i am a poor college student

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bassguy180

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I wanna do some home recording, so i ordered Cubase SX.
i've got a guitar and a mic of course.
now... what else do i need?
do i -need- a preamp? i don't want my songs to sound like crap, but with all the EQ, filters, effects, etc on Cubase, is that neccesary?
what about a new soundcard? i mean, i'm not doing 32-bit recording here, so do i need anything other than the standard?
i'm not working with an unlimited budget, but i wanna get things done right, so... other than the software, what do i -need- to make a decent EP?

-ryan
 
You absolutely NEED a decent preamp.

You SHOULD get a better soundcard when you can afford it.
 
ok, thanks. so what kind of decent preamp would you recommend? and do i need a seperate one for guitar and vocals?
 
For a pre go for an m-audio audio buddy. It's cheap and good for the price. You might want to consider a decent mic too. Something like an sm57 or similar dynamic might do the job. Or you can get a SP B1 for the same price.....
 
i might just get that preamp...
alright, right now i've got a crappy crappy mic. for recording purposes, i was jsut going to borrow a nice one from a friend who does recording. in the future though, would a shure do the trick? i mean, espescially since i want to be able to use it live and in the studio--i hear shure is very versatile.
 
A shure 57 or 58 is a good mic to have for vocals and guitar. Not the best but they work. I'm not sure if the Audio Buddy has an instrument input which you will need if you want to record your guitar direct. It's better to mic the guitar or amp anway.

If you want to use condensor mics you will need phantom power, not sure if the audio buddy does that. The SM57/58s are dynamic mics and do not need phantom power.
 
Check into Presonus ... they make some good Pre's

i have the TubePRE it's a one line tube pre amp and it suits my purposes ...
 
The Audiobuddy does produce phantom, and I believe it is not a DI. Of course budget is everything. If you have to use the same mic for stage and studio, Shure SM58 is a good choice. Preamps are a problem, in that the more you spend, the better they are. I just bought a preamp for $2300, but you may not want to start there. Understand that a cheap mic like SM57 or 58 can make really good sound through a *very* good preamp, or cruddy sound through a cruddy preamp. Some of the most popular preamps right now are like this- M Audio Audiobuddy- $80 or so.-the only really cheap preamp that is worth shit. In the $200 or so range, M Audio DMP3 and Studio Projects VTB-1 have numerous followers. The VTB-1 is probably the better pre, but only 1 channel. DMP3 gives you 2. In the $500-$800 range, my favorites include Joemeek VC1Q and twinQcs (these are 1 and 2 channel channel strips, so they add compression and EQ, very useful), FMR Audio RNP, and Grace 101. It goes up from there. One thing for sure, though- All other things being equal (in other words, if you can really figure out how to use these things, and all other parts of the signal chain remain the same), better preamps =better sound. Best of luck-Richie
 
A better mic for live and recording is the Sennheiser e835 or e845. I use them instead of SM57's/58's and I get great results. A much smoother, full bodied and distinct sound.

Ofcourse, its all a matter of opinion and people will always recommend the 57 over anything else for beginners. But my choice would be the e835.
 
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