Or better yet, spend the money you would have spent on booze, and buy an SM57. This is actually a challenge, because you may have asked the *most* general question ever asked here, and that is a record. The challenge is to answer the question without typing out "War and Peace", and to not be a smartass by recommending repeated use of the "search" function (just do it).
Wow- So here goes. First- Don't spend money-yet. Resist the urge to buy shiny box you don't really understand. Plan to spec out gear for most of a year.
Warning #1- This is going to cost money. How much money depends on what recording you are trying to make, what you expect to do with it, and *the level of skill and experience of the engineer.*
Step #1- Look *hard* at the room or rooms in which you have to do this, and the degree to which you are able or allowed to modify the acoustic space. Take pictures and post them up on the building and display forum. It is very difficult to get good sound in a poorly treated acoustic space. People invest in mics, preamps, computers, but will not fix their rooms.
Step 2- Make a budget which will change many times. You will never be done, just at a point in a process. Accessories can kill you, especially cables. Learn to solder. You can save hundreds of bucks making good cables. You will likely need mic stands, including booms, pop filters, shock mounts, voltage regulation/power conditioning. As you go along, you may find you need a keyboard bench for acoustic/violin, whatever, music stands. It's these accessories that will kill you if you don't plan for them.
Step 3- Choose the recording medium you are going to commit to. The most common currently are computer based digital recording, standalone digital recorders, also known as SIAB's (studio-in-a-box), analog cassette, analog open reel. There are other media that are mostly dying, (DAT), and ones that aren't quite up to speed yet (direct to CD-R). Most likely, as a beginner, you'll use a computer, a SIAB, or a cassette 4 track. Each medium has advantages. Computer is cheaper to start if you have a good computer. SIAB is portable, and is often quieter than a computer. Cassette is cheap and easy to learn. Open reel is expensive and labor intensive, but has yielded some of the greatest recordings of all time. Your most basic gear choices will depend on the medium you have chosen to record in.
Step 4- Really consider the music you expect to record, and begin selecting mics and mic preamps. You'll need these no matter what media you choose.
Mics come in many types. At a minimum, you will need a pair of small diaphragm condenser mics, a main vocal condenser mic, a couple of good cheap dynamic stage mics,a higher end dynamic mic, and a mic that is dedicated for low frequencies, bass cab and kick drum. The last two can be combined. A mic cabinet is a collection, which grows over many years. There are other types- tube (valve) mics, and ribbon mics, a classic variant on the dynamic mic. Usable mics are much cheaper than they once were, but there are so many choices- see above- almost a year to select the gear. A word about mic preamps- sounds like you can save money here and be OK, right? No, the preamp(s) will often define the sound that comes from a mic, for good or bad. No, you can't get out of buying a mic preamp, and it will be a big part of what will define your sound.
Step 5- You need a monitor chain. You wish to listen to listen to the music, yes? You will also be mixing this music. You will need headphones and monitor speakers. (The sticker price on good monitors will cause shock). For overdubbing, you will probably need a headphone distribution amp, more headphones, extension cables. Monitors can be powered (active) or requiring a separate power amp (passive). Either can work. No, you really can't get out of buying monitors. Don't mix with headphones.
Step 6- This probably should have been a lower number- Look at your instrument(s), and your musicianship. Don't record your new artist Grammy winner on a bad $100 guitar, dead drum heads, a blown speaker, out of tune, etc. If you are going to all this trouble to record something, have something to record! Simply practice more. Do not despair here. You will find that the skills of a recording artist are a whole different skill set from that of a live musician. Learning to play songs without singing them, with a click track- it can be tough, so just know that most great recording artists have experienced this. The ones that haven't, had great engineers. If a microphone is an audience, a studio mic is a music critic. Expect to be placed under a sonic microscope. It's painful to everyone, get over it.
I said no War and Peace. My best advice- Choose gear that you will never need to sell, and try to remember always that this is supposed to be fun, and it will be, if you let it be fun. We're all in this together.-Richie
