Basic Guitar Recording setup...need help!

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Boseafus

New member
Hey all,

I am fairly new to using my computer to record my guitar. I have read through the forums a bit to see if I could get my questions answered but I still have a few.
Here's what I want to do:
Record my acoustic and electric guitar.
Record vocals
Record Bass
Add drums via the comp.

I have a 1.4 Athlon, 512 ram, 80 gig mem, Basic Sound Card

I simply want to create good sounding demos. I can spend $500ish bucks right now and would like to know what things I need to purchase.

I have been looking at ACID PRO 3.0 (I use Sonic Foundry Vegas Video which is similar). What other software packages should I look at?

Next, regarding mics? I don't want to spend a ton here either. Can I go directly from the mic into the sound card?

Bottom line, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Nate
 
Recording Guitar

I have not had a great deal of success recording guitar to my soundcard (Maya) I don't think the A/D converters are up to much.
I prefer to record through a pre-amp (Yamaha DG-Stomp) straight into my Akai sampler, just using the sampler as a hard disc recorder.
The guitar solo which kicks in half way through my track 'Gospel' was recorded this way.

http://stage.vitaminic.co.uk/main/vandal_sound_system/

Looking at your gear I think a lot depends on the quality of your soundcard. Even if you get a good signal in, your A/D convertors may degrade the sound quality.
Also recording electric and accoustic guitar require very different techniques.

A first step maybe to borrow a Pod or similar and see if this gets good signals to your soundcard. Have fun trying!
 
It sounds like you're trying to do similar things to what I'm doing. If you want to spend < $500 here's what I'd suggest.

If you don't want to go for a high-end sound card (and if you only have $500 then you probably can't) then you'll need a mixer. Start small with a Behringer 802A. It'll allow you to do basic level control, and gives you some "decent" mic preamps. That's your first $100 (BTW, don't listen to the Behringer haters on the board).

Second, you'll need a mic. You can probably get by with a lot of different things, but the standard seems to be the Shure SM58. You should be able to use that for vocals and for your acoustic guitar. That's your second $100.

Third, you'll need a guitar amp modeler to get nice sounds to record (unless you already have a nice amp to mic). I'd suggest the Johnson J-Station. Great sounds, it'll work for your guitar and bass and it'll only run you $150.

Then you've got $150 left over for software. I'm using Cakewalk Guitar Trax pro and it works great (and lists for $150). If you think you're going to be doing MIDI then you might get Home Studio 2002, but if it's just vocals, drums and guitars then Guitar Traxs is a great choice.

There you go, a nice little home studio for ~$500. Of course, once you really get into it you'll start to want a nice set of monitors (to replace those PC speakers you've got) and there will be other goodies too (aren't there always!).

Have Fun!
 
Thanks for your replies:

Xalien, I am not looking to buy a high end sound card but I am looking at the M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 which I believe is better than a SB live or comparible card. I was also under the impression from others that this card could handle mics, therefore not needing a pre-amp. What do ya think?

Also, Why did you choose cakewalk over acid pro? I am looking at both programs and it seems acid pro, although about $50 more is better. Again, really have no idea.

Regardless, thanks again for your input.

B
 
Some More Advice

>I have a 1.4 Athlon, 512 ram, 80 gig mem, Basic Sound Card<

Spend $69 on a Soundblaster Audigy Value soundcard. Ethan Winer, a respected pro at prorec gives it very high marks: http://www.ethanwiner.com/audigy.html

Ethan tested the Platinum, but the Value (basic card is exactly the same without the breakout box and the software that you don't need).

>I simply want to create good sounding demos. I can spend $500ish bucks right now and would like to know what things I need to purchase.<

>I have been looking at ACID PRO 3.0 (I use Sonic Foundry Vegas Video which is similar). What other software packages should I look at?<

They are not similar. Acid Pro is looping software. Unless you plan on buying loop libraries and using loops in your arrangements, you don't need it. I believe Vegas Video has the full blown version of Vegas Audio included. This is an excellent audio tracker that costs $200 - $300 on its own. Vegas will give you unlimited audio tracks. Unless you want to include MIDI capabilities, you don't need anything else.

>Next, regarding mics? I don't want to spend a ton here either. Can I go directly from the mic into the sound card?<

You can't go directly into the sound card. I think xalien's suggestion of the Behringer MX802 mixer is a good one. It's cheap ($99) and has four decent pres. The suggestion of the SM 58 is also good, but most people prefer the SM 57 as an all-around studio mic, and it's the standard for micing a guitar cab. It's also $10 cheaper. I have some other suggestions for mics.

So, my suggestion:

Soundcard = Soundblaster Audigy Basic ($70)
Mic Pre = MX802 ($100)
Mics = SM57 ($80), Marshal V67 large condenser ($100), Marshall MXL 603s small condenser ($80), Behringer ECM8000 small condenser omni ($40).

Total expenditure= $470. Every mic mentioned above has been recommended by Harvey Gerst. I own them all (except the V67), and IMO they are everything Harvey says they are--best bang-for-the-buck mics available to home recordists.

This setup gives you a very good sound card, four decent mic pres, and an excellent, versatile mic locker that will allow you to record not only acoustic/electric guitars, but vocals and just about any other source you'd want.
 
Boseafus said:
Thanks for your replies:

Xalien, I am not looking to buy a high end sound card but I am looking at the M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 which I believe is better than a SB live or comparible card. I was also under the impression from others that this card could handle mics, therefore not needing a pre-amp. What do ya think?

Also, Why did you choose cakewalk over acid pro? I am looking at both programs and it seems acid pro, although about $50 more is better. Again, really have no idea.

Regardless, thanks again for your input.

B
Click to expand...

The audiophile is an excellent card--a step up from the Soundblaster Audigy. But it will cost you $179 compared to $69 for the Audigy. Either card will serve you well.

You will need a mic preamp for either card. Most cards that come with their own preamps cost in the $400+ range.

You don't need either Cakewalk or Acid. You have Vegas--an excellent multi-tracking program. Spend you money on things you don't already have.
 
Delta Audiophile
M-Audio Audio Buddy
Marshall mxl603
Shure sm57
Marshall mxlv67m
 
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