Good home recording start?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ramza
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ramza

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Hey everyone, I'm sorry for posting this since I'm sure you guys get these threads constantly.
I'm trying to find an option for home recording without going over $300 (at least initially).
I plan to record guitar, bass, and vocals and possibly an electronic drum kit. (not necessarily on a single track).

What do you guys think of this set-up for someone newer to home recording?

Microphone - $99.99 - MXL V63M Condenser Mic
Audio Interface - $129.99 - Tascam US-144MKII USB2.0
DAW - Cubase LE4 (comes with interface)

I'm sorry for not posting links, however it will not allow me to until I've made 10 posts.
Would you guys recommend anything different, or in addition to it? Pop filter? Shock Mount? Would I need to buy a separate mic cable?

Thanks in advance for those willing to help a newer user.
 
Depending on what your needs are you're on a really good track.

On that note. What are your needs? What are you trying to record? Guitar? Voice over?
 
Really everything... I know not to expect the best quality with one setup for everything, but I play guitar, bass, and would like to do vocals as well. Eventually I'd like to be able to fit an electronic drum kit in too. Thanks for the quick response.
 
ramza said:
Really everything... I know not to expect the best quality with one setup for everything, but I play guitar, bass, and would like to do vocals as well. Eventually I'd like to be able to fit an electronic drum kit in too. Thanks for the quick response.
Click to expand...

Cool cool.
ill be off work and home in about 30 minutes. Then I can give you a more detailed response.
 
Ok, here I am.

Well, I don't know your age or how long you've been at things for, but props on getting into this.
Most of the time when people get into homerecording they really just want to be able to write and record their songs. Which is fine with gear of any quality.
Then over time they want to improve their recording quality. And that's when they end up buying tons of new gear and replacing their old stuff.
My advice to you, so you can avoid having to replace things right off the bat, would be to consider getting an interface that will have more input options then you need. Maybe like 6 or something. Just in case in the future you want to mic a drum kit, put multiple mics on a amp, record jams with pals, or maybe even just leave a guitar, bass, and vocal input always wired up for convenience :D

The mic should be solid. Mic lockers always expand :D
 
Again, thanks for the replies... the feedback helps.
I ended up getting everything including mic stand/pop filter/cables for ~$260.
Definitely will +rep you if it's allowed on these boards.
 
ramza said:
Again, thanks for the replies... the feedback helps.
I ended up getting everything including mic stand/pop filter/cables for ~$260.
Definitely will +rep you if it's allowed on these boards.
Click to expand...

Awesome.
Welcome to the world of recording!
Thanks for the kind words.
I'm just glad I know enough to be able to help someone :eek:

Come back with any questions or mixes.
HR is always glad to see new faces.
 
Looks like you have it handled - but as a fellow noob I just want to second kidkage's advice about more inputs are better. I went with the Tascam US-100. While a great litte unit, it has only one input and no phantom power. I then found myself wanting to use a condenser mic (ordered an AT2020) and maybe doing some stereo micing - had to buy an external mixer. That way I have phantom power and I can mic 2 things and pan them right/left to get stereo or 2 separate tracks. I may have other uses for the mixer, but I should have at least gone with the US-144MKII like you did.
 
I think the number of inputs required is going to depend on what and how you are planning to record.

I bought an interface that has two in two out, and one decent mic,
which I believe will be plenty for my purposes since I work alone.

Most of my recording is direct input, one track at a time,
except for vocals and acoustic guitar (hence the mic).

If I thought I might want to record a drum set or a horn section down the road,
it would be a different story.

SF
 
ramza said:
Hey everyone, I'm sorry for posting this since I'm sure you guys get these threads constantly.
I'm trying to find an option for home recording without going over $300 (at least initially).
I plan to record guitar, bass, and vocals and possibly an electronic drum kit. (not necessarily on a single track).

What do you guys think of this set-up for someone newer to home recording?

Microphone - $99.99 - MXL V63M Condenser Mic
Audio Interface - $129.99 - Tascam US-144MKII USB2.0
DAW - Cubase LE4 (comes with interface)

I'm sorry for not posting links, however it will not allow me to until I've made 10 posts.
Would you guys recommend anything different, or in addition to it? Pop filter? Shock Mount? Would I need to buy a separate mic cable?

Thanks in advance for those willing to help a newer user.
Click to expand...

For ultra, I know nothing, Mac, Garageband and PC Mixcraft.

For a little more of a challenge I would say Reason 6 if you are a music guy wanting to start recording and not interested in doing research and more production oriented. If you are more of a music guy that will also be the recording arts guy for a band or could see yourself leaning that way in any way, Presonus Studio One v2. Either of those systems has their own interfaces that I would recommend because they were designed to work with their software. You have to realize there are better interfaces, programs, ,mics etc until the end of time, but you eventually have to get actual work done at some point. Some people also like reaper. I looked at it and I just don't like it, visually how it is set-up and it seems like a project that is taped together with oatmeal boxes.
 
Have you been following any recording blogs aside from this forum? The right gear is good to have, but knowing what to do with it is even more important.
 
My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $16
Amazon.com: Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies (9780470385425): Jeff Strong: Books

PC Recording Studios for Dummies - $16
Amazon.com: PC Recording Studios For Dummies (9780764577079): Jeff Strong: Books
(Wish I'd had those when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
Amazon.com: Recording Guitar and Bass: Getting a Great Sound Every Time You Record (9780879307301): Huw Price: Books
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

Home Recording for Beginners by Geoffrey Francis
Amazon.com: Home Recording for Beginners (0082039538815): Geoffrey Francis: Books

When you get a bit into it, I highly recomend The Art of Mixing by David Gibson
Amazon.com: The Art of Mixing: A Visual Guide to Recording, Engineering, and Production (9781931140454): David Gibson: Books

A MUST READ: Kim Lajoie's "Lifesigns from studio" - FREE - http://www.errepici.it/web/download/KLBD.asp

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at Tape Op Magazine

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
Tweak's Guide to the Home and Project Studio
Free beginner PDFs | Computer Music | MusicRadar.com
The #1 online community for musicians | Harmony Central
Tips & Techniques - Gearslutz.com

Guitar Amp Recording: Guitar Amp Recording

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: How to Configure a Recording Studio Rig

Other recording books: Music Books Plus - Missing Page - 404 Errors

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops
and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
The poor hardware and software drivers will lead to high latency; delays in processing the audio.
Even a cheap $50 recording card with real ASIO drivers will be much better.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and user-tested suggestions that work: The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)

Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:
Sony ACID Xpress 10-track sequencer: ACIDplanet.com: Free Downloads: ACID Xpress
Audacity: Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: Wavosaur free audio editor with VST and ASIO support (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: Music Software - Computer Music Resources (Hitsquad Music Software)

Another great option is REAPER at REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits
(It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages...
Myriad: Music Notation Software and much more... / Myriad : logiciels de musique, et bien plus...
Demo you can try on the website.

Great booklet on mic'ing techniques from Shure:
http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/public/documents/webcontent/us_pro_micsmusicstudio_ea.pdf

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE, December 2010 they gave away Samplitude11LE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.'
 
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