I need equipment!

D

DavaFlava

New member
I'm recording for my band using my desktop computer:
Penitum II
400 mhz
40 gig hd
512 memory

We have a drummer, 2 guitarist, 1 bassist, and 1 vocalist.

We have recorded everything seperately, edited and mixed it, and this is what we have done so far: The band's website.
As you can tell, the quality of the recording is horrible.
I also know a few other bands who would like me to record for them, but I would like to have the proper equiptment first.
I'm pretty sure what I need is a mic and preamp and a new sound card.
I've pretty much have my heart set on a Shure SM57 mic. I plan to buy it off of ebay.
I just don't know what preamp and soundcard to buy.
I only want to spend $50-$90 on a preamp.
And $50 or less on a soundcard.
Also, I'd like to eventually get a second mic for the drums.
I'm not sure if I have any of this correct...
Any suggestions would be great!

P.S. I should be able to hook the preamp straight to the soundcard, correct?
 
All the gear in the world will not make poor musicians sound good...but good gear does make good musicians sound better. For starters, get more and better mics. See if that helps. Good mics are the first step in the recording chain and need to be able to "hear" and transfer sounds correctly. No matter what you add later you have to start with good mics. Expect to spend your entire budget on mics or increase your budget. Nobody said home studios were cheap.
 
DavaFlava said:
I'm recording for my band using my desktop computer:
Penitum II
400 mhz
40 gig hd
512 memory

We have a drummer, 2 guitarist, 1 bassist, and 1 vocalist.

We have recorded everything seperately, edited and mixed it, and this is what we have done so far: The band's website.
As you can tell, the quality of the recording is horrible.
I also know a few other bands who would like me to record for them, but I would like to have the proper equiptment first.
I'm pretty sure what I need is a mic and preamp and a new sound card.
I've pretty much have my heart set on a Shure SM57 mic. I plan to buy it off of ebay.
I just don't know what preamp and soundcard to buy.
I only want to spend $50-$90 on a preamp.
And $50 or less on a soundcard.
Also, I'd like to eventually get a second mic for the drums.
I'm not sure if I have any of this correct...
Any suggestions would be great!

P.S. I should be able to hook the preamp straight to the soundcard, correct?
Click to expand...

Actually, those vocals sound fantastic! :D
 
Well, obviously, some of us have different tastes in music. These kids are suprisingly talented. We started in May and have already booked many teen clubs and next week we play Rocketown in down town Nashville. And yes, we're getting payed.

But thats not important. Next month, we will have a much higher budget, so I'll wait until then to order anything.

I STILL need to know what I need for a home studio.

C'mon guys, help me out.
 
Go to amazon.com and get a beginners guide to home recording (Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies is a good starter book)... they will tell you what you need for a beginners studio and you'll have a good reference book on how to set it up and use it.

Otherwise, we'd be typing in 500 pages a week of the same info for everyone who won't spend $20 on a starter manual.
 
Like I said before, start with getting good mics, mics plural, many of them, at least one per person and three or more for drums. Add in a mixer and pre amp. Use good cables. For a soundcard, if you can afford it get something better than Sound Blaster Live but at the very least get more than the onboard soundcard that came in the computer. A P4 processor with 80 gig memory is better for recording than the P2 with 40gig which you are using.
Get these things at least. Set up and hook up correctly then experiment with things like which mic works best for the sound you are trying to record. Make adjustments and try it again. There are too many variables to suggest any adjustments at this time, when you run into a specific problem, post it in the forum which addresses it.
I didn't mean to sound like I was putting your band down, but the recordings you have posted on the web page leaves a lot to be desired.
 
Sheeesse!
It makes me nutts when people want top quality but any want to spend "$50 on a soundcard".............

Buy atleast a good 4 chanel card and a mixer with four outs.
M-audio Delta 44 $149.99
Yamaha MG12/4 mixer $196.00
Both at Musiciansfriend and both great deals.

get a mic for the kick, two overheads and a snare mic. send them all down there own chanels to the pc record them all separate.

Get a mic for the guitars, bass and vocals.

It shouldnt be more than $700.00 to make a nice quality recording(not pro but nice)......

Read a few books as well, there are some good ones on basic mixing(Paul white comes to mind "Basic Mixing Techniques by Paul White").....

If the band is realy good they will want to help you as well and put there backs into making a good recording. If not they are just gonna flop.

-Blaze
 
Thanks to all of you for your advice!
I have just ordered Home Recording for Dumbies and I plan to do a lot of reading before I buy anything.
I also plan to upgrade my computer's motherboard and processor with a package deal from TigerDirect.com.
I'd love to spend $700 on a quailty home recording studio but sadly, I'm only 15. I'm in high school with noo car and no job. BUT I do have great parents. They agreed to throw in 150-200 bucks for a mixer and such.
Again, thanks to all of you and god bless.
I'm sure you'll be hearing from me in the future. :)
 
How did you even get any decent software to run on a computer with a 400mhz processor? I'm a newb myself when it comes to recording stuff, so I can't suggest anything about what you may need in the way of mics or mixers, etc. But if you can steal some cash from your parents, do a few B&Es, maybe pimp out some of your friends, etc. I would suggest building yourself a stripped down computer with a big ass harddrive, a minimum of 512mb RAM, and a processor that tops 2ghz. I have no idea what you want in the way of a soundcard, someone much more informed than me could probably compile a list of good soundcards for beginner/intermediate/poor people.

[edit] I just listened to your some of the stuff on your website. Um, yeah. A drummer who can keep time would also help a lot as well. Yo, no offense to the guy on the sticks though.
 
$200 is a good start but if you plan to do more with this stuff in the future at least buy with the intent that "Hey I need some gear that will integrate with future upgrades".....

Hence, the Yamaha MG12/4 even if you only buy that you will at least have not only a nice mixer but be able to say hook it up to a better sound card that has 4 ins on it when you can afford to buy one.

You see I have been down your road of "I have $200!", but if you go and buy a bunch of cheap gear you are going to need to replace it. But if you buy a(1) good piece at a time that will work with future additions you wont need to sell that old one to get a new one.

Believe me I have done it and hate it bad!

Buy wisley and talk to us and your friends in your group and just think before you buy.

-Blaze
 
..........you also need a decent pair of passive or active monitors dependiant on your amp situation!
 
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