Home recording beginner - looking for very BASIC setup

[joey2000]

All, am new here and have read some of the threads/replies and my head is already spinning (but thx to those who have done so). Due to being voice only ie using compter-generated music for backing (and being pretty scaled down anyway, we aren't exactly talking a symphony here), I'm hoping my needs and need for clues is somewhat less. ie I am not looking to "build a studio," in any real sense of the word. I'm just a schlep who wants to record a few songs w/me doing some vocals, perhaps very basic keys (which I can re-create on the PC, I think/hope).

I have a good PC (less than a year old) and looking at software, can research that myself but of course any general opinions of the best "bang for the buck" are appreciated. I don't necessarily want to go to the low end on everything, but money is extremely tight and pls don't say "well wait until you can afford to spend thousands" because by that time I might be dead of old freakin age. And again it's not like I'm looking to become "pro" and sell CDs/etc. I am just hoping I can put out something of at least decent quality for hundreds, not thousands, for my own enjoyment (and if I think it sounds bearable enough, a few family/friends) and without getting an unofficial PhD in all this. Impossible?

Beyond a mic (I am researching but will probably keep that basic and get an omnidirctional, given I'm only doing voice, but insights appreciated), what else do I need? Just an amp and the software? From what I gather the mixer aspects are built into the s/w so shouldn't need that right?

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Beyond a mic (I am researching but will probably keep that basic and get an omnidirctional, given I'm only doing voice, but insights appreciated), what else do I need?

An omni certainly will work for voice. But people love proximity effects on their voice, and you don't get that with an omni. Most vocals are recorded with a cardioid.

Beyond what you listed, you need speakers.

 

[bstarstudios]

things to consider:

-condenser mic
-interface or some sort (i like the presonus firewire)
-monitors
-software/DAW

 

[philbagg]

things to consider:

-condenser mic
-interface or some sort (i like the presonus firewire)
-monitors
-software/DAW

+ Room treatment

 

[Chibi Nappa]

things to consider:

-condenser mic

When I think "vocal mic", it could really be either condenser or dynamic. However, I usually think "large diaphragm" instead of small diaphragm. Not that there aren't great hand held small diaphragm vocal mics, both dynamic and condenser. But to me a vocal mic is a giant beast hovering in a shock mount.

 

[moresound]

But to me a vocal mic is a giant beast hovering in a shock mount.

Sounds like a line right out of an Edgar Allen Poe book!

You would think that there should be the technology where as a small and large diaphragm is housed in the same basket to achieve full range input to the microphones at the source.
Well.... maybe some day or a futuristic design that is even better than what we have now.

 

[joey2000]

An omni certainly will work for voice. But people love proximity effects on their voice, and you don't get that with an omni. Most vocals are recorded with a cardioid.

Beyond what you listed, you need speakers.

Sorry I meant unidirectional, which I understand is better for voice vs omni.

Why do I need speakers (ie beyond the decent PC speakers I bought for the PC)? They won't affect the recording and I think I can tell w/these what it sounds like good enough-?

things to consider:
-interface or some sort (i like the presonus firewire)
-monitors
-software/DAW

Lost me on all this.

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Why do I need speakers (ie beyond the decent PC speakers I bought for the PC)? They won't affect the recording and I think I can tell w/these what it sounds like good enough-?

Lost me on all this.

The gist of it is that the speakers affect the recording way more than the microphone. I typed the whole thing earlier today. Several posts on this page starting with post #20:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=301250

 

[joey2000]

Thanks but I'm still clearly not getting something, ie why do speakers matter so much, in fact much at all? The recording is made w/the mic, amp, mixer etc....not the speakers.

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Thanks but I'm still clearly not getting something, ie why do speakers matter so much, in fact much at all? The recording is made w/the mic, amp, mixer etc....not the speakers.

You plug the mic into the mixer, and the mixer into the speakers. You tell the dude to play his guitar or whatever. You also play back any tracks that are already recorded while he plays.

You are not recording during any of this.

This is the important part:

You and your speakers are in a location where you can not hear the guitar on it's own. You can only hear the mic in front of the guitar going into your mixer and out of your speakers along with the recorded tracks you are playing back. You hear how it all blends together. While you listen, an assistant is in front of the guitar amp moving the mic veeeeerrrrryyyy slooooooowwwwwly into different positions at different angles. The sound changes greatly while the mic moves. You set up a system where you listen for the instant that mic is in the correct spot and then signal the assistant to lock it in place when you give the "OK". Since I can't shout loud enough for the assistant to hear me, I hit stop on the track playback as soon as the mic is where I want it. The guitar player can hear the music stop in his headphones. He is instructed to stop playing the instant he hears the music stop. The assistant is instructed to stop moving the mic the instant he hears the guitar player stop.

Then you hit record and lay down the guitar track. The sound before and after this process is night and day different.

And you need a good monitor in a treated room to do that. A long snake to get the guitar amp a good distance away from your monitor and treated room also helps.

 

[Wack]

If you don't care about the recording all to much as you are saying, use the speakers. If you want it to sound like some what of a song and not a bunch of different tracks throwin together, get some monitors. The speakers won't give you the high, mid, and low frequencies like monitors will so in your DAW you can get in the track and work out what needs working. hope this helps!

 

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and tested suggestions that WORK: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)
Another good article: Choosing an audio interface - http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep08/articles/audiointerfaces.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

 

[joey2000]

You plug the mic into the mixer, and the mixer into the speakers. You tell the dude to play his guitar or whatever. You also play back any tracks that are already recorded while he plays.

You are not recording during any of this.

This is the important part:

(snipped )

First thx again for all the replies. And I thought I responded to this earlier, but don't see it, so here we go - to hopefully clarify where I'm coming from:

- no musicians
- no "real" instruments
- no "assistants"

Basically no nothing save for my sometimes-bearable voice and whatever backing music I create on the PC (or so I was led to believe I could, and I don't mean computer-y sounding bleeps and boops, but at least semi-legit sounding instruments).

See - I am talking very, VERY scaled down. Given all that, do I still need speakers or monitors, and if so, for what?

All I know of so far that I need is the software and a mic...and perhaps a mixer/amp/whatever (that "whatever" is part of what I'm trying to get my arms around).

Anyway will check the links. Thx again all for the suggestions and info. Any other 101-type recaps much appreciated.

 

[RAMI]

Given all that, do I still need speakers or monitors, and if so, for what?

No, not if you don't care how it sounds. But, when you come back in a few weeks with something like "My mixes sound like crap everywhere else but on my speakers", you'll realize that you CAN'T tell how good something sounds using your "speakers". And, you will come back, I guarantee it.

So, you're right about the fact that speakers don't DIRECTLY affect the recording. But they affect what you're hearing, which, in turn, affects how and what you record...which, in turn, affects how you mix what you recorded. But, if that's not important to you, your speakers should be fine.

 

[jlewis]

I agree with what has been said about monitors, you do need them if you want to be able to accurately hear whats happening, especially in the recording phase. But, if you have a variety of speakers to compare your mix on(car, tv, home stereo, computer), then you can get decent results by checking the mix on as many of these speakers as possible, (although you'll spend a lot of time checking, tweaking, and checking again on all the different speakers, and it still may never get the mix where you want it when you could have heard all the flaws at once on a set of good monitors). Rami is right, you will come back wanting to take it to the next level. I currently have no 'real' monitors nor do I have any room treatment because I am in the same financially unstable boat as you. However, I have managed to get some ok recordings with just my condenser mic, interface, and DAW. I can't wait till I can afford some treatment and monitors though, the more I record, the more I see the necessity of these things.

Given what you are trying to do, you can probably make it happen with under $1000. Get a decent mic and interface (and some kind of midi keyboard if you're going to make beats). For software, I would suggest Propellerhead Reason for making beats(with good sounding instruments, no beeps and boops unless you want them) and Reaper for recording and mixing.
Here is an example of what I've managed to do with Reason, FL Studio, an MXL 9000 condenser mic, a Tascam US-144 interface, home stereo speakers, and no room treatment. My set-up probably cost about $1000
J Lewis Productions

 

[gehauser]

Here's my 101 attempt:

--You need a mic to turn your voice into an analog signal.

--You need an audio interface to 1) amplify that analog signal and 2) convert the analog to a digital signal for the computer.

--You need recording software to capture the digital tracks and edit them, and to add other instruments.

--You need good speakers to accurately play back your recorded tracks as you mix them, so you can apply proper amounts of processing like EQ and compression.

My recommendations:

-SM58 microphone ($100) - tried and true vocal mic (dynamic mic to minimize room sound, as you probably are in an untreated room)

-Emu 0404 USB audio interface ($200) - very nice preamps and excellent AD-DA converters

-Reaper software ($60) - great yet inexpensive audio software

-KRK RP6 monitors ($400) when you can afford it - until then use your PC speakers as best you can

 

[Armistice]

See - I am talking very, VERY scaled down. Given all that, do I still need speakers or monitors, and if so, for what?

Joey... mate... hustle over here and bring it in tight...

You need to recognise that the number of people who wander into this forum with some variation of the "I want to record myself but don't want to spend more than $3.50 if I have to" is currently standing at 5,425,568.5. No we're not sure where the 0.5 came from, possibly they were a person of shorter stature... or a woman...

One thing that the very helpful people who hang around here answering questions know is that, whatever we tell the 5,425,568.5 people about how, exactly, to realise their recording dreams for $3.50, they will do one of two things:

1. Realise that they're not as talented as they thought they were and give up completely and take up a less challenging hobby, like shooting animals or cataloguing porn sites, or

2. Come back in less than 14 days saying something like... "My songs that I recorded for $3.50 sound like a cross between a sewing machine and a horse farting, and I have an additional $5.62 that I'd like to devote to the project to cure this. What do I need to buy?" - as though buying stuff will fix the problem...

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION (and thanks for bearing with me thus far...)

You need to be able to hear what you're recording to make decisions on how to make it better, and how to mix it in with all your artificial instruments.

That's why you need to have speakers... assuming always, of course, that you're not evolutionarily speaking, further on than the rest of us, and have a USB connection at the back of your head. Or firewire... Anyway, let's assume not.

Now your PC has speakers, no doubt. Can you record using them?

Of course you can.

It's generally agreed, however, by the various sages that are here lining up to help you, that if you want a recording that people won't actually cringe when they hear (and remember, when your friends say "Joey - maaaate... that's briliiant" - they're lying.. that's what friends do...) your meisterwerk(s), that you need an external set of speakers so you can hear what you've recorded and make decisions on changes you'll need to make to improve it.

Can you use the old hi fi speakers / amp that you have lying around?

Again, yes, if you want to, but they carry certain frequency biases that will work against you.

So, this is why the HR illuminati recommend, to 10 out of 10 newbies, that a proper set of monitor speakers, which tend not to have frequency biases (as far as that's actually possible) are a useful, nay, essential part of any recording set up for anyone who has aspirations beyond playing toons to their friends.

You don't need them to start with, perhaps, especially if you're skint, but at some stage, as you get better at what you're doing, and more frustrated with what you hear, you will need to get something neutral to listen through so you can make informed decisions as to what to do with that microphone you're agonising over...

Come back in a year and tell me it ain't so...

 

[moresound]

"My songs that I recorded for $3.50 sounds like a horse farting"

^^^