Need Help & Opinions On Planned $250 Recording Setup Before Buying

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ArcticWolf

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Ok so I haven't been introduced into the Digital recording world that much, and I've always wanted to do it as a kind of hobby. I mostly play guitar and was hoping to mix that in with my recordings as well as some video recordings as well. I was looking for a setup where I could be able to plug in both my electric guitars as well as have a mic for vocal/audio recordings, to be used for video commentary and my with acoustic guitar. All within a desk home environment.

The main problem I have is if my laptop could be able to handle the setup I chose? I've looked around and read reviews on a lot of different microphones and audio interfaces to find ones that were affordable but could provide me a decent and clear sound, and have the option to expand later on with other equipment. And if anyone has suggestions on what they feel would be a better fit for my needs around the same or lower price point, please tell me.

I will be using my Acer Aspire V5-571-6891 Laptop for all of my recording purposes.

Here is the microphone and audio interface, as well as needed accessories for the mic, that I chose to go with due to my budget and my needs:

Studio Projects B1 Vocal Condenser Microphone, Cardioid $119.99

On Stage DS7200B Adjustable Desk Microphone Stand, Black $12.95

Hosa Cable MCL103 Series Microphone Cables - 3 Foot $6.81

Alesis IO2 Express 24-Bit USB Recording Interfacep $74.00

The total is around $250 with tax, I want to here everyone opinion on this simple setup, as anything could help with my decision.
 
I think if you shop around, you may find a better used audio interface - the only reason I suggest this is that I notice the Alesis is USB-buss powered, and I have read here of a number of folks having problems with buss-powered interfaces when used with laptops.

I'd recommend a longer mic cable than 3 ft, too - what is it, another $3 for a 10 ft one?
 
Ditto on the desk mic stand. Useful in control room talk back, but not much good in an actual recording situation.

Oh, and save more... my usual advice...:D
 
mjbphotos said:
I think if you shop around, you may find a better used audio interface - the only reason I suggest this is that I notice the Alesis is USB-buss powered, and I have read here of a number of folks having problems with buss-powered interfaces when used with laptops.

I'd recommend a longer mic cable than 3 ft, too - what is it, another $3 for a 10 ft one?
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Ok thanks for the heads up, I'll look around for a used audio interface, as for it not being usb, that would be rather hard since my laptop doesn't have a firewire port.

As for the 3-inch cable, a looked at a lot of the 6ft and 10ft cable for around $10 to $15 and the reviews just werent that great, while this one was rated rather high even for its short length, and the length wouldnt be a problem for me because I'll be having both the mic and audio interface on or near my desk, so they wont be too far away from each other, plus a shorter loop always allows for less signal loss, even if its a small difference such as 3ft vs 10ft, especially if I'm not going to utilize that extra length all that much, unless I went and bought a standing mic stand.
 
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"Acer Aspire V5-571-689"

OOER! That's a a W8 laptop. Going for a second hand AI could therefore be fraught. One that stands the best chance of working IMO is the M-Audio Fast track Pro (ALL those words in the title please, there are cheap variations).

Now, no doubt some one will tell me THEIR Alesis AI is the best thing since bread *** cut but I have read many reports of clicky latency problems and driver issues.

Who said "save more"? Damn right! Then try a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6, most solid drivers I have ever known. But whatever you get (new) make sure there is a get out clause because W8 can be a bother with some AIs (we have had all this with Blista. WTNL!) .

As for laptops powering AI's? That's what they are supposed to do! I have had a Fttpro, Tascams 122 and 144, and now the Ka6. I have used them all on 3 different laptops (one Vista bizz) and no power problems at all. I dare say I have read of such in the last 7 years, but not often.

Dave. Hey! What's with the censorship? I was being "clever" not crude. The word *** was "see you em" Spoiled the whole damn flow!
 
ArcticWolf said:
Ok thanks for the heads up, I'll look around for a used audio interface, as for it not being usb, that would be rather hard since my laptop doesn't have a firewire port.

As for the 3-inch cable, a looked at a lot of the 6ft and 10ft cable for around $10 to $15 and the reviews just werent that great, while this one was rated rather high even for its short length, and the length wouldnt be a problem for me because I'll be having both the mic and audio interface on or near my desk, so they wont be too far away from each other, plus a shorter loop always allows for less signal loss, even if its a small difference such as 3ft vs 10ft, especially if I'm not going to utilize that extra length all that much, unless I went and bought a standing mic stand.
Click to expand...

You misunderstood me - look for an interface that uses a wallwart for AC power.
Signal loss for a mic cable comparing 3 ft to 10 ft? Negligible. Get a longer one now, and a boom stand while you're at it. You'll thank yourself (and me) in a couple of months/years!

And ecc is right about Windows 8 - lot of folks having issues here running it for recording situations.
 
ecc83 said:
"Acer Aspire V5-571-689"

OOER! That's a a W8 laptop. Going for a second hand AI could therefore be fraught. One that stands the best chance of working IMO is the M-Audio Fast track Pro (ALL those words in the title please, there are cheap variations).

Now, no doubt some one will tell me THEIR Alesis AI is the best thing since bread *** cut but I have read many reports of clicky latency problems and driver issues.

Who said "save more"? Damn right! Then try a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6, most solid drivers I have ever known. But whatever you get (new) make sure there is a get out clause because W8 can be a bother with some AIs (we have had all this with Blista. WTNL!) .

As for laptops powering AI's? That's what they are supposed to do! I have had a Fttpro, Tascams 122 and 144, and now the Ka6. I have used them all on 3 different laptops (one Vista bizz) and no power problems at all. I dare say I have read of such in the last 7 years, but not often.

Dave. Hey! What's with the censorship? I was being "clever" not crude. The word *** was "see you em" Spoiled the whole damn flow!
Click to expand...

LOL! Shit!

As far as the length of mic cable, I have a 100' snake that I bought for $100 that I use in the studio every day. The only issues you will find with cables is the ends not being up to singers swinging the mic around, pretending to be a rock star. I would trust a HOSA $10 cable in a home studio application.
 
I agree with everything said above.

You need a floor stand with a boom arm to aid positioning rather than a desk stand. There's no way you could get a decent mic position on a guitar with a desk stand.

You also need a longer cable. If any review is claiming AUDIO differences between different mic cables/lengths of cable they're selling you a bottle of snake oil. The differences between a $10 cable and a $40 one are longevity, reliability and handling properties when you coil it. Ten feet should be your minimum length--even that's a bit short when you start trying to find the place in the room that sounds best for recording--and, unlike the cable, this DOES make a big difference.

The Studio Projects mic is fine, though it's a slightly old design. Some of the more modern models at the same price might be a bit better now.

Can you live with a single mic input interface? If so, the Lexicon Alpha is even cheaper than the Alesis but does a good job--I have a friend in the UK who uses the Alpha for regular broadcast work.

For your voice recordings, you'll likely need a pop screen whatever mic and stand you choose.

Finally, you haven't mentioned software. Is that taken care of or do you need to find some more cash?
 
I've used the Lexicon alpha too, works fine. You can get them for 40bucks on ebay. That will save you some dough to get a better mic stand and cable. Try music123 on ebay, best prices on stands and the quality is good.

lexicon alpha in Pro Audio Equipment | eBay

Also what DAW software are you planning to use? The Alpha comes with a basic version of Cubase.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone.

I just won the bid on a used Studio Projects B1 for $55 so I have quiet a bit of extra cash to maybe get a better interface that would work better with W8 or like you guys suggested I should be able to get a decent boomstick & a longer cable, as well as a pop filter.

If anyone has any suggestions on a good audio interface that have experience with using it with W8, would help a lot, I should be able to spend a bit more on the AI, and I do want to keep in 2 channels/input because I would like to use either 2 mics eventually or use both a mic and guitar at the same time.

As for what DAW I'll I currently have the LE4, yes I know its old, but if I were to look for another one, I would probably want to look at the Pro Tools Express, so maybe looking at AI's that come with that would be a good idea?
 
If you are comfortable with Cubase, LE 5 and 6 are out there with new interface purchase. Le 4 had some serious issues IME. LE5 is much more stable.

I have not yet heard if the Lexicon Alpha drivers work with W8. Worked great with W7. It comes with Cubase LE5
 
The download section of the Lexicon site says their driver is W8 compatible. I have no personal experience (most of the people I know wouldn't touch Windows 8 with a barge pole) but since Lexicon is a Harman company they tend to be pretty trustworthy.
 
Well the Lexicon is cheap and would allow for me to spend a bit more on a boomstick and other accessories, I haven't seen many great reviews on the product, I understand that it is cheaper and you get what you paid for, but with the extra cash that I saved with the mic I got, I might want to go with something a little more reliable. But if any of you have good experience with the Lexicon Alpha, I would love to hear about it, as it might change my mind to get it, seeing that it is compatible with W8.
 
Ok PDP you're right, the Alpha is a no go, no phantom power, so I wouldn't be able to use the Studio Projects B1 Condenser Mic I bought. I'll take a look at the UR22 but I'm worried about driver compatibility for W8, I was looking for interfaces that have W8 compatible drivers, I found a site that listed off W8 compatible AI's and I didn't see the ur22 in that list.

Windows 8 Audio Interface Compatibility

Avid

Eleven Rack
Mbox
Mbox Mini
Mbox Pro
Digi 002/003

Cakewalk

VS-100

Focusrite

Forte Liquid
Saffire 56
Saffire Pro 14
Saffire Pro 24
Saffire Pro 24DSP
Saffire Pro 40
Scarlett 18i20 (except Windows RT)
Scarlett 18i6
Scarlett 18i8
Scarlett 2i2
Scarlett 2i4
Scarlett 8i6
Scarlett Studio (except Windows RT)

Lexicon

Alpha

Lynx

L22
LT-FW
LynxTWO
AES16
AES16e
LT-USB

M-Audio

M-Track
M-Track Plus

Motu

Hybrid FireWire/USB2 Audio Interfaces
USB MIDI Interfaces
USB audio interfaces
Fire Wire and USB2 audio interfaces
PCI-424 audio interfaces

Native Instruments

All Products

Presonus

AudioBox USB
AudioBox 22VSL
AudioBox 44VSL
AudioBox 1818VSL
FaderPort 1.3.5
FireStudio Lightpipe
FireStudio Mobile
FireStudio Project
FireStudio Tube
StudioLive 16.0.2
StudioLive 16.4.2
StudioLive 24.4.2

RME

Firewire series
HDSP and HDSPe cards
USB series

Roland

Duo-Capture
Tri-Capture
Quad-Capture
Octa-Capture

Steinberg

CI Series
MR816
UR28M

TASCAM

US-122mkii
US-2000
US-144mkii
US-200
US-600
US-1800

TC Electronic

Desktop Konnekt 6
Impact Twin
Studio Konnekt 48
 
I would totally go with the Steinberg UR22 if that is in your budget. It is W8 compatible.

I just upgraded to two UR824's and am amazed how much better the preamps are than the Tascam US1800 I was using. The Lexicon Alpha worked for me years ago, but nothing to compare to a better interface. The UR22 is said to have the same pre's (D-Pre) as my unit. A much better choice IMO.
 
Well I looked at a comparison sheet on Steinbergs website of the Cl2 vs UR22, the only differences I saw were that it had a slightly lower Dynamic Range, and Frequency Range is only up to 20kh vs 22kh for the UR22, oh as well as the Maximum sample rate being 48kh with the CI vs 192kh the UR22 has, but really for everything I'll be doing i probably wont need more than a sample rate of 48kh.

As for not having a midi port, now that most midi tools are used via usb, I don't feel it will be much of a problem in the future. The only difference that really worries me is that the CI series utilizes USB 1.1 vs the normal 2.0 I'm not sure how drastic of a difference there is in that, but if someone could give me an idea, then it would be greatly appreciated.

But ya as far as the differences in usb, I'm kind of leaning towards the CL2, also I found a shop thats selling it for $88, also if I were to spend $150 on an AI I think I would rather go with the M-Audio M-Track Plus, than the UR22
 
You go with what moves you man. I am just giving my opinion. I could be an idiot. How would you know? lol
 
jimmys69 said:
You go with what moves you man. I am just giving my opinion. I could be an idiot. How would you know? lol
Click to expand...

Well I do appreciate the recommendation, I was just curious is all about the difference between the 2, but now after doing some research between ubs 1.1 and 2.0 for AI I think I'll keep looking and keep the UR22 and M-Track Plus in mind. Lol and trust me you couldn't be more of an idiot than me when it comes to recording, which is why I'm trying to get as much info as possible so I don't feel too much like an idiot down the road in a couple of years when i realize what bad choices I made in terms of equipment when starting out XD
 
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