I need advice on a recording setup...

  • Thread starter Thread starter thebricks1
  • Start date Start date
T

thebricks1

New member
I'm a hip-hop artist (more of a hobbyist but am lookin' to get back into it) and I'm lookin' to get my own setup for recording vocals. I'm tired of chasin' producers for beats and engineers for sessions; I rather learn how to engineer my own sessions and have access to my own studio/equipment at my own convenience right in the basement of my home. I'm NOT a musician, nor do I have any plans on ever learning to play an instrument. Also, I'm NOT a producer, nor do I ever intend on ever becoming one. Am just lookin' for advice on what would be a good setup for RECORDING QUALITY VOCALS.

For example, lets say I hear a hot track online, and I decide I want to write to it. I simply want to bounce it out to whatever software I'll be using, and record my vocals over it. And perhaps when I learn the software, I'd be able to engineer fellow artists recording sessions, and have a seasoned engineer mix/master it afterwards.

What would be the software you'd recommend with the least learning curve, and for quality recording? I looked at protools and considered gettin' the mbox 2 mini, but a gut feelin' has prevented me from pullin' the trigger on it. I've also heard good things about Logic, but don't know enough about it yet to decide.

From my frustrating experiences w/ engineers who run protools on a PC, I'm all set w/ that. I'm considering an iMac b/c I know I can't deal w/ slow computers crashin' and freezin' up all the time, and from what I hear, Macs are alot better for recording. Would you recommend Protools LE w/ a Mac, or something like Logic? Or is there another software you'd recommend, and what interface would you use w/ it?

Again, I want the highest quality possible, so what mic would you recommend (i know they recommend a large diaphragm condenser mic for a studio, but which one?) Also, what monitors would you recommend? Do I need anything else besides the computer, software, mic, and monitors? I'd appreciate any/all advice. Thanks in advance.
 
How much money do you have to spend, and what do you mean by "best possible quality"? You can easily spend $10k on a DAW, and $5k on a quality LDC.

My guess is that you're looking for decent prosumer stuff. If you're going to get a mac, get a mac pro, not an imac. Protools will only work with mac and digidesign hardware. Software and hardware for the pc is cheaper and more flexible.

What kind of "vocals" are we talking about?

In addition, although you are tired of "chasin' producers for beats", you haven't indicated how you intend to make or otherwise get ahold of beats for you to make vocal utterances over.
 
Maybe he's going to buy some beats (or get them free) from an online source. For example - Soundclick has lots of "beatmasters" who sell beats that he could buy. All he would have to do is download them and import them into a track in his software. Then record vocals on another track. Then mix and master and burn.

My recommendations are:

PC - I prefer laptop for portability.

Sonar Producer Edition (8.5 is the latest version) software. It takes some work to get familiar as with all software but there's good support out there.

RODE NTK or RODE K2 microphone.

Lexicon U22S or U42S Interface (connects mic to Computer via USB)

I use all these and they work okay....
 
Get a firebox and an at4040. The firebox should come with cubase which in my opinion is better than protools. With these simple peices you should be able to start off simple and grow and learn.
 
thebricks1 said:
From my frustrating experiences w/ engineers who run protools on a PC, I'm all set w/ that. I'm considering an iMac b/c I know I can't deal w/ slow computers crashin' and freezin' up all the time, and from what I hear, Macs are alot better for recording.
Click to expand...

Sorry but this is just plain wrong.

A lot of people are under the assumption that no matter what:

Pc = slow and bad

Mac = perfect

Get a good pc, and don't fuck it up with random software and viruses, and it'll run just as well as a mac will. (IMO: better than a mac will)

And a mac is not better for recording. It sounds the same, the software acts the same. There is no difference at all.
 
ido1957 said:
Maybe he's going to buy some beats (or get them free) from an online source. For example - Soundclick has lots of "beatmasters" who sell beats that he could buy. All he would have to do is download them and import them into a track in his software. Then record vocals on another track. Then mix and master and burn.

My recommendations are:

PC - I prefer laptop for portability.

Sonar Producer Edition (8.5 is the latest version) software. It takes some work to get familiar as with all software but there's good support out there.

RODE NTK or RODE K2 microphone.

Lexicon U22S or U42S Interface (connects mic to Computer via USB)

I use all these and they work okay....
Click to expand...

Precisely, either buy beats on Soundclick, or even Datpiff lets you listen to instrumental cd's before downloading them, for FREE. Thanks for the advice, you hit the nail on the head. I will take all of these into consideration.
 
philbagg said:
Sorry but this is just plain wrong.

A lot of people are under the assumption that no matter what:

Pc = slow and bad

Mac = perfect

Get a good pc, and don't fuck it up with random software and viruses, and it'll run just as well as a mac will. (IMO: better than a mac will)

And a mac is not better for recording. It sounds the same, the software acts the same. There is no difference at all.
Click to expand...

Correct, I admit I was indeed under that assumption, but only based off of my own BAD experiences w PC's, so if I'm wrong, I digress. And I didn't mean a Mac SOUNDS better, just meant it was better in terms of efficiency and productivity b/c you're less likely to be dealing w/ the hassles of viruses, bugs, freezes, crashes, etc. Nonetheless, I don't doubt what you say, perhaps if I get a PC and use it EXCLUSIVELY for recording purposes, hopefully I can get good results from it. Thanks for the insight.
 
Supercreep said:
How much money do you have to spend, and what do you mean by "best possible quality"? You can easily spend $10k on a DAW, and $5k on a quality LDC.

My guess is that you're looking for decent prosumer stuff. If you're going to get a mac, get a mac pro, not an imac. Protools will only work with mac and digidesign hardware. Software and hardware for the pc is cheaper and more flexible.

What kind of "vocals" are we talking about?

In addition, although you are tired of "chasin' producers for beats", you haven't indicated how you intend to make or otherwise get ahold of beats for you to make vocal utterances over.
Click to expand...

Sorry for not being specific on my budget, its about $2500 (excluding the mac). So that $2500 would go towards a mic, software/ interface, and studio monitors.

And do you really recommend the Macpro over the iMac? I'm only asking b/c I would probably get the Macpro only if I was trying to make a career out of it, but being that I'm a "newbie", wouldn't you agree that I could work my way up (if i ever did get to that level), as opposed to goin' all out just for vocal recording purposes? (i understand i said "best quality possible", but is using a Macpro over an iMac really going to give me that much more quality? and do you think it is really worth the extra $1000+?)

And as far as the kind of "vocals", I'll be "rapping" over hip-hop beats obtained either through Soundclick or Datpiff. Thanks for the input, appreciate it. (cut me some slack, am a "newbie"...lol)
 
TheChikenMaster said:
Get a firebox and an at4040. The firebox should come with cubase which in my opinion is better than protools. With these simple peices you should be able to start off simple and grow and learn.
Click to expand...

cool, will also take that into consideration, thanks
 
thebricks1 said:
Sorry for not being specific on my budget, its about $2500 (excluding the mac). So that $2500 would go towards a mic, software/ interface, and studio monitors.

And do you really recommend the Macpro over the iMac? I'm only asking b/c I would probably get the Macpro only if I was trying to make a career out of it, but being that I'm a "newbie", wouldn't you agree that I could work my way up (if i ever did get to that level), as opposed to goin' all out just for vocal recording purposes? (i understand i said "best quality possible", but is using a Macpro over an iMac really going to give me that much more quality? and do you think it is really worth the extra $1000+?)

And as far as the kind of "vocals", I'll be "rapping" over hip-hop beats obtained either through Soundclick or Datpiff. Thanks for the input, appreciate it. (cut me some slack, am a "newbie"...lol)
Click to expand...

$2500 will get you some REALLY nice equipment to start out with. Take a few hundred of that and put it towards acoustic treatment for your room. A $1000 mic in a bad sounding room will still yield a bad sounding recording. Treating for acoustics will make your job of mixing much easier too.

Your next step IMO is to break up that budget and start doing some shopping...

$500 Monitors
$800 Mic
$500 Acoustic Treatment
$200 Misc Cables, connectors, etc.
$500 Interface & software
$2500

Of course you can adjust that as you shop...
And, PC will do just fine for recording.
 
For rap vocals I recommend a large diaphragm dynamic mic such as the RE-20 or SM-7. I think you'll be impressed with the results from either. They take a lot of gain, so keep that in mind when you're shopping for an interface.

Also, iMac is a toy.
 
well for starters if you do decide to go the Sonar route then you'll find its PC only

If its definately going to be Mac then Ableton Live's cross platform and is far more suited to Hip Hop than any other DAW...thats due primarily to its ability to remix in real time using the scene view...


I wouldn't say its the best for mixing so Logics also one to think about


Go through what top electronica/hiphop/dubstep producers are using right now and you'll find a combination of Reason/Live/Logic in there...even all three in many cases
 
Supercreep said:
For rap vocals I recommend a large diaphragm dynamic mic such as the RE-20 or SM-7. I think you'll be impressed with the results from either. They take a lot of gain, so keep that in mind when you're shopping for an interface.

Also, iMac is a toy.
Click to expand...

iMac a toy? really? wow, just threw me a curveball...
 
Jeff_D said:
$2500 will get you some REALLY nice equipment to start out with. Take a few hundred of that and put it towards acoustic treatment for your room. A $1000 mic in a bad sounding room will still yield a bad sounding recording. Treating for acoustics will make your job of mixing much easier too.

Your next step IMO is to break up that budget and start doing some shopping...

$500 Monitors
$800 Mic
$500 Acoustic Treatment
$200 Misc Cables, connectors, etc.
$500 Interface & software
$2500

Of course you can adjust that as you shop...
And, PC will do just fine for recording.
Click to expand...

i appreciate you takin' the time to break that down, thanks, very helpful
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top