my ultimate project

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pewing33ny

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hi guys, haven't been on the forum for about of year because i was working on songwriting and practicing my instruments. hey, the perfect recording setup won't make shitty music sound good. heh. anyway, here is a copy-paste of something i did on harmony-central forums and wondering if you guys can help me to.

last year i was about to start a home recording studio but i didn't have the money. this summer i have the money because of HS graduation, getting into college for free and i have most of the musical instruments that i need. now i just need the gear. im goign to try and outline EVERYTHING that i think needs to be known so you guyhs can help me as well as you can. i am probably going to record all the instruments myself and i'll outline teverything that will be used

- peavey wolfgang into marshall jubilee 2x12 combo. this is a great rock/ van halen crunch. going to be used for most songs
- agile les paul into jtm 30. the pickups will be low output and this will be my clean sounds
- acoustic and classical guitar not to be played through amp
- electric bass (not sure what im going to use yet but it won't be anything crazy)

for the stringed instruments im going to mic the amps. i have an sm57 and a stand with a large boom. so this won't be hard to do.

drums - i have an old shitty set. its from the 70's and a junior set and the snare is dead but i could borrow another snare or so.

i am considereing a drum machine though. drums are my main weakness.

i have no idea how to record the drums also. i don't have the mics for it and was maybe goign to do something like just put a few sm57's up to it until i get a decent sounding drumtrack.

other instruments

there will definitely be some piano. my friend has a standup ( i think thats what its called) and i've written many piano parts already. i also have access to a few synthesizers/electric pianos) thing is their not great for an acoustic natural piano sound.

i may record a little violin and a little trumpet. any cheap mics or existing ones that would fit me well for recording these.

im getting a laptop for college and its going to be a gift from the parents for free college. IT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE A LAPTOP. i really have only desktop experience so you guys will need to suggest laptops for me. i don't know if i should get a mac or a PC. also if i should get any accesories like an external harddrive for the music tracks. also what soundcard would be good.

also what software should i get. it is only going to be one track at a time and im not going to crazy effects. i think i may throw some reverb in there and a few small effects but this isn't going to be a backstreet boys cd or anytihing.

also i need a mixer. i would think that 4-6 xlr inputs should be good. (4-6 because of drums if i do live drums and not a machine) im not a recording expert but i know that some mixers have mic preamps. whats a good mixer.

if there is anything else i need please tell me

right now i have
- instruments
- 1 sm57
- 2 mic stands
- 3 mic cables that suck
- i can borrow a fender passport PA system.

this is the money situation. i have about $1000 to spend on
- mics
- cables
- mixer
- preamp if i need one
- software
- anything needed to be bought besides the laptop

i dont care if the stuff is used or new. whatever is best for me.

id also like to say that im not a recording expert. i want to spend the summer recording and then burn a cd. i have a few friends who will help me record while i play.

i'd like to say thank you to all who respond and ill be checking back everyday to answer any questions that can help you help me have a nice little studio/recording setup going.
 
i've been looking around and getting help from other boards and here are a few things im looking at.

It's hard to find a USB 2.0 or firewire interface thats cheap. The only thing i have found was the delta 410 firewire which is due to ship in about a month.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...2127265248/g=rec/search/detail/base_id/101466

do you think that this will fit me well.


also i need headphones. i'm not sure if i would need moniters also or if i could get away without moniters if i use the headphones.
 
One important question--is this for home or the college dorm room? I'd try to think beyond this summer because you'll probably want to record for a long time. I did my first 4 track recording freshman year of college, that was 15 years ago.

A dorm is a noisy environment, so you want to go direct as much as possible. I had a 2x12 cab in my college dorm room, and that was just totally unnecessary. Maybe if your Peavey head has a line out, use that into your board to avoid the need for the cabinet.

Your 57 works for vocals, snare drum, and guitar amps, get the windscreen Shure makes for it for vocals. Get a quality small diaphragm condenser for acoustic strings, I use the Shure SM81 but there are less expensive mics that are popular here too. Wait a minute and somebody will recommend them. Get a pair of them along with a kick drum mic (I use the Shure B52) if you want to do live drums.

Do your acoustic tracking late at night when the dorm is quiet, or at 11 am when everybody else is in class (btw, the goal of college is to schedule all of your classes Tues & Thurs afternoon) . . . OR here is my best hint ever--see if the music department will let you use their practice rooms during off hours. If not, maybe consider signing up for a music class like Intro Music Theory to get access. Freshman-level music classes are usually open to non music majors.

I'd look at getting the little Mackie mixer, the 1202 I think, it has 4 good quality mic preamps.

It's going to be tough to monitor in a dorm room. Walls are usually concrete block, and your neighbors will get annoyed listening to the same track 3 hours straight. Plus you'll have the bleed from everybody else's stereo too. I'd use headphones in the dorm for tracking, and maybe some rough mix work until you are sure a monitoring setup is OK there. Maybe set up your monitors at home and do your mixdowns during breaks. One monitor that might work for you is the Mackie 624, it's small and has its own amps.

For headphones I use the Sony MDR-V600s, but again, there are many popular choices in the $70-$100 range or so.

OK, along with better cables and stands, I think I spent most of your $1000. The computer stuff I don't keep up with so somebody else can help you there.
 
the recording setup is going to be mostly at home. I probably will do some recording at the dorm but just acoustic guitar and vocals. I also am getting a guitarport for electric ideas and noodling around. I also would have to bring my laptop to a drummers house for recording of the acostic piano.

The drums will be done in a dummers basement or my garage. Also the electric and acoustic guitar, bass will be miced. (acoustic will not be through the amp).

The drums don't have to be the best quality. I was going to do something like a bass drum mic, sm57 on snare and maybe a pari of rode nt5's for the cymbals/toms/room. Also the nt5's can be useful for the acoustic guitar and piano(i think, plus stereo mics can be useful in the future, please tell me)

For vocals i was thinking of a sm57 or maybe a nt1.

I don't know what to do for a compressor. Can I get it with software or do i need a standalone thing.

For monitering I may just use headphones to save some cash for a while. I don't have anywhere at home or dorm room which will be good for monitering so I'll save my money for now.
 
You can use software compression unless you play the drums with too large of a dynamic range, then you'd need to compress before you send to computer. Well you wouldn't HAVE to, but otherwise you'd lose the quieter sounds.

For now just learn how compression works in software, during mixing which is mostly where it gets used.

Can't say whether or not to buy another vocal mic than the SM57. Depends on how much like or don't like it and how fast you need to get all the gear you want. If you had to choose between a kick mic and a vocal mic you really liked, I'd probably go with the vocal, but that's just me. Try asking a specific mic question on the microphone board, or better yet search the archive for the mic you're thinking about.
 
GuitarPort is pretty good for direct stuff, just like a pod, but cheaper ($150?).

The new version has a tube preamp setting that is pretty good for acoustic guitar stuff, but depends on your acoustic pickup. Its great for quiet recording though but sounds like its cranked in a huge room on the recording, no worries about background noise and you can go direct into your computer. Its perfect for dorm or in my case, apartment with very thin walls... Headphones are my best friend.

www.guitarport.com
 
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