Basic noob advice please!

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Firestorm79

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Hi guys I'm just getting back into recording after over a decade's hiatus. Apart from not being fully up to speed with all the developments I have also forgotten a lot of what I had learnt (partially because I wasn't mainly in charge of all the mixing back then either).

Anyway I'm looking for advice or information on a number of different issues. I'll tell you guys all about what I want and how much I can afford and I'd very much appreciate any advice. So here goes...

1. I want to setup my own home recording system using a laptop and audio interface, which is USB based. I would prefer Usb to firewire since i dont intend on getting a Mac and non-mac firewire laptops are rare. I'm afraid the laptop part is non-negotiable (I know at this point I will be receiving a lot of noob alert facepalms, but the laptop is for the household and I can't have a desktop due to a number of reasons)

2. 75% of the time I will be recording by myself. Which means guitar (electric or coustic) and vocals then overlaying further vocals, further guitar parts, bass and drum tracks. Although I'd like to have the option to record live with two other musicians who will consist of the following: me - vocals and guitar, musician 2 - vocals and bass, musician 3 - electric drums (or at a push very basic mic setup for real drums)

3. When i'm recording by myself I intend to use electronic drums because:
3.1. I don't have room in my house or garage for a full drum kit (though I have access to a drum kit which is just lying dismantled in an attic at the moment)
3.2 I don't have the money to afford an interface with enough inputs to record a live drum kit (even if I were considering this wouldn't the interface have to have per-amp on all the mic inputs for the drum kit?)
3.3 half the time I may have to 'stealth record' so whacking away at a real drum kit may not be feasible...

4. I may explore other artificial instruments (e.g. Synths and keyboards)

5. My total budget (including the purchase of a laptop) is around £1000 (which equates to about $2000)

6. I already have a few shure sm58 and AKG condenser mics. And cables of course.

So bearing the above in mind I have the following questions:

1. What audio interface best suits my needs? I'm looking at the Focusrite scarlette and tascam us800 as possibilities. Predominantly I will be recording vocals and guitar together, but would like a bare minimum option for like band recording... If possible. I would prefer to spend under £250 (about $400)

2. Which laptop should I get?? Again budget is around £600 ($1100) - assuming all I'll need is the audio interface and the laptop. I am happy to use reaper as the DAW. How many USB ports will I need and I heard there is a bit of a debate over dual core and quad core... Bearing in mind the software and the audio interface I have in mind what are the minimum specs I'll need?

3. What is 16 bit and 24 bit In relation to computers (told u - noob)?

4. How would I record the electronic drum track - do I just plug the drum machine into the audio interface? I suspect I wouldn't need to use a mic/pre-amp input. I suspect I WIll have to use a mic/pre-amp input for the bass... Or is it just easier to use one of these drum softwares? (how do those even work??)

5. What is MIDI exactly (sorry I did say I was a super noob) and can you give me examples of its application in home recording?

Thank you all for taking the time to read this even if you don't respond! I know it's a bit tldr...
 
I'm in the same situation, getting back into recording after a few years, and using a laptop with a USB audio interface. I hesitate to make any recommendations on equipment, because I haven't used enough different interfaces, etc. for a recommendation to be useful. I just purchased a Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 that I really like, but as I said...

However, I can answer a couple of your questions:

3. What is 16 bit and 24 bit In relation to computers (told u - noob)?

This is the sample size, and is determined by the settings of your audio interface. Most (all?) interfaces support both. It determines how accurately the amplitude of the signal you're recording is stored. Using a 16-bit sample size, the amplitude can range between the values 32,767 and -32,767. Using a 24-bit sample size, the amplitude can range between 8,388,608 and -8,388,608. Most people tend to think of this as 24-bit giving you more headroom. Of course, this comes with a price. A 24-bit recording requires 1.5x the file space of a 16-bit recording of the same length, and is perhaps more for your computer to process. (Sample rate affects processing load much more than sample size.)

4. How would I record the electronic drum track - do I just plug the drum machine into the audio interface? I suspect I wouldn't need to use a mic/pre-amp input. I suspect I WIll have to use a mic/pre-amp input for the bass... Or is it just easier to use one of these drum softwares? (how do those even work??)

Some parts of this question I can't answer without knowing what equipment you're using. But assuming your electronic drums have a sound module with a line-out, you can use that as an input into the audio interface, and it won't need channels with preamps.

Drum softwares can work in various ways, but the more flexible ones use a drum synthesizer that is being controlled by a MIDI track in your DAW. EZ Drummer works this way. It's a drum synthesizer plug-in that functions as a virtual instrument, and you just add it to a new track. The plug-in has a GUI that allows you to audition different loops, usually just 2 or 4 measures long. Once you find one you like, you can just drag and drop it to the appropriate place in the track. I own EZ Drummer, and I think it sounds really good. But it's pretty rare for me to find one of the loops that is perfect for what I'm working on. So it takes some MIDI editing to get it right.

But you might be able to use your electronic drums to control a drum synth. Check if your kit has a MIDI out. If it does, and your audio interface has a MIDI in, you could just record the MIDI signal from your drum kit and play it back using EZ Drummer or some other drum synth.

5. What is MIDI exactly (sorry I did say I was a super noob) and can you give me examples of its application in home recording?

MIDI is a communication protocol that allows one device to control another. It was originally developed to control synthesizers, etc., but it now has other uses.

A MIDI stream is made up of discrete messages to the device being controlled. For instance, a MIDI stream from a MIDI controller to a synthesizer would contain messages telling the synth what note to play and how loud, turn off this note, etc. It doesn't actually contain any sound, which allows you to record the MIDI stream and play it back using different sounds. Say you've recorded a bass line as a MIDI track in your DAW, but you don't like the bass sound. No need to re-record, just set the synth that's playing it back to use a different patch.

MIDI can be used wherever one device has to control another, and both devices understand MIDI. For example, most control surfaces use MIDI to control your DAW, sending it messages to change volume on this channel, pan this channel to the right, etc.
 
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I think that just about any new laptop is going to meet your recording needs. The two interfaces mentioned will work for you as well, and give you enough inputs to for basic micing a drum kit, too. Note that the US800 is now out of production.
 
I am in exactly the same boat as you guys, coming back after an 18 year break (it was magnetic tape and no www when I was doing it).
I got a focusrite scarlett 2i2 interface (I will rarely record more than one input at time).
Everything is going direct except vocals and acoustic guitar.
I am using a number of plug in synths and drum software.
I bought a fast ASUS gamers laptop with dual fans and dual internal hd's.
You'll want one HD for programs and on HD for data so you can run two r/w heads at once.
You really want as much processing power as you can get, this will help to reduce latency.

I am using a vintage sansui amp and a pair of Yamaha ns-10m's for monitoring.
Everything else is pretty much set up on my coffee table when I am using it.

There are some peripherals that I am using, like a small keyboard, midi control surface (knobs and faders instead of the mouse).
And I did splurge on a Native Instruments Maschine that I hope to use somehow.
Most everything nowadays is USB, so when you see MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) a lot of times you can just plug into a usb port,
otherwise you will be using your interface and some more unweildly cables.

It would be nice to see you guys with similar are the forums in the future to share notes with.
Welcome!
 
Ok I've taken on board all the advice. I'm going to be supernoob again. Can you guys tell me exactly what i'll need to start recording?

I've decided on the Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 for the audio interface.

And for a laptop I'm thinking an hp pavilion with 6gb ram, intel i5 (2nd gen) CPU and about 750gig HD.

I've got a few XLR cables and a few condenser and dynamic mics.

I've got closed headphones with 1/4 jack.

Now what else's do I need? If I'm plugging in my electric straight into the Focusrite would I use the preamp inputs? If so how will my guitar jack fit into those inputs?

How does it work, does the audio interface plug straight into the laptop through a USB cable or is the cable itself quite unique and does the Focusrite come with that cable?

What would I use the monitor outputs on the interface for? I thought I'd be mixing the music on the laptop and listening to the music through the laptop, not the audio interface. Do I really need to get monitors or can I use headphones during mixing? If so how would I listen to the mix using headphones?

Can I use my electric guitar to put down bass tracks (by using some sort of software which will modulate the sound)?

Thanks again all.
 
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Firestorm79 said:
And for a laptop I'm thinking an hp pavilion with 6gb ram, intel i5 (2nd gen) CPU and about 750gig HD.
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Should be fine but if you can stretch to an i7 it will be a bit more future proof. Software has a bad habit of growing in complexity to fill the processor available (to mangle an old cliche). However, as an FYI, I'm frequently working on 24+ tracks on a four year old Core 2 Duo with 4 gig of RAM.


Now what else's do I need? If I'm plugging in my electric straight into the Focusrite would I use the preamp inputs? If so how will my guitar jack fit into those inputs?
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Inputs 1 and 2 have instrument inputs in the centre of the dual XLR/quarter inch jacks. These should be fine.

How does it work, does the audio interface plug straight into the laptop through a USB cable or is the cable itself quite unique and does the Focusrite come with that cable?
Click to expand...

There will likely be a USB cable with the Focusrite but it will be a standard Type B to Type A cable. (That's the "house shape" to "flat shape".)

What would I use the monitor outputs on the interface for? I thought I'd be mixing the music on the laptop and listening to the music through the laptop, not the audio interface. Do I really need to get monitors or can I use headphones during mixing? If so how would I listen to the mix using headphones?
Click to expand...

No, do your monitoring through the USB interface, not the basic piece of crap every laptop is blessed with. The biggest reason for this is that, to avoid latency problems, you want direct hardware monitoring so the bits you're recording don't have to do a round trip via the A to D converters and your computer. Beyond that, though, the quality will be better and it'll be much easier to set up than telling your DAW to use two different interfaces. The foregoing applies to monitoring with headphones while recording. For actual mixing, yeah you can, at a pinch, plug headphones into your laptop. However, this'll mean telling your DAW to use a different interface, the on board quality is never as good and mixing on headphones is a bit of a pain--you'll find your mixes sound very different on speakers.

Can I use my electric guitar to ur down bass tracks (by using some sort of software which will modulate the sound)?

Thanks again all.
Click to expand...

There's software that can pitch shift downwards but it never sounds all that real when you do a drastic shift. I'm not a guitarist myself but I once recorded his bass parts by just using the bottom few strings on his regular guitar. It wasn't exactly a bass but it added some low end (well, lower end) to his recordings.
 
How would I use the audio interface for monitoring (whether headphons or speakers) during mixing? I thought when it comes to mixing on the DAW the audio interfaces's role ceases.

Also while I've got the helpful ear of the senior members, how do I play a track (or tracks) that have been recorded back to myself when overlaying new tracks? Exactly how many (and what) cables would I need to, for example, play back a guitar track and a vocal track that I've already laid down whilst recording a second guitar track...?
 
Well, at a pinch you can monitor via a computer's built in sound card while mixing but it's generally more convenient to use your Focusrite for that too. The Scarlet 8i6 has four line level outputs on nice chunky TRS sockets. You can plug your monitor speakers into outputs 1 and 2 (well, either pair, but the default is 1 and 2). This gives you the benefit of a nice knob on the front of your interface to control monitor level without changing anything in your mix.

Similarly, for headphone monitoring you have a quarter inch socket on the front, again with a dedicated level control.

Basically, the Focusrite is more convenient for both jobs and probably way better sound quality as well.

As for monitoring in headphones during recording, basically you set up a mix of the pre-recorded tracks in your DAW and feed this to the Focusrite. This has a software mixer included and you can use this to create a mix of the analogue inputs to the interface and the playback from the computer. Since the inputs aren't looping through your computer, this gives you a headphone mix without latency problems. Details of all this are in the Focusrite manual.

Hope this helps.
 
Firestorm79 said:
How would I use the audio interface for monitoring (whether headphons or speakers) during mixing? I thought when it comes to mixing on the DAW the audio interfaces's role ceases.

Also while I've got the helpful ear of the senior members, how do I play a track (or tracks) that have been recorded back to myself when overlaying new tracks? Exactly how many (and what) cables would I need to, for example, play back a guitar track and a vocal track that I've already laid down whilst recording a second guitar track...?
Click to expand...


Read the manual that comes with your audio interface. It explains it all.
 
Ok thx again guys. I guess I'm just eager to find out exactly how I'll be doing everything before I even get it! A little patience and all shall be revealed...
 
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