More newbie help - General studio hookup

[Imalazypup]

Hi, my band would like to upgrade our current recording room. I will list our current setup, then explain what we are looking for. We would appreciate some advice as to what equipment we should get.

Thanks in advance, I know this is asking for a lot.

Current setup -

Band make up - vocals and backup vocals, bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, standard drum kit, keyboard. There are 3-5 people at each practice.

Current hardware -

- PC with a poor sound card
- Euro Eurorack mx 602 2 channel mixer using RCA to 3.5mm wiring to hook to PC
- Shure 48 microphone - works great
- Radioshack microphone - eh.....
- Haven't found the "right" software yet. Current software, sony's music studio, has a lag time when adding second track, which leads to bad timing.

What we are looking to do under 500 bucks -

- Still use PC recording
- Record tracks with minimal white noise and "muddy" tones.
- Ability to record instruments simultaneous using one computer program, but on different tracks(so as to keep drums on one track, guitar on another and so on). I'm betting i need a different (and better) mixer to do so.
- Use drum mics, are these any good for a rather basic kit? http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/CAD-Pro4-Drum-Mic-Pack?sku=271262
- The ability to record each member seperately, and lay track over track with NO lag time.


What am I hoping to learn from you guys....

 

[mikemorgan]

The stickiest part of your request is "Ability to record instruments simultaneous using one computer program, but on different tracks". You do need several mics (at least two on drums) and a souncard with enough inputs for these tracks. On the cheap. I'd recommend something like the Alesis Firewire mixers. That would give you an all-in-one mixer/interface that is completely external. You would need a firewire port on the computer.
You could use a free software like Audacity to record, or for about $40 a program called Reaper. Personally. I'd recommend getting a slightly outdated version of Cakewalk Home Studio, but just my .02.

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

M Audio Delta 1010LT card (giving you 8 analog in/out) $200. If you use it set up properly in a decent machine this should get rid of your latency problems. The sound quality is excellent for the price. It also has mic preamps on ins 1 & 2.

Yamaha MG 12/4 mixer - $150 (6 mic preamps + line ins). You should be able to go from the track inserts to the ins on the soundcard using the 'half click' method, giving you seperate tracks into the DAW. I've never done it with this
mixer thought so you might want to double check that.

Reaper software $40 (non commercial use). I'm just starting to play with this, it seems very good.