I just need to get started, so help me out please!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kennan2000
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Kennan2000

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1) Here’s the deal:
As I’m graduating college this May, my folks are buying me a new computer. So I have a few questions. I’m looking to get into a little bit more hardcore digital recording, but I’m basically pretty naïve.
Let me fill you in on my experience so far.
Right now I’m using a demo of n-track and a demo of fruityloops, and a pc microphone, to record voice, keyboard, and guitar/ukelele/kazoo.
Right now: the arrangements sound good, but the quality does not. My voice comes in and out in volume, and there’s a general graininess. I don’t have a problem with lo-fi music – in fact I quite like it. But I also would like to have high production options.
I also bought a magix program for the fusing of audio and MIDI. My Pentium 2 333mhz does not install the magix program, and the midi drivers don’t register. (I bought a 2X2 MIDI USB peripheral.)
So, I want a better computer to take my recording to the next level, so that I might be able to do EXACTLY what I want with it.
By the way, I’ll tell you some of influences:
Flaming lips, beck, eels, Olivia tremor control, neutral milk hotel, notwist, the microphones, mercury rev.
I want a nice hybrid of recording digital and organic sounds.

2) So: do I get a PC or a Mac? How much does my soundcard matter? How much ram do I need? I plan to use many effects and I would like to be able to record a significant amount of tracks without degeneration. Are the Creative Labs cards really that shitty?

I wanted one of those new iMacs with the superdrive, but would I be able to get what I want out of it recordingwise?

What are the best programs for recording? Remember: I want to fuse MIDI and audio. I also want to be able to arrange digital audio. What are the differences between cubase, n-track, cakewalk, sonar? Do I NEED protools? Is the protools demo any good?

So about buying the computer. Once again, Mac or PC? It seems that the PC still has more of an array of programs out there. And do I buy a computer deal at Best Buy or do I order a custom made? Again, what kind of sound card do I need and what difference does it make?

Oh, one more thing, do I need some sort of pre-thingee/ board to go between the computer and the input? I’m naïve; forgive me.
I apologize for the rambling tone, but I just drank too much caffeine…

I also would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks much,
Kennan
 
ach

pasting from word sucks.

I'm getting the jist that most of you are PC users, then?
 
Update:

So I've been reading a lot of the stuff here, and I have some further questions and statements.
It seems you're all on PCs, so I'll stick to that market.
Would it be fair to say that all I need is a p4 or athlon, sonar, a condenser mike and the appropriate cables?
How important is this pre-amp, and what would it allow me to do? Would it let me line-in a mike, and one keyboard lined in both to MIDI and line-out?
And how important are the monitors? Much more so than some good headphones?
Thanks again, in advance.
Kennan
 
Macs are generally easier to work with but much more expensive. Audio quality will depend on your sound card for either platform.

I would recomend PC and build it yourself. Get the best pro quality sound card you can afford. Try the different software demos and see what interfaces you like.

ProTools is industry standard and is recomended if you want to share files with pro studios or if you want to learn ProTools so you can get hired to run it. A full ProTools TDM system with their hardware will give you better sound quality than a regular delta/sonar type combo. But it will run you about $10k +.

If you want a mixer Mackie and Soundcraft make some great smaller mixers for home studios.
 
How comfortable are you with the idea of building your own computer? It's really not all that complicated, and you are assured you know what you're getting - you pick what you want. As to the P4 vs Athlon debate, you get more bang for your buck with an Athlon CPU. That said, it's easier to assemble a stable P4 rig than an Athlon rig. That's not to say that it's incredibly difficult to make an Athlon based computer stable, it's just that getting a P4 rig stable is a no brainer.

How many tracks do forsee recording at once? This greatly affects which soundcards you should be considering. Regardless though, you should probably look closely at the M-Audio Delta line of cards. Excellent quality, good drivers, and lots of people here use them, so when a question arises, you know where to turn for answers.

You'll need a preamp if you want to use mics. You may also need phantom power, depending on your mic. The M-Audio DMP3 gets a good deal of praise around here for its high quality and low price.

Monitors are pretty damn important and you should probably budget as much as you can for them. That said, you don't need to go broke. I use a pair of Yorkville YSM1i's, which run around $300/pair, and I dig em. There's a few other folks here that also use Yorkville monitors with great results. Tannoy and Event also make good prosumer quality monitors. You'll probably want some decent headphones as well, just for comparison. It's a good practice to A-B your mixes on a few sets of speakers, just to see how they sound. I generally listen to my mixes on my Yorkvilles, a pair of Audio Technica headphones, a pair of Wharfedale speakers, a pair of vintage KLH speakers, and in my Explorer.
 
Kennan - you posted the exact same message in at least 3 different forums...

I responded twice in one of them, in the recording technique forum don't know if you saw those.

A few others responded in another one in computer recording...

and several in this one in newbies.

Just so you know, a lot of people will browse the related forums, so there is no need to crosspost. If you think about it, its counterproductive for you - you know have lots of replies you have to check on in several forums, and people can't build on what the others have to say.

I just point this out becuase i looked at this thread to see what others had to say - and wondered where my post had gone...heh.

in the future, i'm sure everyone would appreciate you just posting in one forum. Any of the ones you chose were appropriate.
 
wes480,

Yeah, the same thing happened to me the other day, I ended up answering somebody twice with the same info while on another post somebody else gave him essentially the same answer...
 
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