Ask for Beginner setup

[mullin]

hi,

i'm a beginner and want to record through my Tascam US-122 and laptop.

1. acoustic guitar (i think 2 mic will be needed)
2. female and male vocal (i think 2 mic will be nedded)
3. electric guitar (directly from amp to US-122)
4. harmonica (through harmonica mic to US-122)
5. drum (from software loop)

therefore, i think i would like to buy 2 mics for vocal and acoustic guitarl. i think i may need either a mixer or preamp for the vocal part.

may someone give me some suggestions? i'm thinking of B1 for the pricing and performance.

cheers.

 

[Procreezy]

Some of the greatest acoustic tones are achieved by combining a LDC with a SDC - one placed a foot or two in front of the bridge (usually the LDC), pointed towards it, and the other about a foot in front of the 12th fret pointed towards the 14th or so (usually this is the SDC but really you can go either way with it - remember, nothing is wrong if your achieving the sound your looking for). You can adjust the tone by pivoting the mics off axis to either side for different effect and tone.

So that covers acoustic sound utilizing two potential mics. However a combo like this would shine most in that it provides such a versatile sonic pallet - both individually as well. Perhaps a SDC/LDC combo like a MXL603 and a B1 would provide the best mileage as far as covering the vocals/acoustic guitar.

However I might ask, how set are you on going direct from your amp to the U-122? You might consider a getting something like a SM57 to mic that amp and grab a AT2020 to cover the condenser needs. That is a very great mic that works just about anywhere! A real B1 contender.

Just giving you some different options to think about. There are so many other possibilities though.

 

[Big Kenny]

Budget is .......

 

[mullin]

1. regarding the connection from amp [electric guitar amp] to US-122, i just think either a direct cable or putting a pre-amp in-between.

therefore, is it a good choice to have a pre-amp for
1. vocal mic to pre-amp and then US-122 and
2. guitar amp to pre-amp and then US-122

 

[jkokura]

1. regarding the connection from amp [electric guitar amp] to US-122, i just think either a direct cable or putting a pre-amp in-between.

therefore, is it a good choice to have a pre-amp for
1. vocal mic to pre-amp and then US-122 and
2. guitar amp to pre-amp and then US-122

In regards to this...a signal chain usually looks like this:
source - mic - pre - interface - recorder

An example of a vocal chain: voice - SP C1 - M Audio DMP3 - M Audio Delta 1010 - Cubase on computer (DAW - digital audio workstation)

An example of the same for guitar: guitar coming out of the amp - Shure SM57 on the cab - DMP3 - Delta 1010 - DAW

what you're wanting to do is record the amp direct, which means you're replacing some of this chain. Instead of recording the sound of air being moved by the amp, you're wanting to skip the actuall sound and keep everthing 'digital'. In circumstance like this your source isn't the amp's sound, your source is the vibrating strings over the pups, and then the pre is your amp. An example of this is: guitar - amp - interface/pre's line in to interface - DAW

Most will tell you that the better sound usually will come from micing, but sometimes being quiet and ease of use is more valuable. Try using a POD from Line 6 or a V-amp from Beri instead of an amp's direct out. These are products meant to do what you want. Another option is learning how to mic your amp...

Jacob

 

[mullin]

Thanks for your suggestion.

One more thing is that should i still need a hardware mixer at my setup? or why should we still need a mixer if we can do the stuff at the software level?

Regarding the preamp purchase, i'm thinking of either buying a mixer, Yamaha MG10/2 Mixer or a preamp Studio Projects VTB1 Variable Tube Microphone Preamp.

Thanks for any comments.

 

[ozraves]

I'd suggest the Audio-Technica AT2020 and the MXL 603. The AT2020 will do a better job on vocals than most anything at $100 or less. The 603 gives you some nice flexibility for instrument mic'ing.