My recording setup.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guitarraine
  • Start date Start date
G

Guitarraine

New member
I have just ordered all of the below! After reading these and other forums for a while I decided to go with this setup. Its probably lacking, so if anyone has some criticism let it flow!

New computer.
Amd 2500+
1g ram
80gb hd
etc

Gear:
RNC and RNP(was thinking DMP3, but said wth.)
Audiophile 2496

Mics:
SM57
C-1

CEP 2.0



*Do i need a separate A/D converter, or will hooking the rnc directly into the SoundCard work fine?
*Anything else I need? Recording micd-amp guitar, Bass, Vocals, acoustic, all with mic direct into the rnp.
Basically its all going into the rnp-rnc-card-cep.
 
Nice set-up. The AD/DA converters on the Audiophile are very good. No need at this point for anything better IMO. Might want to pick up a pair of SDCs like the Octava MC012s or Marshall MXL603s for stereo recording acoustic instruments. At some point you may want to add a multi-pattern LDC.
 
Definately a good start. Be forewarned that it isnt usually the lack of gear, but the lack of knowledge and persistance in using the gear. Ive found I, too often, automatically think I need better gear when I just need to better use the gear I have
 
you should definitly be able to make decent sounding stuff with that? but whats your monitor section like? amp, speakers? this seems to be a very underrated part around these parts in the studio, when its probably the single most important.
 
Teacher makes an excellent point. If you don't already have at least a decent monitoring system ($400-$500), that's probably the best place to put your money now.
 
Scinx said:
...Be forewarned that it isnt usually the lack of gear, but the lack of knowledge and persistance in using the gear. Ive found I, too often, automatically think I need better gear when I just need to better use the gear I have
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this and many people I know think they need better gear to sound good when all they really need is to actually learn how to play the damn instrument.

I claim to know little about recording besides the things I read in guitar mags, various recording/sound mags, and on forums and the like. I have reached the extent of the recording potential of my 5$ computer mic and my integrated sound card. Persistance will not be a problem as I love music and everything about musical sound(I also have 2 bands going on at the moment and we are trying to cut some plausable demos). I have been tinkering with guitar amps/vocal/bass/just about everything and always trying to find the way they sound best(Or best for certain musical desires). I have always recognized quality sound(Pretty biased I know) and have tried to reproduce it.

I want to start off with recording gear that I can grow into, but I can also, once I discover every single thing about it, record some excellent sound with the right knowledge and not be unpleased about its range of usefulness. Basically, I don't want to end up in 6 months with gear that has reached its potential and is moderate sounding at best.

On that note, anything you guys can tell me about the stuff I mentioned, or point me to posts with good info on it then that would be great.(I have already read a lot about this Equip. but there is always something to learn!)

Teacher said:
but whats your monitor section like? amp, speakers? this seems to be a very underrated part around these parts in the studio, when its probably the single most important.
Click to expand...

Amps(guitar) I use to record are a Peavey classic 50 4/10, Marshall JCM 800 through a marshall cab(cel-75).
Guitars - 60's fender strat and American Stan Strat. Gibson The Paul II, Garrison Acoustic, and an old Ibanez and a few others.

Now this is still a Trickey bit for me. My monitor section is basically a pair of headphones coming directly from my computers soundcard. I agree that to actually record good sound you need to be able to hear exactly what it sounds like coming from some quality monitors. How me and my fellow guitarist/recording partner in the making approach it is we record something(on our 5$ mic at the moment) and then burn it on a cd and put it in a CD player. This is not a very good way I know because it hardly has a flat EQ so it is impossible to balance things correctly(This is one of the things I 'assume' is a problem with this).

This is probably one of the things I know very little about.

'multi-pattern LDC' also I have no idea what this is.


Thank you for your replies so far, I appreciate this help greatly, and any more you have to give would be excellent.



-Jon
 
You really want to stay away from monitoring with headphones since you normally <guessing> don't listen to music through the headphones. You can't hear what it REALLY will sound like through a normal setup. Its like picking a new paint color in floresant lighting and taking it home and wondering why it looks completely different than in the store.

Burning to a CD then taking elsewhere is not a bad way to go<at first>, it just gets costly and time consuming. If you are used to how the system sounds with professional mixes, you could try and match your mixes to those but that will only get you so far. Still a better option than with the headphones though.

If you are getting to a point where you want to invest in some better equipment <so it seems> then its time to get some decent monitors. It just goes with the territory.

Ron
 
yeah i think you might benefit from a mixer, choose a yamaha MG for cheap money but better quality than you know who.

some SDCs might be good, avoid AKG C1000S, Oktavas seem to be very well liked.

then monitors. already covered but you def need them!! if you need some headphones with better isolation than whatever you've got for tracking (i.e. less bleed between tracks) then look at Harvey's ones:

http://moreme.info

nice setup other than that. the soundcard can stick with you even if you choose to expand in the future.
 
LDC = large diaphragm condenser.

You need some mixing monitors.
 
If I did get a mixer(and it does sound like an excellent idea. I realize now I would have eventually needed one soon.) would it eliminate the necessity of the RNP? Perhaps there could be a quality difference between the mixers Pre's and the RNP that makes it worth getting both?

If you could point me a specific post or just want to tell me what Monitors have been good to you in the past then that would be great :).

And actually we use a rw-cd to preview our music on a really good cd player, so it cost us nothing!(but I do not plan to continue this process)
 
The mixer idea, IMO, is a bad one. You already have a front end to the sound card, the RNP, and it will have better preamps than any budget mixer. Unless you need a bunch of additional cheap pres, a mixer is not needed, and you wouldn't want to run the RNP through a mixer. That would accomplish nothing.
 
Guitarraine said:
If I did get a mixer(and it does sound like an excellent idea. I realize now I would have eventually needed one soon.) would it eliminate the necessity of the RNP? Perhaps there could be a quality difference between the mixers Pre's and the RNP that makes it worth getting both?
Click to expand...

You could get away without buying the RNP if you bought a mixer, but like you pointed out, there could/would be a difference in the sound quality. I think if your trying to save money at this point you should go with the mixer and a set of monitors.

As for monitors alot of people on this board rave about the Yorkvilles and the maudio's. Try doing a search for those monitors on this board for more info.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top