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uncledavey80

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Hi everyone. Firstly sorry as I am sure that this is the kind of stupid question you often get from naive new-comers but hey, I need help...

Basically I have been writing and performing for a while, on the small scale that is, and I now have access to a brand new (and pretty decent) computer. Which has therefore given me (hopefully) the chance to finally get to recording some of my material.

I am hoping to get something that can record tracks independantly (as I will be working mainly alone and with friends, guitar based) as well as at the same time, I plan to put them onto my computer whereby I can mix them, put it all together, add little synths and drums etc., and save onto the computer with the main objective being recording onto cd. My computer (windows based) has a good spec and a soundcard (firewire) and everything like a cd re-writer. I have no hardware or software however. I could afford to spend £500 easily (US$900 ?) but would be willing to spend twice that if it was worth it (I would just have to work a little harder in the meantime and put off my plans of making the best album in the world ever for a bit longer).

I'm basically looking for advice/suggestions for suitable packages. Thanks in advance (and sorry) and I look forward to hearing from....someone....hopefully. Cheers!
 
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TO get started, you are gonna need:
- microphone
- soundcard
- software
- monitors (speakers will work, but not as well)

All of these components varry greatly in price, but you could get what ylu need for 900 US i'm sure. One thing you will find, and has been mentioned here a ton is that you will always be upgrading and adding to your gear as your needs expand. For example, when you get those items listed above and get rolling, eventually you will want a midi keyboard for your synths. You will also probably want some nicer effects plug ins. Then you might want better monitors and a nicer / different mic.

That said, i would say start with something like:

- cakewalk homestudio 2
- audio technic 3035 condendor mic
- m-audio bx9 monitors
- m-audio omni studio soundcard.

There will be a zillion opinions about this stuff, but if i was in your position, i would look at the stuff above.
 
Providing you have a decent enough computer for recording, a good place to start might be:

Protools M-Box
Wharfedale Diamond Pro Moniters
Studio Projects C-1 Mic
Audio Techica ATHM40fs Headphones
 
my recommendations....
mics ....anything by beyer also look at cad mics.
sound card - cheap look at maya from tracertek.com, or a delta or high end rme.
monitors ....i always recommend yorkville for buck per bang and vice versa.
multitrack software. i love magix music studio and powertracks (pgmusic.com). the latter is the best 29 bucks i ever spent. try the demo and you'll see why and talk to folks on the forum whove given me mots of tips and are very helpfull.
mixerr ....loads of options....alto i tried recently. not bad for cheap or get some standalone mic pre's. or do what i do and build your own. example>>>
soundclick.com/bmanning the song i'm too old for rock and roll.
you can also use old spkrs as mics if your starved for cash....example....
the lets move it man song. you can use cassette deck mic preamps.
some arent bad at all if you know what your doing.
linear technology has a nice low cost diy mic pre schematic that sounds nice. look at the pdf for a LT1115. i substituted the LT op amp for a 1028 or op37 and got something i liked once.
all the best.
 
OK, most of the advice on here is great (like in the above posts) but bear in mind we generally pay more for stuff in the UK than our friends in the US and Canada.

Also not all of the things suggested will be easily available in the UK. eg. I've never found a supplier for Yorkville monitors over here (which is a shame as they get mentioned a lot as good but relatively cheap monitors).

I guess you may need a new soundcard (for increased quality and multiple ins/outs). M-Audio soundcards are decent quality and reasonably priced. The delta 44 (£120 approx.) will allow you to record 4 tracks simultaneously, the Delta 1010LT (£200 approx.) will allow you to record 8 tracks (+spdif I/O and midi I/O). The 1010LT also has mic preamps built into two of the inputs (this is the card I use).
There is a german company selling these on eBay a fair bit cheaper than the approximate retail prices I've mentioned.

The M-Audio monitors mentioned above are available from digital village (DV):

http://www.dv247.com/icat/homeofferslist

I've not heard them but they are reputedly reasonable quality for the price.
I use Event 20/20s which I picked up on eBay for £150. Again good if you can get them for that sort of price.

I'd recommend at least one condensor mic for recording vocals and acoustic instruments.
The studio projects B1 is a good mic for the money and at DV they have this mic bundled with a VTB-1 preamp for £140. This is an excellent deal (even by UK standards).

Look at the mics mentioned above and also shure dynamics (sm57 & sm58). These are workhorse mics.

You will need a mic preamp for each mic (or for as many as you plan to record with simultaneously).
Standalone pres are generally better quality but the cheaper option is to buy a mixer with built in pres (the mixer will also give you lots of other options).
I'd reccommend the yamaha MG 12/4 (£130 approx.)

After all that I'm guessing you won't have much change for software.
As you're new to PC recording anyway I'd recommend Kristal:

http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/

It's free and easy to use. It does have it's limitations (only 16 tracks and only 2 effect inserts per channel + 3 on the master buss) but it will allow you to concentrate on recording rather then spending an age getting your head around more complicated software. I hope that doesn't sound patronising but some of the more advanced audio software (logic, pro tools etc) is really complex (well to me anyway).

Audacity is a good (free) wave editor which complements Kristal nicely:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

You can always try these anyway, if you find them a bit limiting you can always save up for a more comprehensive software package.

These are all opinions, they're based (except where stated) on equipment that I use and know can be acquired in the UK. None of this stuff is particularly high quality gear but it's OK for the sort of money you're thinking of spending. It will get pretty good results, like I say for the money you're spending.

Good luck with it anyway and have fun.
 
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