Need advice...

[uhhuhhim]

Hi,

I am new to this forum.

I have been playing and writing my own songs for four years now, and I would like to purchase a digital multitrack recorder. I can record my songs with my computer using cakewalk home studio, but there is always too much background noise in the finished recordings. So, I thought I would consider buying a digital recorder to improve the quality of the sound.

I know that this problem can probably be fixed by buying a new sound card or microphone, but I like the idea of having a small, portable unit to record with.

I have been looking at the products on http://www.samash.com but I feel overwhelmed and don't know what all of it means.

The digital fostex recorders seem cheap, but I like the looks of the Boss models, specifically the BR-864. The only thing I don't like about the Fostex 8-track (the famous red one) is that you don't have a lot of recording time. I need something that's at least going to give me 5:00 minutes per song max.

Fostex vs. Boss - which is better?

I am looking for something affordable, between $300-500. I know that I will have to pay extra for additional accesories, which brings me to my next set of questions:

What kind of microphone do I buy? and is it supposed to plug into the machine? Do I need to purchase a separate cord for the microphone to plug in to the machine?

What kind of cord do I need to buy in order to plug my guitar into the input jack?

What kind of headphones do I need to purchase, and can they act as a monitoring device, which will elimate the need for monitor speakers?

Like I said, I am looking for something cheap, something that will allow me to create drum tracks too. I want it to be simple as well.

Any infomation, opinion, personal experience or advice you can gie would be helpful.

I would really like to talk one on one with somebody too, preferably AIM.

If you would like to help me, here are my screen names:

AIM - uhhuhhim1
Yahoo - uhhuhhim
MSN Messenger: lion_cobra@hotmail.com or screen name uhhuhhim.

Thanks,

uhhuhhim.

 

[MichaelM]

What kind of microphone do I buy?
This really depends on what exactly you want to record, as there is no one mic for everything. If you're recording guitar and some vox I would start with an SM57 and expand the mic collection as you go.

and is it supposed to plug into the machine? Do I need to purchase a separate cord for the microphone to plug in to the machine?
Yes, it should plug into the machine. The microphones use XLR leads, which have a big round plug with three pins in it. Depending on the recorder you buy, you may need an XLR to 1/4" converter if the recorder doesn't have an XLR input.

What kind of cord do I need to buy in order to plug my guitar into the input jack?
A regular guitar lead should do the trick. Most of those recorders have a guitar input on them somewhere.

What kind of headphones do I need to purchase, and can they act as a monitoring device, which will elimate the need for monitor speakers?
Any headphones will do, I'd go for something with good isolation from outside noise. They *can* be used for monitoring, but really headphones are not the thing to use for mixing.

Hope that helps a bit..

 

[manning1]

uhuhuhuh etc..
if your getting background noise in your recordings getting another recorder
wont necessarily fix that. this is sometimes symptomatic of useing a bad sound card that came with your pc.
if you detail in full your pc configuration and your sound card and mics and mixer used, it would help me help you.

 

[uhhuhhim]

Thanks for your info, everybody. Very informative. I have just one more question: If you were me, what brand of recorder would you purchase? There are so many different kinds with so many different features. What would be the best for a beginner???

Hope to read more advice soon.

Thanks,

uhhuhhim

 

[manning1]

if your recording to a pc . i dont know what you have now...
anyway....heres some usefull tutorials.
http://www.garys.web.st/midibasics.htm
http://www.garys.web.st/basicintro.htm