My Home Studio, suggestion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Thrakk_Crimson
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Thrakk_Crimson

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ok, this is what i have right now:

INSTRUMENT:
ibanez rg-470
kramer focus vt-111s
yamaha f-310 acoustic with dimarzio pickup
cheap crappy acoustic
olp musicman bass
laney gc30 guitar amp
crate bx100 bass amp
park g10 guitar amp
korg ax-1g multieffects
jim dunlop cry baby
shure sm57 mic and mic stand
Yamaha portasound pss680 61 key keyboard

SOFTWARE
cakewalk guitar tracks pro
musicmatch jukebox (for converting .wav to .mp3)

COMPUTER
pentium 2
266 mhz
Crystal WDM soundcard (yes, crappy card, i know)
48x cd burner

and i have a sony stereo with two sony speakers, and two 2x12 speakers. this stereo is what i use as a monitor. it also has dual cassete deck with mic in which works for recording and bouncing tracks. also have a cheap gcx single deck tape recorder in the room for leaving on while jamming or noodling about to catch those bursts of inspiration.



what do you think of what i have? and what do you all suggest as useful pieces of equiptment to invest in? i am wondering how i can get some drums recorded. i dont have a drum set, and i cant afford one, nor would the neighbors appreciate it. i am thinking of one of those cheap electric pad sets that sit in your lap, with a pedal for the bass and high hat. or maybe a full electric drum set in the future when i have money. what do you think? what else would be usefull in my home studio?

thanks
 
Thrakk,

Drums...

Leaf drums is a pretty good software drum machine that you can use in lieu of real drums. Its worked great for me (no rhythm, lol) You can change the sampled drum sound. free trial version available. Just do a search on Leaf Drums.

Soundcard...

This is the first thing I would upgrade.. Lots of good cards pretty inexpensive.

Monitors...

This is the next thing to upgrade.. These are not cheap. But to get a decent mix you have to be able to hear it accurately.

Larry
 
yeah, i kind of figured i need a new soundcard, but what one would you suggest. i cant shell out to much cash on one. so something reasonably priced. ill check out the leaf drums program.

thanks
 
You'll probably need a bunch of things - I'd go in this order.

1. I'd get a drum machine or a software drum machine, like gatorhaus said. I've played a Yamaha DTXpress, and it sounded like a big, nasty ball O' poop. Not sure about the laptop models, but I doubt they're much better.

2. Upgrade the sound card. If you're only recording 2 tracks at a time, you won't have to spend a fortune - check into M-Audio or ST-Audio cards (make sure it's a 24 bit card). If you don't have a mixer, you'll need a mic preamp too. The difference is night & day though - a definite must.

3. Upgrade the software - I'm not sure how many tracks you have available (8 ?), but chances are, you'll probably need more. Sometimes they bundle LE versions of software with sound cards - you might get lucky.

4. Monitors. Even a set of Roland MA-8's ($75) would be a big step up. If you can, save for something better - Event 20/20's, Yorkvilles, etc... ($300 & up)

5. By now, you're getting pissed because you can't use too many realtime effects on more than 6 or 8 tracks, and destructive edits are a pain in the butt. Time to upgrade the PC.

6. By now you have cute chick singers coming by to lay down tracks. Clean up the beer cans & pizza boxes, and get a LD condenser for vocals - an Oktava or a Marshall won't break the bank.
 
thanks for the suggestions. i know i need a new soundcard and a mic preamp. i am just trying to decide which ones. will monitor speakers be that much of a difference from high quality stereo speaker (4 of them)? i think the software i have is fine, i have 24 tracks i believe it in on guitar tracks pro, and the effects it comes with satisfy me, and i got some add ons already. I also just got sonar. so i think i am good when it comes to software. i am getting a new pc soon, but not yet. i think i will hold off on the vocal mic for a while as i dont do vocals myself (i guess i am too self conscious, or maybe i just know they would sound like crap) and i dont really know anybody who would want to sing for my songs. maybe some of my more rock based songs. but when it gets in the thrash/death/black metal, nobody wants to do those. but when i am listening to king crimson and led zeppelin all day, and make more rock based tracks, somebody might find them acceptable.

anyways, thanks for the help


-Alex
 
might be a problem...

if you are running the sound out of your speaker output of your sound card with a y-cable adapter (left and right audio) to your sony receiver I believe you are losing a little of the sound quality. I think it makes it mono. I may actually be wrong on this so I would like to find out also. I was doing that when I had the system rigged up for watching DVD's on my TV instead of the computer.

looking forward to recordings....i too am trying to find out what i need to get started (the comptuer end that is)
 
Thrakk_Crimson said:
will monitor speakers be that much of a difference from high quality stereo speaker (4 of them)?
-Alex
Click to expand...

Alex,

YES, Even mine I can get an OK mix but when my buddy puts it (my mix) in his system it sounds different, So I'm learning to compensate so to speak.

The two biggest factors that go in to getting an accurate mix, The monitors are one, The actual rooms acoustic that your monitoring in are another. (I'm still at the beginning trying to learn also)

Pre amps -- I have one of the ART tube studio MP V3 pre amp and I use it with my Studio Condenser mic, and I really like. Its only $120 for a tube preamp that sounds really warm.

Later,
Larry
 
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