general newbie & piano/vocal questions

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ayesha999

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i'm about to delve into the wonderful world of home recording! first question...i have absolutely no recording equipment and am looking to get started on a limited budget (a few hundred max). i'm planning on getting started with just my basic instruments (piano and voice, think tori amos/sarah mclachlan) to get the songs recorded and tweaked (i have quite a bit of live performance experience but i haven't even heard a recording of my own music yet), and then move on to developing these songs and adding guitar, etc. in the next few months.

initially, i want the ability to record either piano and vocals at the same time, or separately, and then be able to add harmonies on top of that. obviously i'll need mics and stands first of all. my piano is a large upright and the room i'm in is relatively large with a slight echo.

i'd like to do this all digitally. i'm a big computer geek and have some midi experience (although i'm not planning on working with midi with this stuff). i've got a good setup (amd 450, 128 ram, 10gb hd, awe64 soundcard, cd burner, etc.) and i'd rather not work with cassettes at all (just call me a child of the 90's!), but go straight to my hard drive and cds. i have no idea where to start in terms of digital equipment. also...odd question, but is it possible to have the computer and instruments in different rooms? i'd like to avoid moving one of my computers out of the office and into the room with the piano if at all possible...i don't know if that would work with long cables or whatever. the computer and mics would be about 25 feet apart.

anyways, i'm looking for whatever advice i can get here, there doesn't seem to be as much info out there regarding these topics as opposed guitars and such. thanks in advance for your help!!


~ stephanie
 
Welcome Ayesha. Lord knows this BBS needs some female members Not knowing your budget, look into some Shure SM 57-58 mics,a decent multi-track mixer with pre-amps,a pair
of good monitors and recording software,and you are ready
to begin.There are many others here who can advise you as to specific gear you will need,but the most important thing
is determining your budget.
Again,welcome!
 
thanks for the welcome!

i'm looking to spend no more than $500 on the initial vocal/piano-to-computer setup.
 
possibly a dumb question...but why do i need monitors? and does anyone know the answer to my question about having the computer in another room? thanks!
 
The need for good monitors are essential in recording.
Most home speakers cannot provide the flat response that monitors can provide.Also monitors allow you to hear your music almost exactly as you recorded it home speakers do not.
As far as recording your piano in 1 room with the computer
in another,picture this:
Imagine yourself singing into a microphone with a VERY long
cord connected to a tape recorder in another room,say you made a mistake and want to do it over again,or you want to adjust the volume and equalization, do you really want keep getting up and going to another room every time you need to make a sound/level check adjustment? In my opinion it would be easier to have the computer in the same room as your piano and an other musical instrumentation, otherwise you
would need some very long cables,etc.
Good Luck!
 
Stephanie - there are people here on this page who make good music who do the 'computer in one room, music in the next room' thing - they click on record, then trundle into the next room and sit down (well, I *assume* they sit) and start to play. Then later they edit out the dead bits at the beginning and the end. Why not? If your cables are balanced, you don't have to worry about the length, they'll be fine.

Dunno bout the idea about Shures on piano, though. They're recommended mics for live performance, and for screaming electric guitar and various drums in the studio, but I've never heard them recommended for piano. Well, what *is* a usable mic of choice for acoustic piano, then? Again, dunno, but I'll be paying attention to the answers that I hope this thread provokes.

$500 for everything is optimistic. You need good mics (the most important link in the chain), a preamp or two for the mics (or do you have a mixer, instead?) to get the mic signal up to line level for the computer to record, and software to record it with. You could get a Rode NT-1 ($200), an ART Tube MP ($100 preamp), and n-Track (software) for less than $100, if I'm not mistaken. Good Monster cable will set you back a bit, since you want a long one between rooms. Okay, you can do all that for less than $500. But you'll have to overdub. Can't you rob the local liquor store or something? - playing and singing at the same time's way more fun. :)
 
Ayesha,
I'm gonna whole-heartedly recommend getting just two SM-57's for your piano recording. When I've used them on piano, I've been very happy with the results and mind you my recording medium is not the highest of quality. Also, you say that you will be developing the songs later with other instruments and having the 57's will come in handy on guitar amps and percussion, as dobro mentioned. I'd also like to say that you might have your mixer in the piano room and just make sure you have long, quality cables running to your computer room.
 
I agree also regarding sm57s for piano - they have a built in rolloff of the bottom end which is good as most domestic pianos are a bit boomy and they have a peak in the upper midrange which is also good for piano - and you can sing into them - what more do you want? Oh if you have an upright piano - take the front off it.
cheers
 
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