need help recording

[nekrobassist]

i am trying to start out recording but i am having some problems,what is the best quality(and sells for a good price) recorder i can get that recordes all at once. i no you can record one by one and then overlap them but can irecord a band playing all at once and what equipment would i have to use can i plug a certain mic that records the band all at once into a mixer then direct that into a reel to reel recorder or do i need to hook all my guitars and mics straight into the mixer plese help i am lost.

 

[Markaholic]

theres all sorts of variables you can do..but you need to read these forums and them come back with a little more of a specific question.
For example:
what are you recording?
how many tracks to you wanna record all at once?..(drums usually a minimum of 4)
Do you want to go analog? ( reel to reel or tape deck )
Do you want to go digital?( means record into your PC )
Do you want a stand-alone digital machine ( no PC required )
Do you want it portable? (such as-runs on batteries )
If going the PC route...do you want USB or FIREWIRE or an actual soundcard?
Are you planning on recording using your laptop?
How serious of a recording do you want ( decent quality..ok quality...budget quality)

the list goes on and on my friend! and it can be very addictive and costly!

 

[nekrobassist]

to answer your questions i am looking to record local bands, i want to have a track for every instrument(lead guitar, backup,2 vox,bass,and drums)does that mean i need a mixer with atleast 9 imputs. i want to record on a reel to reel. and i was wondering if from a reel to reel recorder i can hook it up to macintosh laptop and burn cds of my computer i am looking for a system that i can spend around 600 dollars for

 

[felixgk]

Are you thinking of a multi-track reel-to-reel to track each instrument separately or are you thinking or mixing live to a 1/2 or 1/4 track reel-to-reel?
Felix

 

[hueseph]

to answer your questions i am looking to record local bands, i want to have a track for every instrument(lead guitar, backup,2 vox,bass,and drums)does that mean i need a mixer with atleast 9 imputs. i want to record on a reel to reel. and i was wondering if from a reel to reel recorder i can hook it up to macintosh laptop and burn cds of my computer i am looking for a system that i can spend around 600 dollars for

Reel to reel or hard drive recording, I think you are pushing it. Trying to find a decent reel to reel for under $600.00 will be a task in itself. For what you want to do, you should probably look into a used Tascam 1",16track recorder. If you can find one for less than $600.00, let me know. I'll buy it. A 16 channel mixer can be had, brand new for around $400.00. It won't be top of the line but it will work.

In my head however a rule of thumb is the number of channels on a mixer should be at least double the number of channels you can record at one time. That way you have 16 channels as sends, 16 as returns.

Personally, I think analogue is the wrong way to go if you are on a budget. Consider that with all that talk up there, we didn't even consider microphones and cables.

Now think about a digital system. You can get two Delta 44's for under $400.00 US. That's Eight channels of in an out. The hardware comes with Cubase LE and probably ProTools LE now. You still need a decent mixer but you don't have to worry about returns anymore because you can mix right on your laptop. So you could probably pick up a 12 channel mixer for $200.00.

Still need mics and cables.

It's a tough one man.

 

[nekrobassist]

i am talking about recording all at once on a 1/2 track reel to reel.

 

[FALKEN]

you are starting down a long, long road.....

LONG.

If you really, really, really want to do it...

I would go for a used 8 track system, either casette or digital, hard disk. something with a mixer built in. your 8 tracks would be 2 vocals, 3 drums, 2 guitars, 1 bass. if you can run the bass direct, you need 7 mics for the above. herein lies your problem, 7 el cheapo mics with cables is about 700 bucks alone. then you have to think about a way to mix it down, maybe to your pc soundcard? plus you need monitors, which are like 300 minimum. and you need them. I used to use a stereo, I pretty much ruined my hearing and my mixes sucked. so you're looking at probably 2x what you want to spend. you could try to find a 'lot' on ebay of some cheap vintage mics, from a church or something...

you mentioned reel to reel, the tape also costs money so that would also contribute to going beyond your budget. but you could find a cheap mixer and mix that down to a reel to reel recorder, if you could get enough mics and cablesfor about $100...you maybe could stay in budget if you dont count the cost of tape.

 

[Markaholic]

You can get two Delta 44's for under $400.00 US. That's Eight channels of in an out.

Correct me if im wrong but...i dont think you can sync these two together...the delta 66's ya can...but not the 44's

 

[hueseph]

Oops. I fumbled.

Yes in fact you can sync them. Check the site........errrr. Wait I was wrong. I stand corrected, but here is a bit of info from the site.

"The Operating Systems Windows 2000/XP support "KernelSync" and do not necessarily need the external connection using S/PDIF. Delta 44 can only be stacked in these Operating Systems, since this card does not have a S/PDIF connector. For this type of Operation, all cards have to be set to "Multiple Card Sync". "