Attempting to set up home recording

[Newb1987]

Hi there. I am new.

I have some equipment for recording music at home, and I am happy to use this equipment even though it may not be the "best" equipment.

I'll tell you what I currently have -

*Boss Micro BR-80 digital recorder
*AKG C1000s condenser mic
*Two epiphone guitars (one electro-acoustic, the other electric)
*Fender stage amp
*Windows 11 laptop

I just want to play around, I am not too serious about this, but I obviously want to make some decent music. I don't know much about music-creating software for my laptop either.

Just looking for some general advice. I don't want to buy much more equipment, but the mic needs a cable.

Is there anyone who might know if this equipment is decent enough to get started?

 

[TalismanRich]

Yes, you can do decent recording with the BR80. For the laptop, I would recommend Reaper for mixing down the audio.

The issue I see is that you have a condenser microphone which requires phantom power, which I don't think is available on the BR80. The XLR connector of the AKG won't connect to the BR80's 1/4" connection. You would need a dynamic mic, otherwise you will need to use the internal mics for any vocals. Something like the Sennheiser e835 or Shure SM57 or 58 would fit the bill. You would need to have cable with a balanced XLR to unbalanced 1/4" plug.

If you can swing it, an interface like the Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD interface will allow you to use the AKG microphone. Plus it would probably be cheaper than a new mic. You can still use the BR80's guitar sims and effects.

 

[rob aylestone]

Ah, but dont forget the C1000 can work on a battery!

I suppose it is down to what you wish to do. What do you listen on? Headphones i guess? What you have lets you ‘capture’ sounds quite well, it just doesn't let you do much with them. You dont yet have a capability to do different things. So what do you do for other instruments? Maybe you just play guitar with a mic for your voice and a guitar plugged into the recorder? What do you do for reverb? Last thing. What do you do with the finished product? If you want to stick it on the net somewhere, or even just send it to friends, you perhaps use a computer? As Rich says, a proper modest interface would let you use a real DAW on a computer and then possibilities open up amazingly. Virtual Instruments, effects, programming, with few limits?

 

[TalismanRich]

Good call on the battery power. I don't have a C1000, so I wasn't aware that it had that option.

 

[Papanate]

Hi there. I am new.

I have some equipment for recording music at home, and I am happy to use this equipment even though it may not be the "best" equipment.

I'll tell you what I currently have -

*Boss Micro BR-80 digital recorder
*AKG C1000s condenser mic
*Two epiphone guitars (one electro-acoustic, the other electric)
*Fender stage amp
*Windows 11 laptop

I just want to play around, I am not too serious about this, but I obviously want to make some decent music. I don't know much about music-creating software for my laptop either.

Just looking for some general advice. I don't want to buy much more equipment, but the mic needs a cable.

Is there anyone who might know if this equipment is decent enough to get started?

Your input is high impedence - your Mic output is low impedence - got a probelm - get a Behringer Xenyx Q502 USB Mixer used (about $35 used) -
you don’t say what you are monitoring with - if you don’t have anything you need a pair of headphones - get some used Sony MDR7506 (About $50)
the get a DAW (Reaper - Free) and go to town.

​

 

[TalismanRich]

The input impedance in microphone mode is 6K, which should still be ok for a low impedance mic. Most interfaces today seem to be in 2.5 to 3.5kOhm range, so 6K isn't unreasonable. It does appear to be an unbalanced 1/4" tip/sleeve connector from what I see in the manual, so getting the right cable is going to be important.

The Sonys are a good choice for headphones. I also like the AKG K240s.

It shouldn't be too hard to find a used pair of decent monitors, 5" to 8", like the JBL 305s or Rokit 5s. New they run between $250 and 300 a pair, but used they should be half that.