Getting ready to buy my first set of equipment

B

brianXXX

New member
hi,

i'm getting ready to build my first home studio.

this is what I'm thinking of getting -

a shure 57 mic
delta 44
mackie 1202-VLZ Pro Mixer
and a pair of active tannoy reveal monitors.

i'm going to be recording myself playing solo guitar, from my amp.

1) i want to layer a few of my guitar tracks, how do you do this?. can i play what i've reordered so far out through my monitors and play along. oh!, the mic will pick that up, will I need headphones so. hmm, how should i do this? the headphones wouldn't need to be any good, they'd be just a guide, right?

2) can anyone see what might be missing from the list above? make no presumptions, because i'm totally new to recording.

3) also, have i got the balance right? i mean, am i concentrating too much money on one particular item when the money might be better spent on getting a better soundcard or something?

4) i'd like to have a room mic also but i'm confused on this issue and dont want to spend money when it might not help my sound. should i just go with the 57, will it be fine for recording the clean channel of a 15w combo. my music is described as ambient, so thats why i'm worried about room mics as well, what about stereo?

5) any reason for me to get a mackie 1604? - i'll only every be playing on my own, so i'll have no need for more that 4 pre-amps >> should never need more that 2 actually.

6) what about my room? its about 2500 cubic feet (14*18*10). the walls are concrete, but there?s none of the echo you'd get in a basement. there?s also a lot of wooden presses in there, and a large mahogany dining table. the floor has a thick carpet.

anyway can't wait to start recording, i only hope that all this money im planning to spend will give me recordings i will be happy with.
 
You've got a pretty good start there. Headphones are a must and good ones are nice to have but not as important as good monitors.

You might want to look at the Soundcraft M series mixers. They are comparable to the mackies but many prefer their preamps and EQ.

The 57 is a good choice. The MXL v67 is a good condensor for a little bit more money and will be more usefull for different sources. If you are only doing guitar than the 57 should be enough.

You don't mention any recording software. That is a must have.
 
Yup, its a good list.

For recording software, check out www.fasoft.com for the really cheap, but good n-track program. Its pretty full featured even though it doesn't have a big name. I'd start with that and get good at it- then decide what other features you may need when you know what they are. :) Its a great program to start with.

Enjoy!
Chris
 
If you're pricing stuff, don't leave out cables, if you don't have any yet. Also you may want a mic stand. Not necessary for just micing an amp, but helps if you want to experiment with mic positions. Those aren't biggies. You seem to have all the major components listed.

To layer guitar parts you need multi-tracking software. Not sure if anything comes with the Delta card. I use n-track,www.fasoft.com can't comment on any others.
(whoops chris beat me to it.)

good luck.
 
You didn't mention a computer! But I assume you have one of these. Looks like a good setup to start with. I'd just add that when you think of cables don't forget speaker cables for your monitors, in addition to a mic cable.
 
thanks guys, i appreciate the help,

just wondering if there's a quality 2-preamp/mixer out there considering that's as much preamp as I need. i was going to get the audiobuddy but then realised that i need the mixer for my monitors.

just wondering also about the differences between the preamps on the soundcraft M4 and mackie 1202. I've no way of testing these as im too far away from a recording store so ill be ordering online.

i have a Fujitzu-Siemens pc, with win xp. It has 512 ram, 80 gigs memory and a 2.2GHz pentium 4. Might there be compatibility issues between it and the sound card? how might i establish this.

Thanks all.
 
i'm nowhere near a music equipment store, so i'm not in a position to test before i buy. i'm going to be buying in england and i discovered that soundcraft are made there. that might make the soundcraft better value.

i have narrowed the selection down to 3 items -

soundcraft m4 + Delta 44
£299.99 + £169.99 = £469.98

mackie 1202 vlz pro + Delta 444
£319.99 + £169.99 = £489.98

omni i/o Delta 66 Omni Studio
£329.99

im gonna need your help and advice guys

i guess preamps are the real issue here, how do the preamps of the 3 items above compare?
 
Wow.

So you mean to say that all you're doing is layering guitar tracks?

If that is the case, then forget about the whole computer recording thing. Just get yourself a portable multitrack recorder like a Roland VS - whatever.

The only advantages I can see to having a mixer and a full-blown DAW setup would be if you wanted to go all-out and record a full band complete with drums, several vocal layers, etc.

For what you're looking to do, I would think a wiser investment would be a quality amplifier (if you don't already have one - Mesa Boogie or Fender Champ are good), a POD pro (or sansamp or similar amp modeler), a Shure '57, maybe a Joemeek VC3 off ebay, and a Roland VS-880 or similar model. For a room mic, I would go with a Behringer ecm8000 for 35 bones.

Your life will be so much easier. Your recording setup will be so much more fast and flexible. The song writing and layering process will be more spontaneous, and your tracking/mixing knowlege will grow quickly. You will also save yourself a huge learning curve that a computer setup will lead you on the path to.

After a year or two, you may want to start recording whole bands using several tracks at once . . . with all kinds of editing capabilities, etc. that a computer-based DAW will afford. By that time, you can still sell your portable multitrack on ebay for decent value, and invest that money more wisely on getting started.
 
Chessrock is dead on. If you're sure that you'll only be doing small projects (trackwise), then one of the workstations is gonna give you plenty of FXs and mixing capabilities and you'll definitely save money and time. And if you go that way and get a Pod or a similar modeler...you'll have a lot of cool guitar things you'll be able to do. I believe most of the workstations only have 2 mic preamps (is that right guys?) but for all solo work that should be enough.
 
more sleepless nights i think,

thanks guys, im going to look into your recommendations. will my recordings be as good with what your suggesting, when compared with what I was planning on getting?

the only reason i was taking the P.C. route was because i have a brand new P.C.

I dont think i'll consider the POD because i've always hated digital effects pedals, such as the Zoom stuff, i much prefer Rats and MXR pedals for my effects but i usually play clean.
 
Yea, the sound should be just as good for what you're doing. Recording electric guitar really isn't a delicate application, so it would be pretty tough not to get a good sound with just about anything out there. Even though you just got a PC, I still don't think you'd be saving any more money going that route. By the time you get a new sound card, multi-tracking / mixing software, and whatever effects plugins you'll be using, you've already spent more than what a decent portable multitracker would cost.

Some of the Korg units, I believe have digital inputs. Something like that you will never outgrow. Even when you do take the plunge in to computer recording land and become a gear snob. :) Any top-flight preamp and a/d converter can go digital in to the recorder.

I wish I still had my portable workstation. When I go out to jam with friends, sometimes it would be nice to record some tracks. And my computer certainly ain't goin' along for the ride.
 
i should still get monitors right?

would in need a seperate preamp than those supplied by the tascam? you suggested the Joemeek VC3.

anyway heres a sample of the sound im after, is it reasonable of me to expect results like this.
 
i should still get monitors right?

would in need a seperate preamp than those supplied by the roland? you suggested the Joemeek VC3.

anyway heres a sample of the sound im after, is it reasonable of me to expect results like this.
 

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Monitors are a pretty good idea. :) Or at least a good quality set of headphones with a flat frequency response (Senheiser, AKG, Sony, etc.).

A separate preamp is a good idea, as well, since the portastudios don't usually have very good ones. Still, for electric guitar, it isn't quite as important, and you won't see a whole lot of difference. Electric guitar isn't an accoustically-challenging sound for a preamp to accurately and cleanly amplify. Accoustic guitar is another story, though.

I mentioned the Joemeek because I really think it's compressor and eq impart a really nice character to electric guitars if you drive it good and hard. Very warm, yet aggressive at the same time. I'd pick one up if you have the money to spare. Also it will always have a place in your cabinet, no matter how much of a gear slut you might turn in to down the road. :)

If the sound you are going after is important to you, the single most important place to spend your money will be on the amplifier and the guitar itself. They will have by far the greatest impact on the quality and type of sound you are trying to achieve. The "garbage in - garbage out rule applies even to the most expensive mics and recording gear. And from the clip you posted, I agree that a modeler might sound too "digital."

That being said, I would allocate the greatest portion of my budget to a quality amplifier (Vox, Mesa Boogie, Fender Champ, etc.). Then I'd start looking at whatever digital multitrack recorders, monitors, etc. can get me there with what I had left over.
 
Brian

If you already have the computer, IMHO the best way is to buy the soundcard and software. Check out the Audiophile by Midiman (the same guys that do the Deltas) that is two inputs only and costs about $180 I think. N-track is only about $40, and all the digital recorders I know about cost about $700. But all opinions are respected, of course.

And with the comp you can even make some accompainment for your tracks.

BTW If you don't already have an amp, for the sound you posted I would recommend a Fender.

:cool:
 
flapo1 said:
Check out the Audiophile by Midiman (the same guys that do the Deltas) that is two inputs only and costs about $180 I think. N-track is only about $40, and all the digital recorders I know about cost about $700. But all opinions are respected, of course.
Click to expand...

Yea, but then tack on an extra $100 or so for preamps. And don't forget the reverb, compression and delay plugins he'll need. When was the last time I heard a good chorus plugin, by the way? That'll be about another $300 at least if he wants to do it legally and with only the bare minimum quality. Now add on a few more hundred or so for the soundproof case you'll need because of all the noise your computer will make. And how do you get rid of all that extra static noise you get when you play close to your computer monitor?

You could save some money on all that and just play in the other room, then. Which means you'll have to get up and walk back in to the computer room every time you want to do a punch-in. Hmmm. You could just get an external controller and remedy that, right? That'll be another several hundred bones.

And didn't I just see someone in the Free Ads section selling their BR-8 for like $300?
 
OK, Chessrock. Good points there.

For a starter I think free or shareware plugins can do the trick - My opinion only.

But good points indeed. Well, anyway, Brian has the last word

:D :D :cool:
 
I'm just gonna pipe in my two cents here...

I'm a veteran of the hard disk recorder and now I'm completely PC-based (although I still have my Roland VS)
Where you already have the PC (and a bitchin' one at that - my 1ghz does 20+ tracks with about a dozen plug-ins using about half of my system's resources - you'll do way better than that),n-Track or Cakewalk Homestudio are inexpensive ways to get started. You can't go wrong with a Mackie 1202 for decent preamps and signal routing. I've got a Delta 1010 that I'm very happy with, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend an M-Audio card.

To me, the user interface in PC-based recording offers the distinct advantage of seeing the waveform; knowing precisely where you want to punch in or edit; being able to label your tracks and sections of the song; saving to a .wav file & burning a CD, etc.

Another upside to recording software is that this site has a few dedicated forums and lots of people to help you out.
 
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