New to home recording...

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chrisjames105

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Ok, so I am very new to home recording and I will appreciate all help. I am using Studio One as my program and I just bought a Bluebird mic. I have a Presonus Audiobox Interface as well. I would LOVE to know the best way to get the mic to record great sounding vocals with reverb and any other cool effects that I am dying to know about! I also need to know what other equipment I need so I can upgrade and keep getting better. I am buying a keyboard soon but not sure what brand I should look for...

Again, all help is appreciated. Thanks!
 
Trial and error, and a bunch of reading threads here will get there quickly. Specific questions with samples of audio, will get you precise opinions. But in the end, they will be just that. Opinions. You will soon have your own.

I found that reading, Googling, reading, and a bit more reading and Googling, gave me the info I needed to form my own opinions. Once you have your own opinions through experience, things just start to make sense. :D
 
Well your set to go for right now, you have all you need to get started at least. Definitely read up on the stickied threads in all the forums. Loads of great info for starting out. As jimmy said, a lot of things are subjective or very opinionated. Experimentation is the name of the game!

What are you looking to use the keyboard for? Midi controller or to actually record keys?
 
Hey man, there's lots of helpful advice on HR. And sometimes..... not so much haha

"Turn up the gain around 2000Hz a couple dbs."


If you see any advice like ^^^this^^^ without anyone hearing anything from you, don't listen to it. I haven't seen it tooo much around here, but have in some other forums.
 
Capt Hair said:
Well your set to go for right now, you have all you need to get started at least. Definitely read up on the stickied threads in all the forums. Loads of great info for starting out. As jimmy said, a lot of things are subjective or very opinionated. Experimentation is the name of the game!

What are you looking to use the keyboard for? Midi controller or to actually record keys?
Click to expand...

Yes I want a keyboard for keys and whatever else I can use it for...
 
Well, I just spent a half hour writing a novel about starting up. Accidentally hit backspace, and all was lost......

It actually relates to what I had written. Until you do your own research and experimentation, you are only asking Elmo to tell you how to laugh funny. There is no right or wrong in recording. There is only ones personal opinion, based on an educated ear. You don't get it by finding secrets or presets.

You misunderstood Capt already. He asked if you wanted to record sounds from a keyboard or just use it as a MIDI controller to run a virtual instrument. The fact that you do not know what that means, says that you need to research this field if you intend to get good results with your music.

Read, ask, learn. do.....
 
I mainly want a keyboard as a midi controller then, to use virtual instruments. I do not want any of those real small ones though, I want a good range so I guess the standard 61 keys would be perfect. Any suggestions?
 
well even the small ones have good range, there's features to shift the pitch of the notes your playing to the next octave on most. That's what I have a Akai MP25, 25 keys, and I would suggest that. If your getting a keyboard to use to record midi piano, I could understand wanting a 61 or 88 key board. If not and you just want it to use for drums, guitar, or something, the smaller ones are going to be fine. I mean your standard guitar only goes 3 octaves from the base note, and if you need to go higher, there's pitch shifters and other features you can use as well to get to the desired note.

the Mp25 i got used for $150...a new 61 or 88 keyboard that's decent is going to run you around $3-500
 
Capt Hair said:
well even the small ones have good range, there's features to shift the pitch of the notes your playing to the next octave on most. That's what I have a Akai MP25, 25 keys, and I would suggest that. If your getting a keyboard to use to record midi piano, I could understand wanting a 61 or 88 key board. If not and you just want it to use for drums, guitar, or something, the smaller ones are going to be fine. I mean your standard guitar only goes 3 octaves from the base note, and if you need to go higher, there's pitch shifters and other features you can use as well to get to the desired note.

the Mp25 i got used for $150...a new 61 or 88 keyboard that's decent is going to run you around $3-500
Click to expand...

Well I have two guitars I would never use a keyboard for a guitar sound but I figured I could use it to hold some violin notes in the background of my songs, or maybe some sax, whatever I can plug in to mess around with. My question now is, can you change the pitch on the midi controller while youre recording? What if Im recording and I need a higher note then whats on the 25 note layout?
 
Not to disobey the Captain, but I'd say that if you want to get a MIDI keyboard, 49 is the least amount of keys you should go for. 61 better. 88 magnifico.
Personally, I use this little perp mkeymain copy.webp, the CME M~key. It's not an aeroplane to Egypt but it plays all my virtual instruments and I don't have to worry about pfaffing around jumping octaves.
But as they say round these parts, your mileage may vary and each to their own.
Jimmy's earlier advice on reading up lots is good advice. I hope you like reading !
 
grimtraveller said:
Not to disobey the Captain
Click to expand...

Never disobey the Captain hahaha :p

@chris, there's octave settings so you can play those notes if needed.

If you think your really going to need more keys go for it! It's a completely subjective thing, I can get what I need to do out of a 25key and have no need to get something that's just going to take up desk space. Just think about what you actually NEED now and something that's still going to be useful and functional in a few months to years time.
 
FML! I just noticed that my Studio One is the regular version, it came with my interface and it doesnt have the 'drum chart' or whatever its called to lay down drums. By 'drum chart' I mean the chart looking screen that allows you to use single drum sounds and place them where you want in the measure, whether it be kick drum, snare, etc. Is there any free DAW's that have this feature? I didnt google it myself because I dont know what that drum feature is even called.

Heres a sample of what Im talking about... 1:03 in

Dubstep drums / beats in Ableton Live 8 :: Dubspot - YouTube
 
I play keys, but only use my keyboard as a midi controller. There are some great vsti's out that that do exceptionally well at reproducing piano. Don't think I could play the pieces I need on anything less than a full size keyboard. Plus I need a sustain pedal. But I evolved from piano player to wannabe music producer, so let your roots decide.

Also when purchasing a midi keyboard be sure to make sure that the keys are responsive enough for what you are doing.

I found a cheap yamaha keyboard with midi connections and found that some vsti's use the keys in more ways then others. For example....

Nexus will do fine with almost any keyboard, yet Trillian analyzes everything from velocity to pull offs to slides and quick note changes, and this helps it create very realistic bass guitars that vary in how they sound dramatically to how you play.

Think what your going to need it for and make sure that it does the job.
 
Trial and Error Trial and Error Trial and Error Trial and Error.
There are a lot of useful resources on stickies and other forums.

First piece of advice, do not record with your microhpone facing a wall (and to close to this wall). It will introduce combfiltering. Do not record too close from the mic or it will be almost impossible to fix in the mix (too many pops). Use pop filter. Try to record a bit off axis.

You should watch this video about this guy recording and mixing a vocal.
Gearfest 2011: Tracking 4/6 Vocal + Guitar - PUREMIX
Gearfest 2011: Mixing 2/4 Vocal - PUREMIX
 
chavernac said:
Trial and Error Trial and Error Trial and Error Trial and Error.
There are a lot of useful resources on stickies and other forums.

First piece of advice, do not record with your microhpone facing a wall (and to close to this wall). It will introduce combfiltering. Do not record too close from the mic or it will be almost impossible to fix in the mix (too many pops). Use pop filter. Try to record a bit off axis.

You should watch this video about this guy recording and mixing a vocal.
Gearfest 2011: Tracking 4/6 Vocal + Guitar - PUREMIX
Gearfest 2011: Mixing 2/4 Vocal - PUREMIX
Click to expand...

Man, what is it with you? You give good advice, but it seems you have a woody for this puremix stuff. Once again I think it is a great series, but man.....Are you Fab?????
 
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