Getting in to home recording and would like some tips

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RandomHero

RandomHero

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Hey Forum! Newbie here.

Ill cut the crap and get right to the good stuff. I want to record everything from hip hop to death metal. i have plenty of amps, drum kits, bass guitars, and the works. heres my question:

how do i get started? i already own some gear:

-AKG perception 220 condenser
-3 sm57s (everyone tells me that they are essential for everything)
-Mac OSX with 10.6
-(gonna buy a kick drum mic soon)

what i need:
-DAW (50% say pro tools, 50% say logic)
-Audio interface. my friend who went to college for recording recommended the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and it looks pretty sick. (no idea how to use it).
-monitors (do you REALLY need em? like, are they essential?)

any tips on ANY of these things iv listed would be infinitely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
Yes, if you're recording music with instruments, then monitors are pretty much essential and headphones won't do...

An audio interface will allow you to plug your mics into it and convert it to D and send it along to your PC...

The usual recommendation here is Reaper, as far as DAW software is concerned. $40. See, you've already got some money for monitors...

Think about how much money you have already invested in guitars, amps, drums etc... do you really think you can record them to a good quality, with a couple of hundred dollars worth of gear?

And SM57s are useful, especially if you have loose nails that need driving and for various recording applications, but whether you need 3? Hmm...

Welcome to HR... :eek:
 
awesome. then ill invest in some monitors.

and ill definitely check out Reaper.

Yes, i completely agree that i need to invest in good quality gear to record if i want anything to sound half decent. im not worried about a budget. i have $2800 that i have saved towards this project of mine.

i intend on using the sm57s for micing the drum kit. one for the snare, one for the ride, and one for the floor tom (im not in to extravagant drum kits). all i need for my drum kit is a decent bass drum mic. willing to spend around $150 for that.

Thanks mate!
 
That sort of budget will well and truly get you good enough gear...

Word to the wise - buy one thing at a time and learn how to use it - there's a bit of a learning curve involved with this stuff and it's not all about gear by any means... you have too many new bits of gear hanging around and you're not getting good enough results (which is usually par for the course for most of us at the start), then you'll struggle to identify exactly which thing you need to work on.

Have a read of the newbies posts... ignore the *tense* atmosphere in a couple of them :D - lots of really good information floating around.

And there's plenty of real studio people around here, instead of amateurs like me, who can give you good advice about your room, and specific pieces of gear and how to use them...

Enjoy the rest of your life... :laughings:
 
RandomHero said:
i intend on using the sm57s for micing the drum kit. one for the snare, one for the ride, and one for the floor tom (im not in to extravagant drum kits).
Click to expand...

You might want to read up on drum micing, because what you just described there sounds ludicrous. Whether it's hip-hop, rock, or metal, you better think about overhead mics and definitely a bass drum mic.
 
RAMI said:
You might want to read up on drum micing, because what you just described there sounds ludicrous. Whether it's hip-hop, rock, or metal, you better think about overhead mics and definitely a bass drum mic.
Click to expand...


i said in my original post that im going to buy a bass drum mic. i dont know man, this is why im here. every site i go to says that almost anything can be done with the sm57.
and im currently looking in to overhead mics in my budget. any suggestions? or further criticisms? any help would be much appreciated. :)
 
RandomHero said:
i said in my original post that im going to buy a bass drum mic. i dont know man, this is why im here. every site i go to says that almost anything can be done with the sm57.
and im currently looking in to overhead mics in my budget. any suggestions? or further criticisms? any help would be much appreciated. :)
Click to expand...

You obviously edited your post, because what I quoted from you in my post isn't there any more. Did you also add the "need a bass drum mic" after"?
 
Last edited:
no no, i assure you that was there. i listed the kick mic under things i own/planning on buying. but no matter.
 
what i need:
-DAW (50% say pro tools, 50% say logic)
-Audio interface. my friend who went to college for recording recommended the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and it looks pretty sick. (no idea how to use it).
-monitors (do you REALLY need em? like, are they essential?)
Click to expand...
my suggestions:
-DAW: SONAR X1. Don't own it (yet) but I've heard great reviews about its ease of use. As a SONAR user myself (v8.5) you can never go wrong w/ it.
-Audio Interface: You're right the Focusrite looks sick. Stick to your guns.
-monitors: Lots of options here, though, but a pair of KRK rokit 5's would be a good grab.

Hope this helps. Happy recording.
 
RobbieL said:
my suggestions:
-DAW: SONAR X1. Don't own it (yet) but I've heard great reviews about its ease of use. As a SONAR user myself (v8.5) you can never go wrong w/ it.
-Audio Interface: You're right the Focusrite looks sick. Stick to your guns.
-monitors: Lots of options here, though, but a pair of KRK rokit 5's would be a good grab.

Hope this helps. Happy recording.
Click to expand...

I'm a newbie here, but I had read on these very forums that people weren't too particularly impressed with the Rokit 5's. They said even after adjusting them to proper ear level, and distance and such they were still dull & muddy. They said at best they were 'decent', but nothing great by any stretch. Just figured I'd toss that out there!
 
I personally own a pair of rokit 5s, and they are great. But even if you have million dollar monitors, they will sound like ass in an un treated room (probably why people say there muddy). So this is my suggestion for you.

-pair of krk's or yamaha's (both quality speakers for cheap)
-rhode nt1's for overheads
-shure beta 52a for kick
-interface (presonus and focussrite make good bang for your buck interfaces)
-reaper (I use logic, but I switched from reaper which is great)
-ACOUSTIC TREATMENT!!!!!! No, not foam. Research bass traps ( treatment is the most important part of a studio, no question)

Hope this helps.

Drew
 
Re-tox_stl said:
But even if you have million dollar monitors, they will sound like ass in an un treated room (probably why people say there muddy).
Click to expand...

Great point. I'm not familiar with the speakers in question, so I'm not saying they're good or bad. But whenever anyone says anything is good or bad, you have to take alot of things into consideration; The ears of the person making the judgement, their room treatment, or lack thereof, etc....Opinions are like.........
 
Reaper....

the rest will take far more investment mentally and eat into your budget for no good reason...you'll need some spare cash to maybe buy plugins that the basics in Reaper dont cover, but even the simple ones in there are good...i see many articles with mixes being fixed with these very plugins

logic is great but unnecessary unless midi and midi instruments are going to play a huge part of your work, pro-tools, while commonly used in studios will do nothing that reaper wont..and X-1 is for PCs only, not MACs

no one can tell you what monitors to buy...your room, ears, type of music, budget will all dictate this...all you'll read here is folks either repeating parrot fashion what theyve read elsewhere or what they already own..just be sure that every penny you save buying Reaper goes towards your monitors, budget for some room treatment as well...read and ask specific questions in the studio building forum

try to go to a shop with a good returns policy and play CDS of artists you like on them and get a feel for their sound...then try them at home, if you dont get along with them then return them...you can actually get a decent mix out of about any system...its the time it takes getting there that is shortened buy spending on quality...I found most of the monitors I tried under $500 sounded so similar within their specific price ranges that it is a crapshoot...most other folks would not admit this as they reckon they have golden ears ;)

try not to spend your budget all at once as guaranteed something will creep up at a later date thats missing from your set up as you go along..i found UAD a great way to get quality plug ins..though initially expensive, maybe look into them

when its comes to drums there are two members here id trust 100%..Rami and Greg_L...unfortunately they are also both the cheekiest fuckers in here (drummers syndrome I call it lol) ask specific questions and these guys will definitely point you in the right direction...their mixes and performances stand testament to this


welcome aboard..abandon all hope ye who enter here :D
 
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