Need recording equipment suggestions

[indianajones]

Have limited budget, looking for best suggestions on what to buy - either PC based system or stand-alone digital recorder. I only have around $1500 to spend initially, and my current PC is not up to snuff. If I buy a new PC, by the time I get the PC ($700), interface ($300-500), decent mic ($300), decent monitors ($300-400), plus cables, software etc., I am up over $2K. If If get a stand alone digital recorder ($500-600), mic ($300), monitors ($300-400), plus cables, etc. I could bring it in around $1400-$1500, but I suppose I would be limited in what I could do without the ability to mix and add effects, etc. w/o a PC. Any suggestions?

Signed - New to recording and confused.....

 

[TylerDrums109]

Slow down there big guy...don't go headfirst into purchasing equipment until you really know what you want and what will suit the job you need done the best...if you are recording rock groups this is what you might want to do....I would stick with the computer you already have if i were you....just upgrade the ram and clean out the hard drive and im sure you'll be fine....this will save you alot of money...now assuming you have amps and guitars and drums lets start with mics...the first mic i will recommend is the SM57 this is a great mic you can get on the cheap that you can use to record snare drums and guitar cabs...for vocals your probably gonna want a large diaphragm condenser...recording bass you can go on two paths or use a mix of the both...micing the bass cabinet with a nice kick drum mic always works...but you could also go into a DI Box then into an interface....for drums the minimal you will need is a mic for the snare (the sm57 you will already have will work) a mic for the kick (a mic like the D-6 or the beta 52A will work) and for overheads to pick up the whole kit get yourself some small diaphragm condensers(stereo pair)...now that you have a basic good mic setup your gonna want some sort of preamp/preamp interface.....whatever you buy is really up to you on this one...but since you said you have about 300-400$ get something nice...preferable something that has many inputs and can connect to your computer via usb or firewire cable...once in your computer your gonna need some software to record your incoming sounds...do some research before you decide...if you can afford a pro tools set up get one...otherwise pretty much any software will work and give you descent results...for monitors..again read around and decide what you think is best for you...anything else outside of what i already described is extras...if you feel the need to have hardware compressors and effect processors research into some of those...but what i have already described is a good solid setup that will work for anyone...but again dont take what i have said to heart as i am far from an expert on any of this...good luck...if theres one thing i do know about recording...its that the options are never ending...no one does it the same way as the next...have fun

 

[Chili]

I'll agree with Tyler on not getting a new pc just yet. What exactly are you looking to do?? Record just yourself?? Start a project studio?? Record a band?? What instruments?? And how many at one time??

There's pro's and con's for both PC and Stand-Alone. I've done both and prefer PC recording much more so than a stand alone box. There's many reasons already stated in the forum and you can do a search. But the biggest one is ease of use.

What are the specs on your computer?

Cheers (and welcome)

 

[NYMorningstar]

Take a look at a Tascam 2488neo, it'll do all you need and leave you money for some nice mics.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

If you go the PC route, you don't need anywhere near as much PC as most people think. For years I could edit hi-res video and mix 20-25 tracks of 24-bit audio with VST plugs with absolutely no problems on a 450MHz Pentium III with 384MB RAM - an outright Model T Ford by today's standards. The only thing I had some problems with were the performance of some convolution reverb plugs, and (in later days) running Reaper, both of which are major CPU hogs.

But other than those exceptions, the only reason people seem to think they need super PCs is because they have sloppy work habits and don't lock the tracks they are not currently editing. Because of this, they are askingt heir CPU to run a hundred different plug instances at the same time, which will bog any CPU down soon enough.

Stick with something like Adobe Audition, Cubase or Vegas Studio as your DAW software, and develop good work habits early and lock tracks that you are not currently working on, and you'd be surprised how little CPU you actually need to do professional work.

People look at me like I'm nuts, but it's the truth: ten years ago, we used to edit and produce broadcast digital (D1) video and multitrack audio productions on 90MHz Pentium I machines running WinNT4. These machines were used regularly by WGN-TV, The Muppets (Jim Henson Productions) and many Hollywood-based movie editors, just for some examples. So when I hear someone say they need a 3GHz, dual-core, blah blah blah nuclear-powered PC just to mix their garage band, I just gotta laugh and tell them not to be so goddamned wasteful with their CPU cycles.

G.

 

[mixsit]

Take a look at a Tascam 2488neo, it'll do all you need and leave you money for some nice mics.

$750. 80gig 8x24 simultaneous, from Tascam (did they ever make junk? not that I'm aware). Damn we got it good these days.