Advice on recording set up?

  • Thread starter Thread starter _Seán_
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_Seán_

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I'm looking for some advice on what gear i need to buy to start recording my own songs.
I'm only looking to record vocals with acoustic guitar (with no pickups or anything) -- however, i will probably be adding in extra tracks of harmony and maybe rhythm guitar.. or something.
I have downloaded Audacity on the software kind of things, I'm just unsure on the tangible stuff i need. I'm thinking a microphone will just do, but I need to know what one to buy to give an alright quality recording, and if a microphone will just do!

I'm sure you guys can help me. :)
 
Well I started with a AT2020 Usb doing just that. But a lot of people will tell you to avoid USB mics, however my experiences with the AT2020 on MY pc for ME were all good. But others have horror stories with similar set ups, so the choice is yours.

The safe option is probably a small Audio interface with an XLR input and a LDC microphone, maybe the MXL V67G, oh and don't forget a mic stand and the cables. This will give you more options to upgrade later aswell.

The USB mic is a deadend route, but it can be cheaper and easier, I'll try and post a sample when I get to my studio of a vocal recording done against a standard karaoke backing track, using the AT2020 usb.

Steve.
 
_Seán_ said:
I'm looking for some advice on what gear i need to buy to start recording my own songs.
I'm only looking to record vocals with acoustic guitar (with no pickups or anything) -- however, i will probably be adding in extra tracks of harmony and maybe rhythm guitar.. or something.
I have downloaded Audacity on the software kind of things, I'm just unsure on the tangible stuff i need. I'm thinking a microphone will just do, but I need to know what one to buy to give an alright quality recording, and if a microphone will just do!
Click to expand...

A small interface will do since you are only overdubbing tracks. A two channel one should suffice. Get one with a preamp for your mic and phantom power if your mic requires it. You will need two mics if you want to record vocals and guitar at the same time (most people like to use 2 mics to record acoustic guitar, but that's a whole other thread).

Since you are downloading - download the Reaper trial - much better for multi-track recording than Audacity.
 
+1 for Reaper instead of Audacity.


What's your budget?

If you're recording guitar and vocals at the same time, I would recommend a two channel USB interface like the Presonus Audiobox. And two LDC microphones (although you could get by with one).
 
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