Help please: what do I do?

[Mr. Antrobus]

Not every pc has firewire. It's standard on macs, but hit and miss on PC's. If you're computer doesn't have it built in on the motherboard you'd have to add it with an expansion card if you have a free pci slot. I think their available for under $50.

 

[eeb]

this is true.. but i've been noticing that most new pc's these days have firewire... i'm talkin futur shop deals here.. it's true it's not completely standard.. but it's way more common on the newer pc's


actually, triviumjamie, what kind of computer do you have? specs? that will help us all i think

 

[triviumjamie]

Ah thanks, Yeah i did some research too and I have firewire lol. I have 1 gb of RAM, but Im getting another RAM chip in a few months.. This PC is quite new, had it since Christmas '06, It's pretty good too.

So I just plug mics> Firepod > Computer? Then how do I set up my recording so that the mics will record into seperate tracks at the same time? I'm going to be using SONAR 6, or the CUBASE that comes with it? Anyone care to tell me how they do it in their Software?

EDIT:
1GB of RAM
and I have a 2.8 GHz processor

I'm niot sure about the rest

 

[eeb]

cool! sounds like you've made your choice...


to set it up in the program is quite easy (although i dont really know about sonar.. never used it) once you set up you're drivers (install the cd you get with it) go into your program... it may or may not recognize your harware right away (i'll assume it won't) you have to go into device setup (not sure what it would be called in sonar) and click on all the presonus channels you see.

when you set up your session you have to set each input channel to "presonus 1/2 left" for track 1 "presonus 1/2 right" for track 2 and so on..

basically the firepod records 4 stereo tracks that you can break down into 8 mono tracks.. hopefully someone who know sonar can jump in and be a bit more specific.. i use adobe audition myself


edit:

oh it's important to note that you need to download a session file from the presonus website if you want to use cubase le to record 8 tracks (at least that's how it was when I got it a couple years ago)

 

[cusebassman]

The firepod hooks up to your computer via a firewire port, which is similar to a USB port. They are different, of course, but the idea is the same - standardized digital transfer bus.

"If you have firewire on your computer, you plug the firepod into the firewire port and plug mics/cables/etc into the firepod"

Yeah I understand now, but I'm not sure what u mean by if I have "firewire" on the computer?

People just don't read my posts "Firewire" refers to a type of jack on the computer that you plug things like external hard drives, and interfaces into, to transfer data from the external device and the computer between one another.

 

[cusebassman]

Yep, looks like you've got everything you need to get goin

Good luck!

 

[triviumjamie]

Ah.. I understand

eeb,
Well I can relate what your saying into sonar now. So once I plug the firepod in, The software will detect that its plugged in, so i can "set each input channel to "presonus 1/2 left" for track 1 "presonus 1/2 right"?

I'm such a noob, lol.

 

[eeb]

the software "might" if not you'll have to set it up... but it's only a one time set up.

but yeah the rest you got



do you have money in the budjet for some studio monitors.. studio monitors are ESSENTIAL

 

[triviumjamie]

hmmm question: whats the difference between studio monitors and computer speakers ? My speakers are pretty awsome, but I will look into monitors if they are essential..

Oh and yeah,

http://www.presonus.com/CubaseLEsessionfile.html

That helped me understand it alot!

 

[eeb]

you're computer speakers.. or stereo speakers are a completely different animal then studio monitors.. epecially "awesome" ones..


the easiest way to explain it is you're computer speakers will color the sound to make things sound "better" it might have more bass response to give them "power"..


studio monitors (decent ones anyway) are flat.. they don't color the sound the way your computer speakers will.. This will give you an accurate idea of how things are really sounding.... (even better if you can afford to acoustically treat your room too)

see what will likely happen if you record and mix on your computer speakers is you'll get things sounding great on your computer speakers.. then when you bring your cd on another stereo... or in a car it'll sound like complete garbage.. you'll have way too much (or too little bass) it's just a nightmare.


do you NEED monitors to record... no
do you Need monitors to make a record sound good .. I'm going to say ABSOLUTELY (there are some that will argue that though)

 

[pandamonk]

Ok, So I wanna record an EP for my band, but we dont want the troubles of going to a studio..

At the minute I am in the process of buying equipment. THe microphones arent the trouble. It's the method of recording.

What do I need? And how do I do it?

Originally, I thought all I needed to do was get a mixing desk and plug it into the computer, and record.. but I dunno if that is the case now :S (obv. not as simple as I described but you know what I mean)

I was thinking of buying the BEHRINGER UB2442FX-PRO EURORACK from thomann.de

But after reading some posts it seems I need a recorder too? Do I need one even though I want to record onto computer??

ALSO, How do I connect the mixing desk to the computer?

Please help, Im lost and I need to start ordering equipment soon.

haha sorry for being SUCH a noob.


EDIT:

Ok thanks for the replies guys. I know it would make more sense going to a studio, but I really want to get into recording ..

1) My band has a singer, 2 guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer - your typical line up.

2) Im from the UK so in pounds I have about £400 to spend on a mixing desk / whatever I need to record.

3) I currently Have one Shure sm57 mic, I am going to get a few more Shure Mics and an AKG D112 for Bass.

4) The software I use is Cakewalk SONAR 6. Previously I have used audicity and had a good bit of experience in it, but I'm quite new to SONAR but I know the basics.

More questions:
1)Ok so I want to record each track seperatly. I take it that means I need some "kind of interface" ... Can someone please expand on this? And do I still need a mixing desk to to record If I have this?

2)Ok I checked out the "PreSonus FirePod" And I'm really confused? Isnt that just the same as the mixer. To be honest I thought I was just gonna use the mixer to send multiple mics into the computer? I want to do my mixing/ editing digitally mostly..

3)I really like the look of the PreSonus FirePod... Do I even need a mixer? Does it allow me to record with several mics , but all into different tracks (for drums?)

Thanks so much for tolerating such a noob lol

How many tracks do you need? The firepod is a great interface for the money. It will allow each mic on a separate track.

You don't need mixing desk nowadays. The only reason to buy one, imo, is for the multiple preamps, and even then, you've to have direct outs/inserts/lots of aux sends to record individual tracks.

What you need for computer-based recording is: sound source > mic > preamp > a/d convertion > interface > software > interface > d/a convertion > monitoring. The firepod has preamps(bringing the mic level upto line level), a/d d/a convertion, and interface built in. It also comes with basic recording software, allthough i see you have sonar 6 which is much better.

So all you need are good mics, and monitoring(i assume you have something to record haha).

Thomann have their own range of mics, t.bone, of which i have a few. They are not the best of mics but, for the price, they're pretty decent. I have a t.bone BD300, 3x MB75s, 4x MB85 betas, and 2x SC300s.

 

[triviumjamie]

Thanks for the help, yeah Thomann is a great website. It's were I get alot of my equipment for guitar etc.

Can anyone suggest good monitors, for a price range of about £100-£300

 

[pandamonk]

Thanks for the help, yeah Thomann is a great website. It's were I get alot of my equipment for guitar etc.

Can anyone suggest good monitors, for a price range of about £100-£300

Certainly. I actually was going to, but one of my main suggestions has disappeared from thomann before i got a chance to buy them. After that i didn't feel like looking through their monitors anymore .

With that budget, you definitely can get some decent monitors:
Behringer B2030A Truth - £180
SAMSON RESOLV 80A - £200
ALESIS M1 ACTIV MK2 - £224
Behringer B2031A Truth - £225
Behringer B2031P Truth - £112 with amp - £64 = £176
Samson Rubicon R6a - £252
M-AUDIO BX8A - £253
Samson Rubicon R8a(display model) - £267, Samson Rubicon R8a - £298

bolds are the best choices for this budget, imo. However, I don't have much experience with monitors, yet, and this is all from what I've heard about them/what to look for.

 

[eeb]

i had the behringer B2030P truth's...

they were ok.. the tweater blew in it.. behringer wouldn't do anything for me.. try to avoid behringer for core parts of your studio..

I just picked up some yorkville YSM1i's they are passive (meaning you need a power amp) but they are about a million times better than the truth's (a little more expensive though I paid abou 300$ for them but that's still in your price range)

I've heard good things about krk monitors too.. try looking into that

 

[pandamonk]

i had the behringer B2030P truth's...

they were ok.. the tweater blew in it.. behringer wouldn't do anything for me.. try to avoid behringer for core parts of your studio..

I just picked up some yorkville YSM1i's they are passive (meaning you need a power amp) but they are about a million times better than the truth's (a little more expensive though I paid abou 300$ for them but that's still in your price range)

I've heard good things about krk monitors too.. try looking into that

Behri have a bad reputation, true, but they do have a few jems. Their truth monitors are one of them, as far as i've heard. They do have a bad rep for not helping too, but buying from thomann you get a 30 day money back guarantee, and 3 years warranty from them. If anything goes wrong, they pay for the shipping, in my experience, and are generally very helpful.

How'd you manage to blow the speaker? Just over-doing a bit? I've heard many good reviews about them, especially for the money. The yorkvilles are good. However, they seem really difficult to get here in the UK.

krk seem pretty good too, but the only ones that come in under budget, from thomann, are the RP5's, which only have 5" woofers(a little too small) - £262, then RP6's - £330, and rp8's - £400.