Finally getting back to the recording world

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ljedik

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He all, new guy here, I used to have a home studio years ago and really enjoyed doing it, but got caught up in playing live mostly for the better part of the last 10 years, now that I'm married and my wife who sings and plays piano, and myself who plays Drums & guitar, are getting serious about writing music again and have pulled out some of my old gear to start setting up a home studio again.

I do feel overwhelmed as there is so many new things out there, I still have my DAW running Windows XP, 3.09Ghz, 2 gigs of memory running Cubase SX, I have a Tascam FW-1082 control surface, Roland DS-50a monitors, and various mics. I do need to get a new decent Vocal mic for recording, any suggestions for a man on a budget? Also I feel lke this equipment is dated and I need to start fresh, but do I? could I get started with this small set up and upgrade a little at a time?
I do want to have the ability to record decent music so what should I do first? what suggestions do the expers have? I wanna know! :)

Larry
 
2G of RAM is ok, but could result in some slowdowns if you are using lots of effects or working with a large number of tracks.
Other than that, I'd say don't get hung up in gear at this point, just start recording.

What's your budget for a new vocal mic, and what mics do you have in the closet already?
 
Currently I only have a few shure 58's and 57's but I am looking at the MXL 990 to start out with for vocals. its a cheap mic to get through the beginning re-learning curve. and I can always buy better down the road once I got my feet wet.
I'm thinking about saving up to buy a new computer to start with, but the daunting task of having to reload all the software and configure it is not exciting me, but you're right, if I start using allot of effects, it will slow me down, I could always upgrade the memory, that shouldn't cost too much to start with.
 
The generation of CPU is much more important than the clock speed.
3.09ghz raises a flag to me because it sounds awfully like an intel pentium 4 speed. Is that what you're rocking?

I'm sure there are people getting by, but if you are in pentium 4 territory I think a full computer upgrade is a good idea.

That said, you already have the essentials so just start recording a trial song.
Don't worry if you're not happy with mic choices etc; Just do it to see if your computer stands up to the challenge.
Plus, it's good practice. :)

If money's an issue and a computer upgrade is on the cards, don't be scared about using a 58 for vocals.
Sure, I choose from a collection of mics depending on the voice, but I'd never turn my nose up at a 58 if that's all I had.
The 990 doesn't get tremendous rep, but to be honest I wouldn't feel bad about using it either.

Don't get too hung up until something doesn't work or sounds bad. That's the time to worry. ;)
 
I wouldn't bother with that MXL, but that's just me - I figure any condensor that lists for under $100 is suspect. ;) I picked up a used AKG Perception 220 for the same price - $90 and have been using it as my go-to mic for vocals (when I can get a quiet house).
 
Everything has been said already so I am just adding my own 2c worth of weight to the point. If you can upgrade to 4GB RAM it would give you some fresh air without breaking the bank. It seems to me that all your instruments are going to be real instruments that won't need a lot in the way of plugins. Just record what you do with the 57s 58s and then see how they turn out before investing in something before you know you need it. Just a warning about the 990 - its kind of a joke to experienced engineers and is only popular because it is cheap. You get what you pay for and the 990 isn't offering anything in particular. There are better mics that are affordable, even if twice the price of the 990. If you HAVE to buy another mic, get one that is going to work well. The mics you have may not be world class recording mics but they are not exactly bad either. The 57 is frequently used for micing instruments, even guitar amps. The 58 is very close in spec to the 57, its just built for stage work. Upgrade the RAM and start recording - and lets see what comes out
 
This is a bunch of 15yo kids who don't have 10 years of experience between them, recording on a laptop in a living room. All instruments were hand-played. The drummer has been playing for one year (and boy is he tired...). The bass is a second hand Cort, the lead and rhythm guitar is a Legend that was purchased at an auction for $40

The lead guitarist also played the keyboard part.

Vocals are due to be recorded next session.

If they can do this, I am pretty sure you can do a great job with what you already have
 

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looks like I'm gonna need to be use a better computer, after getting things set up I could already see the computer starting to lag. And I haven't even recorded recorded A single track yet! I do have a Dell computer I can trade out but it's running Windows 7 and I'm worried my tascam FW-1082 won't work with it. Anyone have any experience with that combo? Will be using Cubase 5 with it.
 
There is a Win7 driver for the fw-1082 so it should work fine. I see there is also a download for cubase so you can use it as a control surface.

As for the computer, i had P4 for a long time and didn't suffer any problems i had 4gb and i think upgrading ram is a good suggestion. I ran one vsti and recorded up to about 10 analog tracks in cubase. It didn't skip a beat. So i don't think there is any rush to upgrade your computer if money is tight.

I have one MXL mic and it is my go to vocal mic. It is the MXL V57M, which isn't available anymore, but you can provably find it on ebay for cheap. Of course, every mic is different and different vocalists require different mics, so your mileage may vary.

Good luck. Hope to hear your tunes soon
 
mjbphotos said:
I wouldn't bother with that MXL, but that's just me -
Click to expand...


I have to agree.

The MXL 990 will not be of much value for vocals or too many other things...maybe some things, but it's grainy and nothing you will reach for with any pleasure.

If you are serious about picking up on recording...when you buy mics, shoot for the best you can afford, as good mics never go out of style. There's a lot of new mics that are inexpensive but a bit better than the 990, and MXL even makes a few better models. The 990 is most definitely "entry level".
 
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