Questions you have probably seen before...

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Mklangelo

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Hello!

It's all terribly new to me so forgive my ignorance.

But I have done some homework and have made some decisions for my brand new home voice recording setup. First off I've come to an uneducated conclusion that the AKG Perception 220 Professional Studio Microphone is a good start for my limited budget.

My goals are two fold. First, I'd like to make an "a Capella" voice demo. Well actually two of them. One will be a handful of songs handpicked to highlight my style and voice (2nd tenor)

The second will be a voice-over demo. The kind of stuff you hear in animated feature films, cartoons, commercials etc. It sounds crazy but so am I. I'm thinking of mixing in some stock sound effects with this one as well.

So for both of these applications, I think the mixing requirements would be "straightforward". (I'm sure I'll live to eat those words.) :cursing:

As for the PC I'll be using. It runs Windows 7 64 bit with an i5-3570K CPU and 8GB DDR3 RAM.

I'm leaning toward REAPER since it's full featured and fits the limited budget.

I understand I'll need a proper sound card and a pre-amp. It that correct? Am I missing any component?

Can you possibly point me in the proper direction for these?

I would really appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Thanks in advance!

MK
 
Hi MK!
Usually audio interfaces have preamps built in, so you won't need to buy it separately. Make sure that the interface has phantom power so you can work with condenser microphones like perception 220 (which is pretty good mic for starting out).
Any other things? XLR cable, mic stand, pop filter, headphones.
 
Given the (relative) simplicity of what you're attempting, you can probably not worry about monitors as a start up option, so just the items on Seidy's list, and a relatively basic USB interface which will get you your preamp, AD/DA conversion and phantom power and replaces your PC sound card (not literally, just via circuitry) for the recording task.

Other thing you'll need to think about is the recording enviromment and probably do some things to minimise reflections, work out best position to put mic in and the like. These don't necessarily have to cost anything and can be thunk about once you're up and running...

I'd also ensure you have a reasonable size PC monitor to hand (assuming this is not a laptop) - DAWs can be tricky on small screens as there's so much stuff (but not impossible...), and some back up routine / device to keep what you're doing in multiple drive locations, just in case..

Oh, and headphones.... CLOSED BACK... most important. If you're acapellating (I just made that one up, you can keep it...:laughings:) then you'll be multiple tracking against yourself so keeping what you're listening to out of what you're recording is a good and beautiful thing... :thumbs up:

Good luck..
 
Hi MK ( "MK" are famous makers of electrical outlet kit here!) .

The biggest problem you might face with voice over work is noise.

Two sorts:
Electronic. This is hiss from the AI and the mic but that AKG 220 is quite a bit better than most budget capacitors and any of the current crop of AIs should be fine...Focusrite, NI KA6, Steinberg UR22...not in any order of preference...

More difficult for VO will be "noises off". Birds, traffic, kids, clocks, mostly things beyond your control. Complete soundproofing is rarely practical or affordable so the best you can usually do is make the VO space as dead as possible and add reverb if needed later, such a dead space will not however be very conducive to pleasant singing!

Fortunately that mic has a built in LF filter and attenuator so you can get in very close to it. Did anyone mention a pop shield?

But noises WILL intrude and the only answer is retakes or/and editing. I have Reaper (paid for!) but hardly use it so I don't know how easy it is for editing but I guess peeps just get good with what they have?

Dave.
 
Pretty quiet around here

ecc83 said:
Hi MK ( "MK" are famous makers of electrical outlet kit here!) .

The biggest problem you might face with voice over work is noise.

Two sorts:
Electronic. This is hiss from the AI and the mic but that AKG 220 is quite a bit better than most budget capacitors and any of the current crop of AIs should be fine...Focusrite, NI KA6, Steinberg UR22...not in any order of preference...

More difficult for VO will be "noises off". Birds, traffic, kids, clocks, mostly things beyond your control. Complete soundproofing is rarely practical or affordable so the best you can usually do is make the VO space as dead as possible and add reverb if needed later, such a dead space will not however be very conducive to pleasant singing!

Fortunately that mic has a built in LF filter and attenuator so you can get in very close to it. Did anyone mention a pop shield?

But noises WILL intrude and the only answer is retakes or/and editing. I have Reaper (paid for!) but hardly use it so I don't know how easy it is for editing but I guess peeps just get good with what they have?

Dave.
Click to expand...

When I turn the AC off this place is a virtual graveyard. Having said that I can't predict when the next Crotch-Rocket will fly by the house at 80 MPH (I live in a school zone) LOL

Well, Dave, I have done a bit of looking into REAPER and for the money, I can't see a better DAW for the money, especially as a noob.

My bedroom which is full of furniture actually has some reverb to it. I can always hang a blanket or two if needed.

I will be using a Pop Shield. As I understand it, it's a must.

My PC has no sound card. Do I need one and if so can you recommend? It's Windows 7 64bit.

And what about a preamp? Is that needed?


MK
 
Seidy said:
Hi MK!
Usually audio interfaces have preamps built in, so you won't need to buy it separately. Make sure that the interface has phantom power so you can work with condenser microphones like perception 220 (which is pretty good mic for starting out).
Any other things? XLR cable, mic stand, pop filter, headphones.
Click to expand...

Audio Interface? What is that? Beyond the DAW? A separate unit?

As far as Headphones go, what do you recommend ~150 dollars?
 
Mklangelo said:
Audio Interface? What is that? Beyond the DAW? A separate unit?

As far as Headphones go, what do you recommend ~150 dollars?
Click to expand...

Steinberg UR22 USB2.0 Audio Interface | Musician's Friend

That^ has yet to attract anything but good reports so far and I am sure it has all the bells and whistles you need at this stage.

Yes, another $100 to fork out I am afraid but an AI is vital. The "soundcard" built into PCs is very cheap and nasty, yes you COULD just hook a mixer/pre amp to it but anything at all decent will be $100+++ and the results pretty dire due to the PC sound.

The AI takes over ALL sonic duties from the PC including playing CDs and Youtoob ***t. If fact it is a good idea to disable the internal sound system before you install something vastly better.

The UR22 comes with a cut down (but still very powerful) version of the famous DAW software Cubase and you might get on well with it? Worth a do since Cubase is a very good DAW and will probably do things Reaper can't or maybe easier?..Free anyway!

A "graveyard" eh? Wait until you have a live mic and cans on*! You will detect beetles crawling up the walls!

*Pay as much as you can for Sennheisers, they do not make anything bad. Closed back of course.

Dave.
 
Read the sticky thread at the top of this section of the forum on computer recording, it explains audio interfaces. The audio interface takes the place of your computer's built-in soundcard when recording, and also contains mic preamps.
 
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