Inputting multiple mics to a laptop?

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dpaytons

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Hi, I'm new here (please don't flame me if I put this in the wrong place.) I play guitar, bass, drums, and piano and I'm doing some singing. I've been recording with my friends gear..two dynamic mics with a Tascam USB-122 interface. The quality is okay, but I'm interested in buying my own gear.

I want to get a really nice sound for all my instruments, but right now I'm focused on my drum kit. I don't have a ton of money to spend. I'm thinking about getting a seven mic Nady kit to mic my drums. I'm also thinking about purchasing an additional Shure condenser mic for vocals/electric guitar/acoustic guitar/electric bass. If I were to get these mics, how could I plug them into my laptop simultaneously (at least seven of them at a time.) I don't think an interface will work because at max I get six inputs, and the company doesn't recommend using all six at a time. I want something where I can input all those mics to my laptop and control each mic's volume and possibly EQ.

What do I buy? I don't have a lot of money. Are the mics even a good idea in the first place? Sorry if I sound like a complete noob, but I really need help. Thanks.
 
Firstly, loving the use of the word n00b.

Secondly, you'll probably need a small desk and an audio interface like the M-Audio Delta1010; you can get interfaces that will be usable without a desk, but if you want a decent sound it's generally a bad idea.

The more money you spend, the better the quality you'll get, but second-hand and discontinued gear is always a good avenue to explore if you want cheap stuff.
 
okay so looking at the M-Audio Delta1010...

am i able to input 7-8 XLR microphones? do i need an adapter to plug into this? can i control the levels and EQ of the individual mics? could you help and try to explain this to me?...sorry im not exactly familar with this
 
By desk, Elton means mixer. You can't plug all the mics directly into the interface, especially if the interface doesn't have any mic preamps. All mics needs preamps to power them and bring the signal up to a usable level.

As for the mixer, there are many configurations. In order to keep the instruments separate, you'd need something with either channel inserts or direct channel outputs. Otherwise, you'd only be able to submix the drum mics to a stereo signal.
 
I was hoping i wouldn't go that route, because it looks expensive :(

But if it's the best thing to do, I'll do it. So plug mics into mixer...then what type of cable do I use from the mixer to the interface?
 
You can also get outboard preamps and bypass a mixer altogether.

Connections are generally 1/4" line cables. Depending on the gear you get they'd either be balanced (TRS) or unbalanced (TS).
 
How important is the quality of the interface? If I get the TASCAM USB-122, would that get the job done with the preamp and everything? I'm very familar with this interface already and am pleased with it. I'm unsure about the preamp stuff though. Oh boy
 
dpaytons said:
How important is the quality of the interface? If I get the TASCAM USB-122, would that get the job done with the preamp and everything? I'm very familar with this interface already and am pleased with it. I'm unsure about the preamp stuff though. Oh boy
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AFAIK, that one only has two inputs, so it would be quite a challenge. With that one you'd still need a mixer if you're gonna use more than 2 mics.
 
 
dpaytons said:
Maybe this will make it easier.

Preamp: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=187700

Interface: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tascam-US122-USB-AudioMIDI-Interface?sku=240868

Mics: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-SM57-InstrumentVocal-Mic?sku=270102
and
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Nady-DMK7-Drum-Mic-Package?sku=277246



Would this work??

I also found this mixer which seems to be affordable...
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Nady-SRM14X-Mixer?sku=630411

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I've heard nothing but bad things about that SMPro preamp.

And as I said before the Tascam interface only has 2 inputs. The mixer would work OK, though without an interface (same thing as soundcard) that has more than 2 inputs, you'd still need to submix your drums.

Buy cheap, and you'll buy twice.

Welcome to the money pit we call home recording! :D
 
dang i think i might just go with an interface and two mics. i see you are a drummer. what would be the best way to record a drum kit using two mics? i normally put one in front of the bass drum and one centered over the kit. it sounds alright but the toms are often quiet and not as full as they could be.
 
dpaytons said:
dang i think i might just go with an interface and two mics. i see you are a drummer. what would be the best way to record a drum kit using two mics? i normally put one in front of the bass drum and one centered over the kit. it sounds alright but the toms are often quiet and not as full as they could be.
Click to expand...
That's a pretty standard set-up. Try different placements for the overhead mic until you find a nice balance between drums and cymbals. Mic placement is often the most crucial part of recording.
 
okay thanks.


also, i dont understand the mixer situation. whats so bad about having a single output from the mixer. doesnt the mixer 'mix' everything and cant i adjust the levels and eq of each input on the mixer. from there, couldnt i just run a single cable from the main output to an interface? or is this just a bad idea.
 
dpaytons said:
okay thanks.


also, i dont understand the mixer situation. whats so bad about having a single output from the mixer. doesnt the mixer 'mix' everything and cant i adjust the levels and eq of each input on the mixer. from there, couldnt i just run a single cable from the main output to an interface? or is this just a bad idea.
Click to expand...
Yes you could, but that's going to leave you with limited options once you go to mix down the entire song. It's not impossible and I've even heard good recordings done that way. Your drum mix can't be radically changed once you record the whole kit as a single track (whether stero or mono). It's just nice to be able to say, "Hmmmm, the kick could come up, and the snare needs to come down a bit."
 
ohh okay. but what if i did a ton of sound checks and warm up recordings and then changed it on the mixer? it would probably take more time, but can it be done?
 
dpaytons said:
ohh okay. but what if i did a ton of sound checks and warm up recordings and then changed it on the mixer? it would probably take more time, but can it be done?
Click to expand...
Yes, and it may even teach you a lot about recording in the process. Learn by doing. I started off on a Tascam PortaOne (4-track cassette) and I learned a lot about what NOT to do!

Good luck, and I hope I've been helpful.
 
I built my studio On a Real Budget and what I have is a 8ch Mixer and a 4 in 4 out Interface (Delta 44) and a couple Outboard preamps (Built by Me from scratch) and what I do is I have 7 Mics on my Drum Kit going into the Mixer and then out of the Mixer it goes into Channels 1 (left) and 2 (Right) of my Interface, I have the Drums pretty much Mixed the way i want them or at least the best I can get them with what I have...

I then Have the Guitar Miced up going into one of the Preamps and out into Channel 3 of the Interface and Bass Miced up going into channel 4 of my interface....

When I record I get a stereo Mix for Drums and a seperate Track for Guitar and Bass and any Vocals are added later.....
I can get some Fairly OK recording this way, probably better if my Room was treated and I had better mics but it works Good for what I am doing...

I am eventually going to build a 8 to 12 Channel Preamp Module (I am still designing the Curcuit) and get a Delta 1010 and be able get a seperate Track for every mic....

You might also look into an Interface that has built in Preamps like the "Presonus Firepod"...It has 8 Preamps and will let you record 8 seperate Tracks at the same time but it is a Little bit expensive at about $600 but for the same price you can get an Alesis Multimix 16 FW which will give you 16 Tracks with 8 Preamps for the same price and both of these will replace a Mixer, Preamps and interface.....

Cheers
 
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