Getting started in home recording.

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NewOrder

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I want to get started in home recording for myself (as in, not a band). I want to start by recording electric (& acoustic too) quitar on my computer. I have a Hercules Game Theater XP sound card that has 1/4" mic in, S/PIDF inputs (I did not buy this with intention of recording). Nevermind the rest of the comp, its built for video editing and has plenty of muscle(1.4 Athlon, 512MB DDR). I know that you can mic the amp (I was considering the Sure SM57) but my friend was in a band that went to a local recording studio and he said (I think) that they used XLR out on the dudes Mesa Boogie cabinet instead of the 1/4". So my first question would be what are the other options besides mic'ing? Since I have digital inputs on the snd crd, If I get some sort of mixer or guitar processor thingy that had digital out I could record that way. Since the audio is digital (going from the mixer,etc to the comp), it doesn't need to be processed by a sound card, right?

To sum up that jumble:
I want to record my own music by myself like Trent Reznor to my computer. I want to know if I need another soundcard with inputs or have a hardware device and use the S/PIDF out to the comp instead and what other things I might need.
 
Hello.
New Order, I believe some one asked about miking vs direct and someone else said tha recording EVERYTHING direct IS industrial music.
But it never hurts to have a good all pupose mike and in my opinion an SM57 is a good choice.

I gotta say though, I just recently got a digital recorder and I was really looking forward to cut and paste editing and easier tranfer of the tunes to my PC and CD.
The one thing that I did NOT expect and really blew me away was the AMP MODELING EFFECTS.
It really opens your imagination hearing a particular riff through a medium combo ( like my real amp) and then flicking a button and comparing the same riff through a Soldano stack and then a Delux twin.

For your set up, I would look at a unit like a Line6 POD if you play guitar mainly, as a unit to put between your guitar and sound card.

A better sound card will deffinately help but so will better cabels and a top notch guitar and 20 years experience.

Dont forget software. There are lots of things you can get demo vresions to and lots of freeware and shareware too.
N-track for one (well supported on this BBS)

Goldwave is another.

And if you want to really know if your your sound is good or bad then you will need some MONITORS. VERY IMPORTANT.

But first things first. Get your signal to the recording unit in a manner somewhere between what sounds great to you and what you can afford.

Use the SEARCH funkshun, read alot, etc.

Hope this helped a little.

-mike
 
I disagree on the pod

I had one of these and they in no way sound like the real thing so why waste the money. They are not cheap enough to justify this. My recommendation is that you look into a preamp (which you will need anyways) with digital IO out and go into the cards SPDIF input. All microphones, including the good ol 57, should be run through a pre when recording. I think the best thing you can do is tget the best mic pre you can afford and go from there. There are breakout boxes and things you can use to get XLR in as well but if you have figital and only track 1 channel at a time, then go with what you have until you are ready to upgrade to a more capable card. THe POD is really only good for idea gathering and 2am jamming (which I admit is a great thing). The important thing is to go slow and figure out what you need, not what you want. Peter
 
POD - a waste of money?? It's rare that you hear an opinion like that. I'd recommend one. It's so easy to record great sounding guitar staright to disk...and it's great for jamming at 3am too! Id' get an SM57 too and experiment with mic'ing your amp. but the POD gives you all the different textures of the different amps, which in the whole, sound pretty awesome!
 
yes i said it

The POD sucks tonally. it is a toy. Lenny used it on that album and his tone sucked. A microphone will always be better. The PODs selling point is convenience and it is durable, but I hate the linked effects and many of the lame patches. The rectifier does nto sound anywhere near to close to either my Tremoverb or my recto combo. It is a muddy yucky tone I think. BBut again this is a subjective thing but do you really think a 300 buck toy can accurately emulate 1000's of dollars worth of custom and vintage amps? I think not. It is good for tinkering but when it comes time to lay the real thing, use a mic and combo. Peter
 
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. In a perfect world I'd have all the amps that the POD models, with a great recording set-up, and perfect mic placement, but I don't and not many people do. Yes, it would be better to mic up the real thing, but that's not always possible. For the home recorder, which is what this forum is all about, I think it's a great tool, not toy. I've seen many musicians use it - from the seasoned pro, to the bedroom guitarist, and I would not say that any of their work sucked tonally if they had tweaked the thing right...........as for the POD fx. No, they're not the best, but then that's not what the POD is for. They are just a nice little bonus.

Ok, so you've got a tremoverb and recto combo, so it would be pretty silly for you to use the POD instead. But I'm sure there are plenty of amps on there that you could use to add texture to your tracks. The POD patches don't accurately model the amps so that there is no discernible difference, but the majority are still very useable and would sound fine in a home rec'ers mix. The proffessional musicians often use them to practice on the road, or to get basics tones down on tape, but then they can then go to a studio and use the real amp, and have an engineer to mic it up. I don't, and nor do most of the people on this board, but with something like a POD or a J-Station it gives you the ability to make some kick-ass tracks, without having to spend thousands, or go to a proffesional studio.
 
ditto

Thats what i'm driving at.

A modeling box, whether it the POD or JStation or a plug-in, will simply up your available options to create different textures.

But I agree with Basil too, a preamp is a very good investment even if you dont have a KILLER mic.
But if you want to record acoustic guitar a good mic will be very useful.
DONT FORGET MONITORS!!!!!!

What kind of picture will you paint??
What kind of paint will you use??
Where will you hang it when its done???
etc., etc., etc.

-mike
 
ok we are losing the focus at this point

He is starting out and there is a priority list and a probably limiting factor of cash and we need to avoid making this a wholly POD discussion. Ok it is a tool. So is a mic pre. The question is what will he need more? I favor the preamp. The POD is good for grabbing that idea on the spot. I did not totally disagree with you. So in that we do agree to disagree. What do you already own? List it even if you do not think it applies and maybe we can see where we can make the most of the least. Peter
 
I'm starting to get a better grasp.

Okay, I figure and can go several ways (suggesting that I use the mic technique). I can get a preamp and use the digital i/o to my soundcard(does anybody know about my ? if the sound is already processed), or I can get a mixer and and a better sound card, right? But from what I understand, the mixer is only basically for tweaking the sound(although, many have onboard preamps right?), and me having a good sound card would only be worth it if I had a preamp to clean the sound. For the future, the ideal setup would be a good soundcard, so I would have multiple ports etc., and a preamp to clean it. (Perhaps a mixer too but that doesn't matter). Is that correct? Are preamps those (for the most part) rackspace things in my musicians friend catalog under "signal processing" (A joe meek for example)?

What is the deal with the POD? Does it have a digital interface for recording? I was planning on getting a new amp, one of those Line 6 Spider 210s with basically the same effects as the POD.

Sorry if that is confusing. It is hard for me to formulate my thoughts into something precise and simple.
 
The way too expensive POD has a digital interface.
The POD for 3 billskis doesn't.

I can relate to both sides of this argument as I regularly record other people with stacks of Fenders/Marshalls/Mesa Boogies etc.
so I know what the POD can do relative to the real thing.

I still think it rocks beacuse it beats the real thing in noise floor while coming up a little short in the tone department.

A well thought-out trade-off IMHO.
 
I got a Johnson JStation for $150 NEW, and it has SPDIF out, and 24 bit converters!!! :)

The "cheap" POD for 3 skins is waaaaaaaaaaaaay to expensive. The JStation sounds JUST as good (I have used both!!!) and is half the price, plus, it has Bass amp emulation too!!!

Ed
 
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