Help Needed - Absolute Newbie - Where to start?

  • Thread starter Thread starter TGO
  • Start date Start date
Thanksthanksthanks!

So far,
I will be buying Steinberg UR22, coming with DAW.
I will not be buying monitors for now, I will use my headphones.
Only thing left is the mic.
I will be recording vocals and instruments. The one I said at the beginning was Audio Technica AT2020. Is that good for my needs? Is it good for its price? Too expensive or too cheap? Should I buy a seperate dynamic mic alongisde a condenser?

When this is done, I will be good to start. So your feedback is very important for me.
 
I don't think that you'll need a different mic if your two main sound sources will be vocals and acoustic guitar. Most mics that are good at picking up vocals (large diaphragm condensers, for the most part) are also pretty darn good at picking up acoustic guitar. A dynamic mic won't do you much good unless you're singing on stage or recording percussion or guitar amps in your home studio. Maybe down the road you can get a small diaphragm condenser specifically for the acoustic guitar.

I don't have any experience with the AT2020. I have heard it mentioned enough around here to know that it's a very popular entry-level mic for home studios. I'd have a hard time believing that it would suck. I say that with a first vocal mic, just pick one and go with it. Get to know it. After weeks/months/years of listening to your recordings with that mic, you'll learn what you like and dislike about it, and that'll give you good information when it comes to picking out your next mic.
 
As Tadpui says, you Yamaha kdb does not have MIDI connectors but it CAN interface with a computer allowing you to play in, store and edit the data.
This is done over USB and if you get the 2i2 it will still output MIDI sounds but the system would be "closed" you would not be able to connect to any other MIDI device. The UR22 has MIDI inputs and outputs so your keyboard could, I am sure be configured to control other devices. Since there is no cost or performance penalty, bit of future proofing?

Dave.
 
Backing up here on MIDI...

It stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface" and it's a computer standard that allows a keyboard to send a rapid series of commands into a computer where those commands control software generally known as a Sequencer--commonly a sequencer is built into most, though not all, DAWs. This allows you to control the creation of "virtual" synthesised music, either through purely artificial electronic instruments or from samples of common instruments that have been stored. Sometimes this can be very convincing, other times it sounds like, well, MIDI.

Note that this is only if you want your keyboard to control something else. If you like the sound of your keyboard, you can just take the audio output from there into your interface like any other source.

The traditional standard for connecting a MIDI device to a computer involves 2 five-pin "DIN" connectors and this is still "proper" MIDI. However, a lot of newer gear bypasses this and uses a USB out--sounds like you keyboard is on of these. You can still do MIDI work this way but if you go heavily in that direction you may find the lack of the DIN connectors a drawback. As Dave says, something like the Steinberg would future proof you but I wouldn't necessarily let that be the main criteria in selecting an interface. Much more important to me would be decently quiet mic pre amps and good monitoring capabilities--you'll want to be able to mix the output of your computer with your live mics when you're recording.

The other thing I should comment on is the packaged Cubase that comes with one of your options. Read the fine print properly. The ones included for free with hardware are usually a scaled back "skeleton" version of the software. The idea is that you start to learn the interface, bump your head on the limitations, then spend many dollars on the "full" version because you can't be bothered to go back and learn from scratch. Even if you get Cubase, I'd also download the Reaper trial and compare the two. The software user interface can be a personal thing--some like one way of working and other people hate it and prefer something else. (And I don't use either Cubase OR Reaper so I'm agnostic on that choice.)
 
Steinberg UR22 | Sound On Sound

The above gives a very favourable review of the UR22 and notes in particular that the mic pre amps have a decent level of gain and low noise.

There has been a recent tendency at HR to denigrate the "lite" software bundled with AIs. IMHO this is not justified, the Cubase version with the UR22 supports up to 32 audio and 16 MIDI tracks, surely enough for the beginner and likely to remain so unless/until they move on to a multitrack interface and more musicians?

Indeed the same magazine examined the bundles offered with a few interfaces a few years ago and concluded they are really all the majority of "one man bands" could need. I will look for a link but SoS forum has been re-vamped and that could be tricky!

Dave.
 
Guys thanks to all of you for all your replies.

I will be forming my first ever set up as,
Cubase 6 DAW
Steinberg UR22
Audio Technica AT2020
No monitors at start, I will be using my pretty simple Sennheiser HD202s for now.

I hope I can get started easily without having to spend more money on an equipment. Obviously, as I progress I will improve the setup. I am very excited and hoping to come out with some nice things after all my work.
Thank you very much to all once more. If I will have anything to ask in the future, you guys are the perfect choice.
Cheers :)
 
TGO said:
Guys thanks to all of you for all your replies.

I will be forming my first ever set up as,
Cubase 6 DAW
Steinberg UR22
Audio Technica AT2020
No monitors at start, I will be using my pretty simple Sennheiser HD202s for now.

I hope I can get started easily without having to spend more money on an equipment. Obviously, as I progress I will improve the setup. I am very excited and hoping to come out with some nice things after all my work.
Thank you very much to all once more. If I will have anything to ask in the future, you guys are the perfect choice.
Cheers :)
Click to expand...

You are very welcome! Now, make absolutely Dead, Bang Sure you order the XLR version of the AT2020 and NOT the USB variant!

When you get all the kit set up you will then need to read up about Room Effects and start messing about with duvets and suchwhich. Such fun awaits.

Dave.
 
Hey,
I purchased my setup and I am installing them but I could not get sound from my acoustic directly connected to the interface.
I have an electric acoustic with a built in preamp. I connected my instrument cable to one of the inputs then connected my headphones to the headphone input. But I can not get sound through my headphones. I tried it with phantom power on and off but it did not change. Should I plug my headphones to an output port??
 
No to the phantom. That's only for condenser mics on the XLR (assuming the guitar has a normal quarter inch Jack,

No to headphones into the output. It'll be too low a level.

Two things to check. First, even if you're not recording the interface has to be plugged into your computer to get power.

Second, on the front panel of your UR22 there's a monitor mix knob with "in" at one end and DAW at the other. This has to be at "in" to hear your guitar without looping via the DAW as you record.
 
My interface is connected to my PC via USB and the light is on. My jack is a normal quarter inch one. And that switch is turned all the way to "input". My DAW was open when I was trying. Is it something with DAW? Or can there be a problem with the battery in my guitar?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top