Equipment needed for home recording

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ajayarya27

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I have recently purchased a Yamaha MM6 Synthesizer and a laptop. I am a singer and i want to record my songs with them. But i am new at this and don't know what other equipment would i be needing for this. Can anybody help me....? Thanx in Advance..!!
 
ajayarya27 said:
I have recently purchased a Yamaha MM6 Synthesizer and a laptop. I am a singer and i want to record my songs with them. But i am new at this and don't know what other equipment would i be needing for this. Can anybody help me....? Thanx in Advance..!!
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Hi there AJ. That Yamaha looks ok and from the manual it looks as tho it will act as a MIDI interface? (but more on that later) .

First off you need an Audio Interface.
Steinberg UR-22 | UR22 USB Audio Interface by Steinberg | UR-22 Specialist
This device connects to the computer via usb and converts the analogue audio signals from the kbd into digital data which can then be recorded on a "sequencer" (aka "DAW" again, later) There are shedloads of AIs out there but there are a couple of things to bear in mind.

Firstly, no doubt you will want to record the synth in glorious stereo? Fine, all AIs are two channel but whither microphone? You could record the mono out of the synth on say the left channel and plug the mic into the right but it will sound a bit weird? (all this COULD be sorted post recording in software but leave us K.I.S.S. for now?) .

Then there are AIs with more inputs, the Focurite Scarlet range and (my reccy!) the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 but these are nearer the £200 mark than the £100 of the Steinberg.

Next problem is a fact of life called "latency" . This is the delay you will hear from striking a key and hearing a sound. Ok, when recording you can avoid this by either listening on the kbd's headphone jack or by what is known as "zero latency monitoring" but there WILL be occaisions when really low latency is needed. The NI KA6 is one of the best for this.

MIDI is a data stream to and from the kbd that can be recorded on the computer. You can then edit it, add to it and change it and play it back thru the keys ad.n!

Sequencer or DAW software. You need some of this but worry not, all AIs to my knowledge come with something, the KA6 comes with Cubase lite, one of the best.

Microphones. If you sing I guess you already have one? If not do not handwring about the 10,000 options out there. Just get a Shure SM58 (tho there are now plenty of very good dynamic mics around at less than 1/2 the price.).

Any questions? Of course!!! This is not an easy task you have set yourself, needs concentration. But like riding a bike, it soon becomes second nature. One thing, you are not likely to setup anything ergernomic or worthwhile under £300-£400..Sorry!

Dave.
 
All of the above is good advice.

As far as the interface, latency and preamp quality are of great concern. Presonus's VSL's, Focusrite's Scarlett's, and Steinberg's UR and CI's are great starting points. I believe that of the three, having owned two of the latter brands, the Steinberg units will outperform the others in latency. For more great information on latency check out the DAWbench website if you are really concerned. In most situations between new DSP softwares which allow you to hear yourself zero latency and the irrelavancy of latency during mixing or playing back, the only time this will be a real issue is when using MIDI devices in realtime.

As far as your DAW, there are tons of great options, the most mature and popular of which are Cubase and Pro Tools. I am a very loyal Cubase user and having been such for years can say that the workflow is great and the stability of the new v7 is now acceptable for most home recording purposes. Being that the DAW is often the centerpiece of your audio setup, great care should be taken in your choice. ;)

You will of course need an output source: monitor speakers and/or headphones. As for the former, good budget speakers include Samson's, M-Audio's, KRK's, and Yamaha's. Many who buy headphones prefer Sennheiser's but I've found that my Samson HP10's work perfectly fine for my purposes.

Also dont forget to check Hosatech.com for any of your cable needs.

Good luck and have fun!
 
Read the sticky threads at the top of this section of the forum regarding compute recording before you buy any more equipment.
 
ajayarya27 said:
Is Audacity a good software for Recording....?
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Short answer, yes.
Longer answer, can do better. Audacity is an Audio EDITOR primarily (and is said to be quite a good one? Dunno, only ever used it as a quick and dirty file opener/recorder) .

First off the GUI is a bit old /dowdy and not at all like almost every other DAW software you will come across. It only saves files under its own regime so you have to remember to EXPORT (as .wav) not save if you want to use the file elsewhere.
It does not do MIDI and since, if you get the right AI you will have 100% of the hardware for MIDI best to get the software as well?

But this could be academic since virtually any AI you buy will come with a DAW, very commonly Cubase and tho' this is not an easy DAW to start on, even the "lite" version supplied will probably serve you well enough for ever.

But have I mentioned the freebie MAGIX Samplitude Silver before here?

Dave.
 
ajayarya27 said:
Is Audacity a good software for Recording....?
Click to expand...

"Good?" No IMHO opinion. YMMV...

It's really an audio editor, not a multi-track recording software package. Reaper is often recommended around these parts as easy to learn...
 
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