Help get me started.

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michael_lifshit

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Hi guys, sorry in advance about how redundant this type of post must be.

So, here we go. I am a kid who wants to start making some music. I play the guitar, and keyboard, and want to do a lot of collaboration stuff with my friends, as well as midi orchestral stuff maybe or just use midi to add any instruments I don't really have access to. I want to play around with making some music anyways.

So, I guess first step was to choose a mic, which I already did, and got the sm57, which is in the mail. Now, what I want to know, is what else I need to get this mic recording properly? I have inboard sound. Is it really important to get a soundcard? Or will inboard be fine for now? And then, what cables and stuff do I need? Do I need any cables and adapters? I was getting confused reading around these forums, so figured this would be more up front and simple.

Next, where can I get some good free vst instruments? I would like to play around more with midi stuff.

Thanks in advance everyone.
 
An external soundcard A/D D/A converter would be the first thing on my list.

Such as, the M-Audio Mobile Pre, M-Audio Fast Track, or similar device. Next, you need recording software (ntrack and Audacity are free, I know nothing other than that about them).

Then, I'd do a google for "free VST instruments".

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I'd identify my needs before deciding on a soundcard. How many inputs do you anticpate needing? Are you going to be recording an acoustic drum set? If so you may want to look into a sound card with more than 2 inputs. In any case a decent preamp would be a good buy as well. It's all relative to what you are planning to do. A little more info and we can get into some more specifics.
 
Allright thanks.

So yeah, more specifically. I doubt I will ever really be recording with more than one mic at a time, or at least not for a while. So I guess I dont need too many inputs or anything. The quality doesn't have to be amazing, cd quality is more than enough. I am not selling anything, I just want decent sound so I can listen to it myself, this is all just for me.

I want to record mainly guitar, vocals, bongos, maybe full drum sets, but if so I would just do it with one mic anyways because I dont have access to more. So yeah.

I dont really need software suggestions, more about the hardware.

Does that help?
 
your onboard card will be a bit cheesy but will work if your spending little.
as mentioned, something like m-audios 2496 PCI card and a pre-amp for the mic would do, this will get you started with at least 24bit. you can upgrade later if you dont lose interest and desire more inputs. the 2496 does L-R in and a midi connect.
 
Alright, well my inboard card has 5 inputs and outputs it appears. I guess one headphone out, and possibly the other 4 are inputs. I think my soundcard will do for now. So what I want to know is what I should do about the preamp? And cables and such. What is a decent, very cheap pre amp? And cables.

Thanks again.
 
Sorry to bump this up, but I really just need to know if I really NEED a preamp to connect the mic to my computer, and what cables I need? Please help. I would be very grateful for a simple answer/
 
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