Ideal Setup

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gordon_39422

New member
Hello Everyone. I am in the market for a decent home recording platform, but really naive to the whole idea. I have been exploring options, but a few things have really raised concerns regarding my upcoming purchase. If anyone could answer any or all of the following, I would certainly appreciate the advice.

Before I begin the questions, here is some general FYI that may be useful. I am a musician and will be recording vocals, guitars, bass, and keyboards in the comfort of my home. I will either buy a drum synth, or software for the PC to cover percussive requirements. I am currently using the NVidai soundcard onboard my computer, but the quality of the recordings are tainted with a constant hum. I have discovered a thread on this forum that explains why. As such, I have been shopping for upgrades to my computer to include an audio interface, soundcard, and better software. I have a spare 400mhz computer and would like to configure it for primary use as a recording platform. If any other information is needed to fabricate more precise responses, please ask and I will answer to the best of my abilities.

1) With the release of Digital Workstations, is it lucrative to purchase all the other PC based equipment? Is the quality of these workstations decent? I.E.- Boss BR Series, Fostex, etc...
2) Will a 400mhz clock support the hig-demands of recording multi-tracks? I know that RAM is more of an issue, but I will max the uprgadability of my RAM. I believe my mother board will only support up to 128bit. Is that sufficient?
3) If PC is the most practical route, then which soundcard and software would give me the greatest flexibility for the best price. I have had my eye on the Omni-Studio with the Delta66 card. As far as sofware goes, I am completely ignorant, but was impressed with a particular Cakewalk package.

Thank you again for your time and contributions. Have a Great Weekend!
Allen
 
gordon_39422 said:
1) With the release of Digital Workstations, is it lucrative to purchase all the other PC based equipment? Is the quality of these workstations decent? I.E.- Boss BR Series, Fostex, etc...
2) Will a 400mhz clock support the hig-demands of recording multi-tracks? I know that RAM is more of an issue, but I will max the uprgadability of my RAM. I believe my mother board will only support up to 128bit. Is that sufficient?
3) If PC is the most practical route, then which soundcard and software would give me the greatest flexibility for the best price. I have had my eye on the Omni-Studio with the Delta66 card. As far as sofware goes, I am completely ignorant, but was impressed with a particular Cakewalk package.
Click to expand...

#1 the DAWs work fine if that's what you what. PCs are more flexible, can be more powerful, but are also a bit more of a hassle to setup.

Now . . .

#2 Man that is one old PC. No, it isn't really fast enough to do much, and that memory is way small. Probably also that HD is small and slow, and it probably doesn't have a CD burner. I mean you'll get a few tracks, but once you start adding effects you'll run short on resources pretty quick.

Suffice to say that first you should shop for a new PC. They are so cheap these days. Ask on the Computers & Soundcard board for a good recommendation.
 
go guitar based

Hi gordon, with the pc you currently have i would go the route of a guitar based system, the boss br series are definatly worth a look, i have just bought one myself they are very easy to get to grips with ( if you read the manual first) and offer a reasonable priced soloution, my only gripe with them is the lack of inputs and no phantom power for mic's ( br 1180 upwards has phantom power). I got over this by purchasing a small mixer with phantom power and now i can use as many mics as i like and send it as a sub mix to the line in on my br 864. the big plus pouint with the br 864 is being able to upload and download files via usb..it makes life so much simpler. the effects are great on the boss and theres plenty of them ( 4 effects processors in all) so if you want to save a bit towards a better pc later then go for the boss for now and integrate it into your larger studio when u can afford to upgrade. ( you can always just use it as a source for getting guitar into your pc and do the rest in cubase or something). if your going to do vocals or use acoustic guitar dont mess about with effects get a couple of condenser mics and mic up its worth the effort, the same applies to overdrive guitar sounds, if you have a valve amp or combo mic it up with the same mics. you will definatly hear the difference.
One other point , dont rely on headphones to as monitors for mixing down, if you have a very good hifi that will handle it use that for now or get monitors. you cant do any sort of half decent job mixing down using head phones.
I am a novice at this too so i feel a bit stupid trying to give advice but i have learnt a few things along the way.
ps if you can afford it go for the br 1180 or br 1600, i wish i could have afforded to
 
Allen,
I do much the same thing as you from a musical perspective. I do prefer the computer based DAW setup. I use both Mac and PC (so you can't get me into an argument over which is better!) I have tried various software solutions, I must have downloaded 20 demos, but I settled on Ableton Live for my basic recording setup. It runs great on both Mac and PC, version 4 is due out in July and adds full midi and vst support, it will also ship with it's own software drum machine, (I can't wait). http://www.ableton.com For bigger projects I prefer MOTU's Digital Performer 4. Hillage's suggestion has merit from a monetary standpoint. It's all about how much cash you are willing to part with. I'm getting ready to add a mackie Onyx mixer to my system that'll set me back about 5 bills. My current setup so you can have a frame of reference is: Apple 1.25ghz Powerbook with 512 ram and superdrive (Cd/RW DVD/RW) this runs Ableton Live, DP4, Absynth, Minimoog V, iSynth. A homemade AMD 64 2800+ with 512 ram and cd burner running Ableton Live. All my inputs run through A Tascam US-224 I control my software synths from an M-Audio radium 61. So far that's around 5 grand for the studio, but I didn't buy it all at once it did it in stages. This may give you some ideas or maybe it will just depress you. keep jammin'
J.
 
I certainly appreciate the advice! Thank you for offering your time to help out the ignorant. Several important issues were definitely resoved. I do have a newer computer, but the wife is reluctant about moving into my "studio." It is an HP with a 1.8gig clock, 512 Ram, and CD-R. That is my current platform, but the soundcard provided is absolutely worthless for recording. I would still have to put several bills down to have a decent setup! I can probably swap the computers so that she can use the old 400mhz for surfing the net or typing on Word.

I have been considering the purchase of a BR-864. That particular unit has only the capability of recording 2 tracks simultaneously, but I generally only use one. The price, portability, and fexibility are impressive. I am just not sure of the quality of the recording.

Thanks again for your time and advice!!

Allen
 
I am in favor of the computer-based recording. It is upgradeable, and you can install specialized software or hardware as the need arises, to end up with a customized set up that fits your work flow. Stand-alone DAWs offer a lot of convenience but they are lacking in flexibility and updateability. When I decided to get into digital recording I thought long and hard on which way to go and finally went for a computer for the reasons above, even though I knew very little about computers. Now, 4 years later, the only thing left of my original system is the computer case and a couple of mics, but I have a system that is stable, versatile, and reasonably compact. I suspect that had I bought one of the contemporary DAWs (I remember looking at a Yamaha 8-track minidisc) I would have been very dissatisfied by now. For example, I just recorded a Christmas CD with some songs that were up to 17 tracks, with no compression and no bouncing. This week I recorded a singer-songwriter and his boomy Martin and was able to EQ the boom out the tracks with hardly a thought. I have a 4-piece bluegrass band coming in soon and I will be able to record their instruments all at once and vocals, too, if they decide they want to do that.

Note that I'm not touting one kind of hardware or software: as you get into things you will acquire what you need to record the way you want. And there is no magic bullet: it's all about what the motorcycle racers call "seat time" and your ears. Four years ago with my fancy new computer I was making recordings one step up from my Porta-Studio days. Now I'm doing it for pay, and my clients are happy. It's amazing what 4 years will do if you work at it.
 
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