need help with basic setup

B

burndog

New member
I've read a fair bit, but am still confused as to what I need to get started.

I only need to be able to record a maximum of two tracks at a time (likely guitar/vocals) I have various guitars...electric, acoustic and classical. I also have a Roland EM-15 keyboard.

I will be using an older computer (AMD athlon 1800 with 1.5GB of ram) The following is what I am thinking of...

m-audio 2496 PCI card
m-audio DMP3 preamp
shure SM57 for micing an amp
studio projects B1 for acoustic guitar and vocals
reaper software

I don't expect professional sound, but I would like decent sound (and understand that good sound engineering practice means alot. ) I will likely be recording in my small office...not the best I know, but it is what I have to work with.

Will the above list of equipment be enough to get me started, and am I missing anything?
 
You can start that way with what you have ...... I suggest you do a Guitar track first and then do the vocal track , it will let you concentrate on playing the guitar part to get it right and it will eliminate any bleed from the vocals to the guitar mic .......


Cheers


PS: that Athalon PC should work fine for recording , I use a 2.4ghz celeron D with 512mb ram and I record up to 8 tracks at a time ......
 
Thanks Minion, I'm pretty new to this, so I am not sure how to ask, but regarding the PCI card, will there be a difference between the older 2496 and the 2496 4/4 or 2496-192. I assume the 192 would be more versatile, but would I be able to make use of the newer technology with my older computer?

Also, I've read that noise can be an issue with some cards without a breakout box. Would the original m-audio 2496 cause problems in this area?
 
I don't have noise problems with the 2496 Audiophile at all, and my PC is as noisy as they come. No problems with the breakout cable either.
 
good to hear diggy_dude. Is my choice of equipment a good one considering my small budget. My reasoning for my choices of the 2496 and dmp3 pre amp is that drivers should be solid and I'm thinking the preamp should be of better quality than what is included in cheaper USB/firewire audio interfaces. And since I am only laying down 1 or 2 tracks max at a time, I shouldn't need a mixer, right?

As far as mics go, I have heard the sm57 is a great starter for micing a guitar amp. Most of what I would record would likely be acoustic though, and I am still undecided about what to do for recording acoustic and vocals. Any suggestions, keeping in mind that the 2496 and DMP3 are only going to be so good. I don't want to buy a BMW mic to pair with a VW card/preamp. I have read whitestrats awesome thread about recording acoustic with two condensors and was thouroughly impressed, but simply can not afford more than about $250 for the acoustic side of things.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, and thanks so much everyone for you help so far.
 
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