Making first home studio

S

Saloje

New member
Hi all :)

Im new here and i'm new in home recording studio thing so i wanted to ask few questions about home studio setup.

I have Great PC machine and integrated Audio card ( On board ) and Warfedale pro DM 3.0S mic and with that i recorded vocals i Adobe audition but the quality of material that i got was not so great, so i decided to spend some money and buy something that could record solo vocals and aqoustic guitar. From that time i'm in great dillema and i'v come to some options so if any of you want to help a newbie i would be appretiate.

1 . i got an old mixete Steven pro mixing console PDM 12x2 12X2 - Steven I 12x2 - Audiofanzine and first idea was to buy Rode NT1 and plug it into mixing console and console into pc but i'm not shure that will work.

2. I found this fella PreSonus | AudioBox Studio and this fella Scarlett Studio | Focusrite and quite like it but didnt know which one is better or are those guys to expensive for what they can give me

3. Third option was to buy a sound card for my PC or something like that

So i would be very happy if someone could tell me what option is a best way to go.
And o yeah i'm ready to give about 400 $ that's all i got :(

Thx for help
 
The Presonus and Scarlett woudl take the place of your internal soundcard - this is what you need for better audio A-D conversion. Suggest you read the stickies at the top of this section of the fourm regardng Computer Recording.
 
Ok. I readed all and apparently decided to go for USB audio interface. Because i'm low budget and dont have enough money for mic and interface separetly i wonder if this two

PreSonus | AudioBox Studio
or
Scarlett Studio | Focusrite

are good choices for beginner ? Thx for reply :)
 
Shop around,. sales everywere this time of year,. look for a package deal maybe,. I'm seeing packages that include a usb interface, condenser mic, cables, and studio monitors for around $300,. throw in an SM57 and you'd have a pretty decent rig for less than $400 easy.
 
Hi Soloje and welcome.
IMHO go for the Audio Box, not a big fan of the bottom of range 2i2. Another excellent interface to look out for is the Steinberg UR22.

Do you still have the Wharfedale mic? If so use that for a time. It speccs out to me as very similar to an AKG D5 and they are pretty good. A touch more sensitive than the Shure 57/58 warhorses it should be usable on acoustic guitar especially with the UR22 pre amps.

Yes, levels will LOOK low! Do not be fooled into screwing everything up to "slamming the red line". The signal in the recording software (aka DAW) need only be at some -18, even -20dB (FS). Record with 24bits at 44.1kHz.

Rock on,
Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Hi Soloje and welcome.
IMHO go for the Audio Box,
Click to expand...

Hi. I just wonder how is that condenser mic M7 in that audio box hangig .Is it worth anything ?

Do you still have the Wharfedale mic? If so use that for a time. It speccs out to me as very similar to an AKG D5 and they are pretty good
Click to expand...

Yes i have it and i use that mic just plugged in pc mic for voice recordings and results are fine , with preamp it would prob be better because of signal etc. You mentioned Steinberg U22 interface and i'm sure it's nice piece but i am beginning to think that would be great to maybe take something with not 2 but 4 inputs ( dunno maybe i need extra plugins for jam session with my friends ). What would you recomend that is not so expencive but decent and have 4 inputs.

And yes one more question that bothers me. I see that interface usually comes with RAW program. Will i be able to use any other RAW with that interface or are some kind of koded thing going on there?

If a audio interface have 4 inputs ( 2 instruments and 2 mic ) and 4 digital outputs is that means that i cant record on four tracks at the same time or what ? I' m little confused about that. IMO inputs should match digital outputs so i can get full use uf hardware or am i mistaken.
What should i do with my Mixete? Are there any use for that piece of history ?

Thx for reply mate :)
 
Last edited:
Saloje said:
Hi. I just wonder how is that condenser mic M7 in that audio box hangig .Is it worth anything ?



Yes i have it and i use that mic just plugged in pc mic for voice recordings and results are fine , with preamp it would prob be better because of signal etc. You mentioned Steinberg U22 interface and i'm sure it's nice piece but i am beginning to think that would be great to maybe take something with not 2 but 4 inputs ( dunno maybe i need extra plugins for jam session with my friends ). What would you recomend that is not so expencive but decent and have 4 inputs.

And yes one more question that bothers me. I see that interface usually comes with RAW program. Will i be able to use any other RAW with that interface or are some kind of koded thing going on there?

What should i do with my Mixete? Are there any use for that piece of history ?

Thx for reply mate :)
Click to expand...

If you want more than 2 microphone inputs then interfaces start to get quite expensive. In fact, if you want something to jam/record with friends it is probably more cost effective to leap over the 4 mic jobbies and go for the Tascam US 1800, eight! mic inputs and, iirc, a total of 14 analogue inputs plus MIDI. The AI is VERY well thought of. Tis said that Tascam are bringing out a newer model. This means the 1800 is likely to be heavily discounted for some months, keep an eye out for bargains.

Another route would be my personal choice, the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6. That has 2 mic/line/guitar inputs but two more balanced line ins. Se later about the mixer.

Do you mean "D" AW friend? If so no, The UR22 comes with Cubase "lite" a free but nonetheless very powerful DAW, but you can use anything you like. Many people find Reaper a good solution. Free so long as you can put up with the mild nagging but only $60 US to buy after which you get free updates forever!

The Steven mixer...Ooo! Mixers, touchy subject here! If the mixer works ok I see no reason not to use it. I you went for the aforementioned KA6 the mixer would feed the second, 3/4 line ins and you would be able to record a stereo mix of mics plugged into the mixer. A drum kit for instance needs a basic minimum 4 mics, better 6 (or so I understand!) but the result is only ever going to be heard as a stereo mix so, get it right from the mixer and 2 tracks is all you need.

Best of all of course to have everything on its own track and mix it later but! Especially with loud, intrusive things like drums and bass git', keeping "spill" out of (say) vocal tracks can be a problem. NOTHING gets any easier do it!

Dave.
 
Ok i thank you for your opinion Dave and reading you previous post i finally realised that i dont have enough money for better equipment and want to go with one of these two products because i get faire price for condensed mic, headphones and audio interface. So my question would be which one of these two is a better product for money? What would you suggest ?

Focusrite Scarlett Studio with price of 350 $

or

PreSonus Audiobox Studio Complete with price of 320 $

Thx for all the answers :)
 
Saloje said:
Ok i thank you for your opinion Dave and reading you previous post i finally realised that i dont have enough money for better equipment and want to go with one of these two products because i get faire price for condensed mic, headphones and audio interface. So my question would be which one of these two is a better product for money? What would you suggest ?

Focusrite Scarlett Studio with price of 350 $

or

PreSonus Audiobox Studio Complete with price of 320 $

Thx for all the answers :)
Click to expand...

Audiobox and use the spare cash for spare cables...NEVER have too many mic/jack leads!

Dave.
 
Well, I personally slightly prefer the Scarlett 2i2 to the Audiobox but I'm not to fussed--they're not all that different.

However, where are you? If it's in the US, your prices are both high. This week at least, Sweetwater have the Presonus bundle for $199.95.

The Scarlett is a bit more expensive but still only $249.95.
 
Bobbsy said:
Well, I personally slightly prefer the Scarlett 2i2 to the Audiobox but I'm not to fussed--they're not all that different.

However, where are you? If it's in the US, your prices are both high. This week at least, Sweetwater have the Presonus bundle for $199.95.

The Scarlett is a bit more expensive but still only $249.95.
Click to expand...

OP is in Croatia Bobbs and I suppose his choices are very limited compared to ours?

What, specifically does everyone like about the 2i2? I am sure it is a fine interface but I just object to paying for a name and no MIDI! Fifty bucks is not exactly peanuts when you are strapped.

Dave.
 
Thomann have the Presonus Studio Bundle for 181 Euro which is about $225 US. I don't KNOW if Thomann will ship to Croatia but if anyone will it'll be them.

I didn't even think about the MIDI...I have it on both my current interfaces and haven't once plugged anything into it. I guess it depends on your needs. What I like about the Scarlett are the nice mic pre amps I like...though, as you know, I chose an M Audio M Track because I preferred the monitoring options...and the cheaper price 'cause I'm an old pensioner!
 
Bobbsy said:
Thomann have the Presonus Studio Bundle for 181 Euro which is about $225 US. I don't KNOW if Thomann will ship to Croatia but if anyone will it'll be them.

I didn't even think about the MIDI...I have it on both my current interfaces and haven't once plugged anything into it. I guess it depends on your needs. What I like about the Scarlett are the nice mic pre amps I like...though, as you know, I chose an M Audio M Track because I preferred the monitoring options...and the cheaper price 'cause I'm an old pensioner!
Click to expand...

Yeah, the pres! Everybody says that but I have the 8i6 and TBH they are about the same as those on the KA6 and those again much as the pres on my ZED 10 for noise (well lack of it!) The ten does of course have massive headroom compared to either AI. With a cap mic he is never going to tell anyway.

Yup, know you don't use MIDI (how could you? AA ain't ya?) I just think the AI is overpriced anyway and leaving out MIDI the last straw of the Beancounter.

I am a pensioner too Bobbs! So put away the violin! We get ripped for the $199 2i2 at £199, another 30 quid or so but then, even worse in Oz I understand?

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Yup, know you don't use MIDI (how could you? AA ain't ya?) I just think the AI is overpriced anyway and leaving out MIDI the last straw of the Beancounter.

I am a pensioner too Bobbs! So put away the violin! We get ripped for the $199 2i2 at £199, another 30 quid or so but then, even worse in Oz I understand?

Dave.
Click to expand...

Well, I have Ableton lying around somewhere so the bigger issue is my total lack of any musical talent. That's why I record other people!

Aus prices are generally very rip off oriented but it really varies bigtime depending on the supplier/manufacturer That's the other reason for my M Track...it came in at only about $30 more than the US price...pretty much accounted for by the GST (like VAT) here.

Things are gonna get worse now though...the Aussie dollar is falling big time--which is a mixed blessing for me since it means my UK-paid pension goes up but anything imported that I buy gets more expensive.
 
So what should i buy then guys, i realy dont need that MIDI for now but will i need it in future i dont know. Is Scarlett that much better just because it's expencive.
 
You may not need the older MIDI DIN if you get a keyboard that connects via USB. If you have the DIN plug, I suggest getting the one with MIDI. Otherwise, you will just have to pay for one later.
 
DM60 said:
You may not need the older MIDI DIN if you get a keyboard that connects via USB. If you have the DIN plug, I suggest getting the one with MIDI. Otherwise, you will just have to pay for one later.
Click to expand...

Agreed^ But can I make the point that DIN MIDI is not "old" in the sense that it has been superseded. A USB equipped keyboard will NOT as a rule operate as a MIDI interface. It might, as my Evolution Ekeys 49 does, have a DIN output but only quite expensive ones have a MIDI DIN input.

Since getting MIDI is "free" (always used to be, bloody should be now!) for the two AIs mentioned..Win-Win?

Bob, I too am musically inept (but I know what I like!) . Well, I know a few chords and I was a basic rt&5th bass player years ago. If I had the chord changes on a sheet I could extemporize* between them.
But! I can strip your Tele/Strat, wire it, shield it and even get it in tune for you!

*Technical musical term for "busk (aka ...guess)

Dave.
 
The DIN is "older" than USB. Nothing said about superseded, just there are two ways now to get MIDI. Controllers usually only have a MIDI out. My PC-100, purchased in 89' only has a MIDI out. No reason for a MIDI in.

However, my old MIDI interface (89') had, MIDI In/Out/Thru, I was just saying the DIN is not needed if the controller uses USB.
 
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