by seeking answers before opening the wallet.
Good luck and have fun.
Good luck and have fun.
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jaynm26
New member
OOOOoooohhh Well aint you special??!!!
JimmyS1969
MOODerator
.....
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smili
New member
My first advice here is that you can do it way under 7000, and way under 5000, so take your time and start basic. It's not all about the gear, it's about knowing how to use it. The advertisements will try to convince you that you've gotta buy a bunch of stuff, but I think the bigger truth is it's as much craft/technique as anything - and it just takes time to figure out what you're doing. I've been in your shoes and I've spent alot of $ on this hobby, and I found I often don't know what I need until I just do it and run into something where I can see need for piece of gear.
That said - your input needs are modest especially if you're going to be tracking mostly 1 instrument at a time. Start small w/ minimalist setup, set yourself a deadline and just start doing a song or two in the way you plan to work. It'll quickly become clear what things you'll need to investigate. One of the hardest things for me was a good monitoring situation and isolation for live tracking with a full band, but with just tracking one input at a time that's not as big a deal.
That said - your input needs are modest especially if you're going to be tracking mostly 1 instrument at a time. Start small w/ minimalist setup, set yourself a deadline and just start doing a song or two in the way you plan to work. It'll quickly become clear what things you'll need to investigate. One of the hardest things for me was a good monitoring situation and isolation for live tracking with a full band, but with just tracking one input at a time that's not as big a deal.
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stevem911
New member
Not sure why this is a newbie question but maybe it is. I currently have a windows 7 with cubase and mixcraft software, with a tascam interface. That allows my guitar input, midi, and vocals. It works ok and I have been recording on this for a couple years and now I would like to upgrade...so not a real newbie lol. I just want the next level with some input from others. A more "professional" system in some respects as i know this is something i will be doing for years to come. I could just go out and get some stuff but the equipment selection is endless. So this would be more of a profesional dedicated studio as opposed to my multi purpose machine i have now. Thanks for the input.
JimmyS1969
MOODerator
I would go with an interface with more inputs than you actually need, if plugging/unplugging is something you want to avoid.
Here it comes (it's been a while)....
I would suggest the Tascam US1800 interface. Focus most on quality monitors and room treatment (not foam crap), then get yourself a nice 1073 clone preamp for some sweetness.
Microphones can be hit or miss for what it is you are recording, and the particular sound you are after. No one mic is good for everything, but you can find tons of opinions for specific uses for particular mics in the forums here. That being said, almost everyone will have an SM57 around. And you can use it as a hammer to build your desk.
Here it comes (it's been a while)....
I would suggest the Tascam US1800 interface. Focus most on quality monitors and room treatment (not foam crap), then get yourself a nice 1073 clone preamp for some sweetness.
Microphones can be hit or miss for what it is you are recording, and the particular sound you are after. No one mic is good for everything, but you can find tons of opinions for specific uses for particular mics in the forums here. That being said, almost everyone will have an SM57 around. And you can use it as a hammer to build your desk.
mjbphotos
Moderator
As has already been suggested, go slow, don't buy your $5000 worth of gear all at once.
Start out with a computer and interface, headphones and monitors. Those are all musts. $3000 or less, depending on what you choose.
When you start live tracking with multiple players, you'll need a headphone amp and more headphones (if your interface doesn't have capability for multiple headphones).
One thing I didn't see you mentioning (maybe I missed it) was your DAW. I always recommend Reaper. Free download, $60 to register.
Sound treatment in that room - the room is fairly small, you're going to need bass traps.
Mics for vocals and acoustic instruments are next. Electronic drum kit.
Guitar amps? Make the players bring their own. Tube amps are going to run you $700 and up each, that'll blow your budget real fast. Solid state will save you some money, if you can get the tones you like - depends on the type of music and players' styles.
Start out with a computer and interface, headphones and monitors. Those are all musts. $3000 or less, depending on what you choose.
When you start live tracking with multiple players, you'll need a headphone amp and more headphones (if your interface doesn't have capability for multiple headphones).
One thing I didn't see you mentioning (maybe I missed it) was your DAW. I always recommend Reaper. Free download, $60 to register.
Sound treatment in that room - the room is fairly small, you're going to need bass traps.
Mics for vocals and acoustic instruments are next. Electronic drum kit.
Guitar amps? Make the players bring their own. Tube amps are going to run you $700 and up each, that'll blow your budget real fast. Solid state will save you some money, if you can get the tones you like - depends on the type of music and players' styles.
wheelema
Boner-obo
I'm not telling you this is what you should get, this is just me pretending what I'd buy if I had $7K to burn through and your requirements.
IBM PC compat w/1394a, USB 2, USB 3, quiet power supply in super quiet case, consisting of -
$5,900 sans tax and shipping.
- Midas VeniceF-16 mixer/control surface - 8 mono channels with pres, 8 stereo channels with pres, line-in/inserts on all mono channels. Via Firewire to the PC.
- TC-Helicon VoiceWorks - used as a effects processor via insert. Your 'gold channel'.
- MOTU MIDI Express 128 - to handle the MIDI traffic - USB to the computer.
- Casio PX-350 keyboard controller - MIDI I/O to/from the MOTU box, USB to the computer.
- Native Instruments MASCHINE MK2 - MIDI I/O to/from the MOTU box, USB to the computer
- Pair of ADAM A5X studio monitors from Mercenary Audio (they double the warranty)
IBM PC compat w/1394a, USB 2, USB 3, quiet power supply in super quiet case, consisting of -
- Intel BOXDQ77MK - LGA1155 Intel Q77 Express Chipset DDR3-1600 Executive Series uATX Motherboard
- Fractal Design FD-CA-DEF-MINI-BL Define Mini Tower Case, Black
- Intel BX80637I53450 Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core - Intel HD Graphics 2500
- Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B 8GB ( 4GB x 2 ) 240-pin DDR3 1600mhz non-ECC desktop memory module
- Lite On IHAS524-T98 Black 24X DVD+/-RW Burner w/ Nero
- TOSHIBA DT01ACA050 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
- Noctua NH-D14 140x140x25mm Intel Corei7/i5 LGA775 AMD AM2 CPU Cooler
- CoolerMaster RS550-ACAAD3-US GX 550W Active PFC ATX Power Supply, 80PLUS Bronze
- Dell UltraSharp 24" IPS monitor
$5,900 sans tax and shipping.
CoolCat
Well-known member
if most of your stuff is just going to be a solo recording, get a $1000 pc, $60 Reaper, spend $1500 on monitors- DYNAUDIO BM5, spend $1000-on Room absorbers and check Ethan's beginner stuff for starters, a desk $250...a nice chair $250.
$4000 gone....
then the interface, but if your doing mostly solo stuff you probably dont need 8 inputs, maybe 4 input interface would work.
$500
I'd say get some VST for Reaper as your rack gear for starters and not worry about hi-end preamps and all that until you know what your doing. $500 and misc things. speaker stands, lava lamps, cd=r, backup USB drive...headphones....mic stands....$500
$5500 gone...
then theres $1500 for gear....
$4000 gone....
then the interface, but if your doing mostly solo stuff you probably dont need 8 inputs, maybe 4 input interface would work.
$500
I'd say get some VST for Reaper as your rack gear for starters and not worry about hi-end preamps and all that until you know what your doing. $500 and misc things. speaker stands, lava lamps, cd=r, backup USB drive...headphones....mic stands....$500
$5500 gone...
then theres $1500 for gear....
mjbphotos
Moderator
Sure is easy spending someone else's money, isn't it?!
Almost any new PC will be more than adequate to use as a starter. Get as much RAM as possible - don't get WIndows 7 PRO. Buy a 1 or 2 Tb backup drive.
That's $1000.
I love my Tascam interface that I got from jimmys69, so I'm prejudiced - get the US-1800 for $200. With 8 pres, 2 DI instrument inputs and MIDI, it'll service your needs for a while.
Monitors - until you learn what you are doing and get your recording/mixing room well treated acoustically, spending a boatload on monitors doesn't make sense. Yamaha HS80M - $700 for a pair. There are other choices - JBLs, Events, Tannoys in the same price range or a little cheaper.
Headphones - hopefully for tracking only. Just about any 'decent' headphone will do. $50- $100
You're up to $2000 now. Stop. Read all about studio building. You can make your own bass traps if you can handle a saw and screwgun, or you can buy them.
Mics - a zillion choices. Again start slow. Nothing wrong with adding a couple of Shure SM57s (not counterfeits) to your gear, but look at the GLS es57's that you can get for less than half of the Shures. A matched pair of condensor mics for recording acoustic guitar. A large diaphragm condensor for vocals. Don't forget mic stands, cables and a popfilter.
You've now spent $3000 - more if if you bought your bass traps instead of making them. You still haven't bought your electronic drumset, or any of those amps you were thinking of, or keyboards.
While you've been getting all this gear and trying to figure out where to place it in that not-too-large room, have you been making any music, recording it, learning to mix and engineer it?
Getting $5-7K worth of gear won't make your first recordings sound great. $20K of gear won't either.
Almost any new PC will be more than adequate to use as a starter. Get as much RAM as possible - don't get WIndows 7 PRO. Buy a 1 or 2 Tb backup drive.
That's $1000.
I love my Tascam interface that I got from jimmys69, so I'm prejudiced - get the US-1800 for $200. With 8 pres, 2 DI instrument inputs and MIDI, it'll service your needs for a while.
Monitors - until you learn what you are doing and get your recording/mixing room well treated acoustically, spending a boatload on monitors doesn't make sense. Yamaha HS80M - $700 for a pair. There are other choices - JBLs, Events, Tannoys in the same price range or a little cheaper.
Headphones - hopefully for tracking only. Just about any 'decent' headphone will do. $50- $100
You're up to $2000 now. Stop. Read all about studio building. You can make your own bass traps if you can handle a saw and screwgun, or you can buy them.
Mics - a zillion choices. Again start slow. Nothing wrong with adding a couple of Shure SM57s (not counterfeits) to your gear, but look at the GLS es57's that you can get for less than half of the Shures. A matched pair of condensor mics for recording acoustic guitar. A large diaphragm condensor for vocals. Don't forget mic stands, cables and a popfilter.
You've now spent $3000 - more if if you bought your bass traps instead of making them. You still haven't bought your electronic drumset, or any of those amps you were thinking of, or keyboards.
While you've been getting all this gear and trying to figure out where to place it in that not-too-large room, have you been making any music, recording it, learning to mix and engineer it?
Getting $5-7K worth of gear won't make your first recordings sound great. $20K of gear won't either.
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stevem911
New member
Thank you all for the excellent advice! I have spent countless hours on the mixing/engineering skills and it seems like i am better at that than actually playing...hah. I think i am at a point where i can make excellent sounding mixes with the drum loops/keyboard/guitar plugged in. And i am very weak recording vocals/live. Thats why i have started with pretty cheap equipment until i felt i could actually do it well. I know enough to understand how to get a better sound, but by no means have "figured it out". Perhaps your advice on first getting a high quaility computer/interface/daw with some good monitors, then work slowly on the room. hmmmmmm...
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stevem911
New member
Could you give 2 or 3 condensor mics for recording an acoustic? I had this crazy idea i could have a wireless mic on the acoustic/electirc and that feeds into the interface and then i could eq it to whatever sound we are looking for. Or is that ass backwords?
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smili
New member
several I have include:
Oktava MC012, Rode NT5, Marshall 603s, something by Avantone. But I like LDC on acoustic too - TLM103 sounds real nice on acoustics, but others probably will too. condensers do sound better than dynamics I've tried on acoustics if you want sheen, imho
wheelema
Boner-obo
Sennheiser MK4.
Armistice
Son of Yoda
I have heard that W7 Pro has a bunch of crap that is more of a hindrance for recording. I see no reason as of yet to move to 8. IME, W7 is just peachy.
Pretty sure I have Win 7 Pro by default because it came with the machine and I've never found anything there that's a hindrance... I pretty much ignore the OS...
The reason to go 7 vs 8 was, for me, to avoid the inevitable support / driver lag on a new OS. Plus it's a recording workhorse which doesn't connect to the internet except for updating, so who needs all the social media stuff and to learn your way around something new...
With a Xeon 3.55 + 16 RAM and 20 audio tracks, a few MIDI synths and some plug-in VSTs applied, it's yet to move higher than 1% CPU utilisation....
mjbphotos
Moderator
Forget wireless mics!!! They are for stage performers. read about 'X-Y' micing of acoustics (there's a whole long sticky thread here about it)
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zetm
New member
Well for years I fought like heck to get Windows achenes working. I bought a Mac Pro 2006 model last year for 600. Put in memory bringing it up to 14 Gig and 7200 TB drive. Added Logic, arturia and sample tank and its rock solid.
The fact you need to record bands means you need at east an 18 channel interface. So fo about 3500 a person could get a used Mac Pro and UA Apollo Quad and add an ADAT interface for another 500. A lot f money but it would work reliably for you for years ...
The fact you need to record bands means you need at east an 18 channel interface. So fo about 3500 a person could get a used Mac Pro and UA Apollo Quad and add an ADAT interface for another 500. A lot f money but it would work reliably for you for years ...
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Denis Tolo
New member
Kel audio make some nice mics for vocals at a reasonable price.
Mac Pc argument won't end for a long time. I use a Mac setup with a universal audio Apollo interface and they pair up extremely well. Awesome sound quality at a really great price. Only issue though is that the Apollo is still Mac only.
Apogee make some great sounding interfaces below $1000 now.
It really depends on the quality you are after. Once you start you will find it difficult to stop buying new stuff. I know I do hehe.
Mac Pc argument won't end for a long time. I use a Mac setup with a universal audio Apollo interface and they pair up extremely well. Awesome sound quality at a really great price. Only issue though is that the Apollo is still Mac only.
Apogee make some great sounding interfaces below $1000 now.
It really depends on the quality you are after. Once you start you will find it difficult to stop buying new stuff.
I know I do hehe.