Greetings!!! Advice for a Beginner Setup in the world of Audio Recording

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Tyriall

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Hi Guys.

I'm Mike. I am 22 & from Melbourne, Australia. As the Title might suggests I am new to the world of Audio engineering... Please be Kind :D I'm also not 100% sure this is the right place to post lol....It does say newbie so I will stick it in here for the moment...lol

SO I am now looking for a System that I can make into a recording SetUp.

It was suggested i sign up here and start asking questions rather than just over at Whirlpool.net.au

I have a 2009 Macbook Pro 15" which I lug around with me everywhere so I have some experience with GB and Logic(not alot) and Mac's.

I am looking for Permanent Setup. So using my Current MBP isn't really on the cards.

I have a Roland LX-10 Digital Grand Piano that I like to hook up to My laptop every now and then but I am looking for a More permanent Solution. I am a singer so I am also looking for a Small mixing Board/Interface that I can Plug a Microphone into and Go straight into ProTools/Logic.

When I Say Mixing board it is only because I like the idea of a Physical board to play around with :D

I want to record piano and 1-3 tracks of vocals at the same time.. Eventually I will invest in some drum mic's for my kit

Probably won't want use more that 16 tracks while I'm learning the tricks to the trade :)

Any suggestions on Boards/Interfaces and Mic's for Vocals?

I am Primarily a Music Theatre performer (Lyric Baritone)..But also train Classically. I sing Lots of Jazz Standards and Big ballads along with some up tempo stuff but do Not have the most Contemporary of voices....alot more on the Legit Side of things.

SO Far the only Mic to have been Suggested is the Rode NT2-A. Any other suggestions?

People have also Suggested the Apogee Duet 2, Focusrite Safire Pro 24 DSP and Pro 40 ( the 8 input one...i think)

I have a pair of Shure SR840's and Westone UM1 IEM's...planning on getting Westone 4's soon. Not sure if my room is suited to Monitors at this time. The room I have my stuff in is a large entertainment room with a 3m High alcove ceiling. One wall has acoustic plasterboard and insulation and there are 4 windows and a double window sliding door. I don't know how good that would be for monitors....

Interns of a Systems any suggestions as to the minimum specs i should really be considering. I have been Looking 2009-2010 Model 27" iMacs and Mac Pros from the Refurb Store and Second Hand (Pre-Loved as some might say...lol) to try and cut costs.

ATM Brand new I am looking at something like this in terms of an iMac;
27"
3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad

AUD $3454 (less When Salary Sacrificed :D)

Max I'm looking to spend in this moment in time is AUD $5000

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks In advance!

Mike a.k.a Tyriall
 
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You might want to check the fringe benefits tax on salary sacrificing a laptop... I thought La Gillard nixed that in the last election...

This is a complex question... I'm glad you actually have a budget and aren't here looking to record the great lost death metal for $3.50 like some. Don't get too hung up on the laptop.... especially with your meagre needs re. track count. Honestly, a $800 special from Harvey Normal will have more than enough grunt to record a piano and some voices... the laptop is just the thing you store the 1s and 0s on... it's not super important in the scheme of things.

Mixers are also only vaguely useful when you're recording unless you're going a full band thing and you have one that directs individual tracks to your PC and has decent preamps.

And are you sure you're not confusing the number of tracks you want to use, and the number of tracks you'd want to use at the same time?

Your software handles the number of tracks... to all intents and purposes it's unlimited - buy a good quality interface limited by the number of tracks you'll conceivably be recording at the same time... and unless you're some octopus / human hybrid that's probably not going to be 16... more like 2 or 3 from what I'm reading.

Where in the wide brown land are you?
 
It ok...I Can do it as my primary business is teaching Voice at the moment sided with building computers...So it is covered under both :D

The track count I mentioned was something some on e posted over at gearslutz. In terms of recording the Max I will do at once while I'm learning the tricks of the trade will be around 4. In the project Probably be working with more while I'm editing and what not.

I intend on using logic and/or Pro Tools. So I know they can handle as many as I need and a shit load more...lol

I am located in Melbourne :D

But that's why I'm here I guess... I really have no clue and have only asked this question once before but never had the money to get a set up going. I have only had the items I listed in my OP Suggested. so I'm just looking for more opinions and suggestions so i can make in informed Decision
 
I see you just added Melbourne to the original post, I was wondering if you were on my side of the country.

Was in Melbourne 2 weeks ago. The other reason I asked was that if you look in the live events section I am asking if anyone is going to Entech Sydney in July so I was wondering if you were in Sydney, still it's only a cheap 1 hour flight from Melbourne to Sydney ha ha.

Cheers
Alan.
 
Seeing you actually have a decent budget, without getting into specific recommendations, as I don't use this sort of gear, being a 'standalone' guy at the moment, I'd concentrate on have a really good interface, rather than a mixer, and really good mics, so far as budget allows.

Do your research.. I'm from Sydney, so I don't know the dealers in Melbourne, alas..

And Alan... sorry, I'm still going overseas! You'll have to have a beer on your own...
 
Armistice said:
Alan... sorry, I'm still going overseas! You'll have to have a beer on your own...
Click to expand...

Actually I met some guys from Sydney at the Burswood dome (Perth) recording the Music for the Dalai Lama concert for the future CD release (I was there for the sound checks the day before which was a bonus), so I may try to check out their studio while I'm there. Plus I just bought a second Tascam MX2424 from a guy in Sydney so if he is in town I owe him a coffee.

Sorry to side track the Thread

back on track, While I was in Melbourne I checked out 555 Music in Hawthorn who had some good gear in stock, Mics, Pres etc, I was not looking for interfaces so not sure if they had any, but they seem like good guys out there and I will be buying some stuff off them in the future.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
Actually I met some guys from Sydney at the Burswood dome (Perth) recording the Music for the Dalai Lama concert
Click to expand...

so do we finally get to hear the sound of one hand clapping?
 
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witzendoz said:
Lets just say the line was used by a presenter.
Click to expand...

lol - guess it's a bit of a softball - slow and floating over the plate :)

or maybe i have just transcended to oneness with the universe :eek:


probably the former...
 
One of our dumbarse morning TV hosts was interviewing said Lama, and told the old Buddhist joke about the Buddhist walking into the pizza parlour and saying "Make me one with everything!".... Lama pretended not to get it, which just shows he has a really good sense of humour....

Tres embarassment for TV host...
 
3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad

This way i can save almost 500...

Or from the Standard 27"

2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512MB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad

save almost 800

The savings i could invest into a better Mic or Interface.

From what i have read and understood from various posts, The Machine doesn't have to be Extremely powerful to deal with what i want to do.

Thoughts?
 
Tyriall said:
3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad

This way i can save almost 500...

Or from the Standard 27"

2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512MB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad

save almost 800

The savings i could invest into a better Mic or Interface.

From what i have read and understood from various posts, The Machine doesn't have to be Extremely powerful to deal with what i want to do.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

thought: both those computers are way more than you need. 16GB RAM ? wtf dude 8 is overkill for home recording! but the better specs you get the longer it lasts... so your call
 
I'm at work on my phone atm... If I take it down to 8gb ram I will be saving another 300... And if I need more I can upgrade it later. I have a few days off Comming up so I will do some mire searching on the mic's and interfaces suggessted so far.
 
Tyriall said:
I'm at work on my phone atm... If I take it down to 8gb ram I will be saving another 300... And if I need more I can upgrade it later. I have a few days off Comming up so I will do some mire searching on the mic's and interfaces suggessted so far.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you've covered this, but working on a weensy laptop is a royal pain with most DAW software. Set aside budget for the biggest external monitor you can get and run two screens...

I got a 22" and am kicking myself for not getting 24" but that's where the price divide between cheap and ridiculous set in at the time...
 
That's why I want a 27"....I wont have space for 2 Screens just yet cause it will go straight on the piano. Which is in the shape of an upright
 
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