Newbie w/?'s

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nyghtfall
  • Start date Start date
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Nyghtfall

New member
Evening, everyone.

My name is Matthew Hutchinson. I'm 32, and currently work as a customer service rep for a consumer finance company.

Six months ago, I began taking private instruction in classical guitar. I keep an online journal of my experiences, at http://www.nyghtfall.com and would like to start recording practice sessions and sharing them through my journal. Unfortunately, I know nothing about recording, and was told this forum would be a good place to start.

My computer:

P4 1.6GHz
512Mb RDRAM
SoundBlaster Live
2 20Gb hard drives - 9Gb free on one, 3Gb free on the other

OS: WinXP

Recording Software: Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 2.0.

My gear:

Takamine classical w/cutaway and pre-amp, pictured below:

Guitar
Pre-Amp

Marshall MG15DFX

My questions are:

1) Is my sound card adequate, or should I consider looking for one specifically geared for recording music?
2) Do I have enough hard drive space to record with?
3) Should I get a mic, or plug straight into the computer via my Marshall?

Thank you.
 
I would definantly consider a new card. One specifically designed for recording and good converters. Look into the m-audio series delta cards...they are dependable and afordable. 9 gig will be plenty room for a good number of songs. The number will depend on how many tracks per song. An average of 20-30-MB per track.
 
Matthew
I agree with Stealthtech's comments.

You will get better results by micing the Marshall, so you will also need a mic pre amp. You can get an M-Audio Audio Buddy pre for around $90, or a small mixer like a Yamaha MG10/2 with 4 built in pres for $99
 
While I would certainly go for a mic preamp, I would try to avoid the amp unless it gives you something in particular that you're looking for (Personal opinion - Obvioulsy, try both).

If you take the guitar's direct out AND put a decent condenser mic in front of it, you can probably find a blend that would be quite adequate for what you're shooting for.

Which mic? Gawd only knows... There are SO many out there that are good AND affordable, I wouldn't even know where to start. A small diaphragm mic (Oktava MC-012, Shure SM-81, etc.) will give you the most flexibility in the long run.

Keep in mind that you'll need a preamp that supplies phantom power to the mic!

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
I'll put myself out there for flaming and state that the SB Live is perfectly adequate for what you are trying to do.

If you're doing classical guitar I would leave the amp out ot the equation and mic the guitar acoustically. But the amp wired direct will be easier, so experiment and see what sounds good. If you get a mic you of course will need a mic preamp as well.

You have plenty of drive space unless you have filled it up already with other stuff...
 
How about 2 mics? The Yamaha mixer will supply phantom power if you're using condensors. 1 mic on the guitar, 1 on the amp, then all you need is a 2-input soundcard
 
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