Need to know EVERYTHING

[JohanGoode995]

Hey, im a 15 year old kid in a band called Skyline 48, we have been paying to go to a recording studio but want to try out home recordings. Here is my limited knowledge and equipment:

Have:
several computers
a couple mics
drumset, guitar, bass, keyboard, amps, ect
couple mic cables and 1/4'' cables
and a room with an adjoining room to be used as a booth.


Know:
need monitors (debating between M-Audio Studiophile AV30 Professional Reference Speakers or Ion Powered Conversion Speakers Pair Nic)
need more mics and stands
Need an Interface, looking at the Presonus FP10(seemingly better quality) or the Lexicon Omega(seemingly cheaper)
Need a DAW, probably Reaper

Want to know:
what kind of mics should i use?
what is best for soundproofing a room?
what am i missing?
and everything else!

please help me!

 

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and user-tested suggestions that work: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)
Another good article: Choosing an audio interface - http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep08/articles/audiointerfaces.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Sony ACID Express (free 10-track sequencer): http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/
Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

'Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll eat forever...'

 

[FunkDaddy]

Why do you have several computers with Pro Tools when you don't know anything about recording?

p.s. You don't need a mixer. You're missing the more important item if you're going to a PC system. You need an interface. Some mixers can interface via USB or Firewire...the one you've set your sights on, doesn't.

 

[dintymoore]

Know:
need a mix board (probably gonna get a Behringer UB802 Eurorack UB802 Mixer with 8 Inputs)
...

You don't needa mixer, especially a cheap piece of junk like a Behringer. Behringers are only good enough for small gigs! People see mixers on tv and think you need one - you don't and unless you are spending in the tens of thousands what you'll get will be far inferior to using the ones built into a computer program.

 

[JohanGoode995]

Why do you have several computers with Pro Tools when you don't know anything about recording?

My drummers dad is a band teacher and has a small crappy studio at the school he works at, so thats why i have access to pro-tools.

p.s. You don't need a mixer. You're missing the more important item if you're going to a PC system. You need an interface. Some mixers can interface via USB or Firewire...the one you've set your sights on, doesn't.

so instead of a mixer, i need an interface. got it. do you have one to recommend?

also, building this thing up is going to be a slow process, so what is more important and what is less?

 

[dintymoore]

If you search on this site for "interface" you see lots of stuff that's good to read. That, along with mic and lava lamp questions dominate this forum.

Interfaces: I'm using a POS M-Audio Delta 1010LT that you can get for $80. It has no phantom powering and is probably one of the worst ones out there. That being said it actually sounds good. I would like to buy a Yamaha MR816 as it appears to be a poor man's way of getting into the pro interface level that would have been $1000 - 3000 a year ago.

I've used a Lexicon Omega and it's a bargain. I've seen those sell for peanuts.

Some of it depends on how many tracks you want to record at once. Figure four mics on drums minimum. Some interfaces like the ones I've mentioned let you use more than one at a time, so you can increase inputs that way.

Look at the interfaces and see how many mic pre's it has. That's how many mics you can use at once.

Presonus stuff is good.

I try to buy used if I can.

As far as importance, the computer and interface aren't near as important as the mic. You hear it more in the end, way more.

 

[5stringer]

First of all, make sure the computer you are using can handle the application. I'm running Windows 7 64bit on a new Sony Vaio w/ i7 processor with 4GB RAM - Cubase 5 and M-Audio Profire 2626. To date, I haven't had a single issue while recording 8 tracks of drums simultaneously or when mixing with eq, comp, and plugins on various tracks. Also make sure you have plenty of hard drive space. Memory is cheap and projects can be very large!

 

[stevieb]

My drummers dad is a band teacher and has a small crappy studio at the school he works at, so thats why i have access to pro-tools.

I'll bet it is not as small and crapy as you think- it is probably adjacent to the band room- there you go, a large room for your band, and a control room. I'd also bet good money it includes a mixer and/or interface, some mics, decent sound proofing and treatment (sound proofing is to keep the sound either in the room so it does not disturb the neighbors, or out of the room so you don't end up recording a bunch of junk like trains and trucks rumbling by. Sound treatment is to catch and de-fang the bad sounds the room would otherwise emphasize...)

If his dad is willing to risk his job, or has carte blanche to allow you to use the computers, I would think he would let you use the studio and band room, too.

 

[5stringer]

+1 What Stevieb said

 

[FunkDaddy]

so instead of a mixer, i need an interface. got it. do you have one to recommend?

also, building this thing up is going to be a slow process, so what is more important and what is less?

Most important is the interface, because that is how the sound gets to your computer. The only one I can personally recommend is M-Audio Firewire 1814. 2 XLR inputs and plenty of line inputs. It hasn't let me down. But if you are looking to record drums, you'll need something with more XLR inputs. I think the Presonus Firepod has 8.

After that, most important is the DAW software, I'd recommend Reaper. You can try the full uncrippled program for free and pay when you decide you want to keep it. Pro Tools handcuffs you to certain hardware.

 

[JohanGoode995]

If his dad is willing to risk his job, or has carte blanche to allow you to use the computers, I would think he would let you use the studio and band room, too.

We have used it before, its pretty bad. Well, not horrible, but nowhere near as good as the stuff we have used at the place we pay to record. Thing is, my drummers dad is working on a school budget, which as we all know, pour way more money into sports than music.

On the other hand, the place where we pay to record may just be a shed coated with egg crates on the inside, but id bet the equipment he has in there is worth a couple thousand dollars. if you wanna hear an example of what the outcome of his studio is, just click here to see what his band sounds like.

Also (directed at everybody again) i havent looked up most of this stuff yet, i will in a sec, but please dont recommend anything too expensive, im trying to keep most of this within the $50-$250 range per piece of equipment, but that can vary depending on the importance of the part. Thank you all for your help!!!

 

[JohanGoode995]

After that, most important is the DAW software, I'd recommend Reaper. You can try the full uncrippled program for free and pay when you decide you want to keep it. Pro Tools handcuffs you to certain hardware.

Just looked up Reaper, looks great, thanks.

 

[Tony-bobs]

Read the tweakheadz stuff. there's so much info there they should charge you for it! the 21 ways to set up a studio (it's something like that?) is amazing to read through and get some pretty strong ideas of how to set up a digital studio.

 

[JohanGoode995]

Read the tweakheadz stuff. there's so much info there they should charge you for it! the 21 ways to set up a studio (it's something like that?) is amazing to read through and get some pretty strong ideas of how to set up a digital studio.

I tried reading the 21 ways thing, but it has too much technical jargon for me. you have to remember, i know nothing. really. im just a guitar player looking for a way to have a studio accessible at all times.

 

[dintymoore]

When you're first starting out, reading stuff won't mean much until you get some hands on experience.

 

[FunkDaddy]

I tried reading the 21 ways thing, but it has too much technical jargon for me. you have to remember, i know nothing. really. im just a guitar player looking for a way to have a studio accessible at all times.

Are you going to be recording live drums or not? If you're just recording guitar and vocals and programming the rest, you can save quite a bit of money on the interface.

 

[JohanGoode995]

Are you going to be recording live drums or not? If you're just recording guitar and vocals and programming the rest, you can save quite a bit of money on the interface.

Im going to be recording drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and possible keyboard on occasion.

 

[stevieb]

We have used it before, its pretty bad. Well, not horrible, but nowhere near as good as the stuff we have used at the place we pay to record. Thing is, my drummers dad is working on a school budget, which as we all know, pour way more money into sports than music.

On the other hand, the place where we pay to record may just be a shed coated with egg crates on the inside, but id bet the equipment he has in there is worth a couple thousand dollars. if you wanna hear an example of what the outcome of his studio is, just click here to see what his band sounds like.

Also (directed at everybody again) i havent looked up most of this stuff yet, i will in a sec, but please dont recommend anything too expensive, im trying to keep most of this within the $50-$250 range per piece of equipment, but that can vary depending on the importance of the part. Thank you all for your help!!!

You've got a finite amount of money to spend. Treating the room is going to eat up a LOT of money and time. Buying gear that you have free access won't be cheap, either. If you post a list of gear that's in the band room, some of us may be able to tell you if it's likely to be good enough, or should be passed over in favor of something else. You could then make most efficient use of both your time and money. If you wanted to, you could leave your gear in the band room/school studio, so the drummer's dad could use it, too- everybody wins.

 

[FunkDaddy]

Im going to be recording drums.

You'll want an interface with at least 4 inputs then. The minimum mic setup for a good drum sound would be 3, probably 4 (kick, snare, two overheads) Ideally you'd mic the whole kit up individually, plus two overheads. You could get an 8 input interface like a Presonus FP10 and really experiment with different drum mic setups. But I'd say start with a 4 input interface to record drums until you get some experience.

 

[JohanGoode995]

But I'd say start with a 4 input interface to record drums until you get some experience.

theres a relatively cheap 8 input interface that ive been looking at and has gotten decent reviews. this brings me to my next question: mics.

what kind of microphones do i need if im recording drums? what about vocals? and if i plug the guitar into an amp instead of an interface, what kinds of mics do i need then?

and one more thing, most interfaces i have looked at mentioned something called "Cubase". what is that? I cant really gather, is it a DAW or is it a software/hardware already programmed/in the interface?

Once again, thanks for all your help!