Help! Microphone advice needed

[guerilla]

Hi,

I'm looking to start recording an album. Because I find the prospect of studios a bit scary, I was thinking of buying a multitrack to record my bits - acoustic guitar and vocals - at home and then taking those to a producer to help me sort out putting on overdubs and mixing. Anyway, what kind of equipment do I need? I was thinking of buying a Yamaha MD8 multitrack as I've used one before. Is this good enough sound quality. Also, what else do I need and what kind of microphones? I've got a small bodied mahogany acoustic guitar (not a electro acoustic though) - it's a Guild M20. Is ambient miking a good idea? How do I do that? As you can see, I need lots of advice... can anyone help?

Thanks

 

[H2oskiphil]

Not that I'm a big ProTools fan, but...

You may want to consider the digi001 or digi002.

If you're planning on having a studio work over your stuff, chances are they'll be using a PT setup, and you'll want your stuff to be in the format that they use.

If you're using a different type of software, they won't be able to work with your stuff at the track level.

Best bet-find out what the studio is using, then get he same thing.

If they're using PT, you're going to be somewhat limited re: your choice of DAW, etc.

Re: microphones-there are about a dozen threads about micing acoustics in the last couple of weeks. Popular mics are Octava MK012's, Studio Projects B1 and C4's. various Audio-Technica models, Marshall 603's, and many others.

If you've got a little time, I'd suggest reading the (very long, but VERY good) thread that's 2nd from the top on the board, about diaphragms, etc. We call it "The Big Thread", and it's basically a introduction (and a WHOLE lot more) to microphones, placement, engineering, theory, and more by Harvey Gerst. If you don't recognize the name, it's OK. You'll have a ton of respect for him when you're done with the tread (in 2 or 3 days...seriously).