DAW or Computer Based Recording?

Confusitron

Confusitron

New member
My band has come up with quite a few songs lately and wish to record them. However, there is a problem. We do not have a way to semi-professionally record demos. We would be recording at least 8 tracks simultaneously (which it seems is almost an industry standard for recording methods). The best way to go about recording these songs would probably be via a DAW or computer based system. Which system would be a better choice in your opinion? Would they most likely coincide? If so, which products would be best in both areas? We are looking to spend around $1,100 or less for the recorder.

I do not know very much about either way of recording, but, I can imagine that a DAW would be more convenient, as it is used for recording alone. Plus, it has sliders and inputs naturally.

Should we look into a DAW or computer based recording system? Which products do you suggest?
 
You know.. I thought recording my band would be easy, but it takes a lot of time, money, mic placement hassle, tuning, equipment, etc... If there is any way to record at a studio that's already set up near you, I would probably tell you to spend your money wisely and get the songs done there.. I'm not sure what the rates are but sometimes, whether it seems like it or not, going to a studio and getting it recorded semi-pro/pro is a better choice than doing it yourself. There are a couple reasons why I think this. For one, I have invested in a brand new AMD Athlon computer with a crapload of DDR and a couple 120 GB HD's, a pro recording sound card, a Behringer mixer, about 15 mics, a few pair of headphones, monitors, and all the cables. Let me tell you, that stuff puts a hole in your wallet before you know it. That doesn't include any equipment and I practically went budget shopping for it all, and it adds up to quite a bit more than $1,100. Unless you already have a mixer, the mics, cables, headphones, and monitors, I would probably try to find a studio. If you do or are willing to spend more money, I would probably choose computer based. Being that you are going to try it yourselves in a smaller named band, it is a lot nicer if you can record whenever you want, and even by yourself. If you already have a computer that could be used it's not a big problem. I guess it really depends on how much you're willing to spend and how much equipment you already have.
 
you can upgrade your computer to run the the stuff if you want...try leave your mp3s on discs and not on the hard drive. the Delta 1010lt soundcard is $229.99 at www.americanmusical.com that coupled with the yamaha mg 16/4 which is $279.99 and some decent monitors like some wharfedale dp8.2 diamond pros for $339.99 and now all you need is some multi track software...i think ntrack comes up to 50 bucks so by my calculation thats about $900 and you still have enough to get a decent condensor mic for vocals. as for a workstation...it'd be nice to have that for the fact that its mobile
 
well i agree and disagree with brandon. i agree with the fact that buying this stuff does put a hole in your wallet. however the $3k i put into mine wasnt a drop all at one time...it took the better part of a year and a half and i enjoy recording songs seriously and just messing around when i've had a few drinks. i too also bought a new amd computer. i agree that its nice to record yourself and the band when ever you want but i also have to think that you guys might want to sign some sort of contract about who gets to keep what in the event that one of yall quits or the band breaks up. since my friends use some of my recording equipment, it'd be nice if they went in on it with me. but i would hate to deal with the problem of one of them saying "well i bought the motherboard...its mine and i want it." or "i went in on that hard drive with you so just pay me what i put in it".
 
distortedrumble said:
...it took the better part of a year and a half and i enjoy recording songs seriously and just messing around when i've had a few drinks..
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Heh those drunken recording sessions are great. Even tripping over the cables seems funny.

Until you listen to the results next day...
 
exactly...i fell on the tv stand and braced myself with the guitar stand the next morning when i woke up, i couldnt figure out where the vcr, cable box, and my guitars went too....they had all fallen in the corner....took me a good 20 minutes to remember what happened.
 
Confusitron said:
We are looking to spend around $1,100 or less for the recorder.

Should we look into a DAW or computer based recording system? Which products do you suggest?
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$1100 won't go far on a computer-based setup, unless you've already got a computer, then you're half way there.

The disadvantage of a hardware DAW is firstly they're relatively expensive and they're not really upgradable. And I hate those tiny little lcd screens. Even if you get a DAW, you'll want to upload to a PC for editing and mixing.

In your situation, you might be recording the band 'on location' and so portability is important. This is one advantage of a DAW, you can just drag to wherever, plug it in and off you go.

If you have access to a laptop, I would recommend something like the Presonus Firepod. It's got 8 analog inputs and hooks to a PC via Firewire, so you can plug it into a laptop or desktop. It also comes with 8 good quality preamps built in and phantom power so you don't need a mixer. For $600 it's a good deal. Even as a rackmount unit, it's still portable.

And later on if you need more than 8 channels, just get a second one and hook em together
 
Bulls Hit said:
$1100 won't go far on a computer-based setup, unless you've already got a computer, then you're half way there.

The disadvantage of a hardware DAW is firstly they're relatively expensive and they're not really upgradable. And I hate those tiny little lcd screens. Even if you get a DAW, you'll want to upload to a PC for editing and mixing.

In your situation, you might be recording the band 'on location' and so portability is important. This is one advantage of a DAW, you can just drag to wherever, plug it in and off you go.

If you have access to a laptop, I would recommend something like the Presonus Firepod. It's got 8 analog inputs and hooks to a PC via Firewire, so you can plug it into a laptop or desktop. It also comes with 8 good quality preamps built in and phantom power so you don't need a mixer. For $600 it's a good deal. Even as a rackmount unit, it's still portable.

And later on if you need more than 8 channels, just get a second one and hook em together
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The Presonus Firepod looks quite nice for the money. I do already have a computer for recording, although, it isn't totally dedicated to it. I also have a Mac laptop of some sort available to me and another Windows based laptop with a Firewire input. Do you think the Presonus Firepod would be a wise choice? Is there anything else I should look into?
 
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Firepod for sure

i would go with the Presonus Firepod, its working grate for me, i built a realy nice pc for 750 , got the firepod for 6 bills , and some nice cheep mics, cables,stands, i scored a pair of KRK v6 studio monitors for 199 each, now working on a room to use all of it in, thats key having the space to actualy use the gear, so far im very pleased, i dont like the pressure of a studio that i have to pay to be in by the hour, i think thats realy to much stress for most artist unless u gots lots of money, and learning to use Cubase LE that comes with the Firepod isnt to hard to do, u would be suprised the quality and fun having a home studio is , i think its tottaly worth it, just take it one step at a time, get stuff thats going to last and not be overpriced like alot of mics
peace 02o
 
I just ordered the PreSonus FIREPOD and two MXL 990/991 packages from Musiciansfriend.com. Thanks for all the help, men!
 
Confusitron said:
I just ordered the PreSonus FIREPOD and two MXL 990/991 packages from Musiciansfriend.com. Thanks for all the help, men!
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I just ordered one myself today. I'm stepping up from a DMP3/behringer mixer/delta 44 set-up. I hope we will be happy. (I'll be happy just to turn 3 pieces of gear into 1 without a tangle of cords going behind my desk to hook it all up). The compact-ness of the firepod alone was enough to sway me.

I got mine from Sweetwater, along with a dual mic mount for a mic stand, and some auralex mopads for $560. Had to haggle them a bit.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong...

I've been recording for about 16 years, and easily - recording on my pc has produced the best results so far. I have ProTools, but am at wits end with it and it's PCI card, keeping it tethered to ONE pc that has that card installed. It's gonna get ebayed soon...

So someone correct me if this solution is bad or if I'm crazy:

I have:

1) a Presonus Digimax Preamp (awesome unit, 8XLR INs, killer Limiters on each channel, w/ ADAT 8-Channel Lightpipe Out) - kind of like the Firepod, just with ADAT out.

2) plenty of PC's to use

3) plenty of mics, musical equipment, etc

Now...it seems all i need to do now is get the great sound out of my preamp's ADAT OUT into my PC to record stuff, the way I did with ProTools...just, I wanna do it WITHOUT PT! Can I just get something like the Behringer BCA2000 for around $200 (which already has ADAT IN/OUT) and port the preamp into it, and then the mixer to the PC via USB 2.0, and be done with it? Do i even *need* to buy another ProTools like unit, or an M-Audio 1814 type unit??

I may just be nuts, but that seems like the easiest way to record good, clean, strong, straight signal of any kind, without a PCI card, without ProTools, and without spending $600-$1400?! Am I wrong? Would you all recommend it? If not, what would you recommend? Thanks!

bobbyz
http://bobbyz.com
http://bobbyz.com/portfolio
 
bobbyz, y not just get an ADAT card for your PC? They go pretty cheap, just a PCI card with 8 or 16 chans of ADAT i/o.
 
Confusitron said:
I just ordered the PreSonus FIREPOD and two MXL 990/991 packages from Musiciansfriend.com. Thanks for all the help, men!
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Good job.

Did you get any of that free stuff as well?
 
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