Re Home recording setup

[Johnny R H]

Lets try for the second time first time didn't get everything down. So I'm looking for a cheap home recording set-up to record piano and keyboard drums and guitar separately seeing as I will be playing these instruments i already have a laptop a behringer c-1 condenser microphone and a behringer xenyx 1204 usb mixing desk, a copy of energyXT2.5 Compact BEHRINGER Edition Music Production Software and a M-audio oxygen usb keyboard. I also have lots of various cables! My first question is what will I need to set all of this up to record my instruments and secondly has anyone got any tips ??

Much appreciated

Johnny!

 

[Armistice]

I can't, when attempting to decipher the incredible marketing bullshit that Behringer attach to their products, decipher whether your mixer will let you route individual channels to your PC or only a stereo submix. I suspect the latter. In which case, if you ever want to record more than two channels at once, and you will if you're recording drums, you should dispense with your mixer and buy a USB interface/preamp with multiple channels. There are many threads about which are regarded as suitable. Search for them.

How do you plan to record drums with one microphone? Do you have a budget? How "cheap" are we talking here? What sort of music are you planning on recording?

And with all due respect to Behringer, but whatever this "energyXT2.5 Compact BEHRINGER Edition Music Production Software" is, I'm inclined to suspect there are better options available. Download Reaper.

It's very hard to give specific advice unless you provide more information...

 

[Johnny R H]

Thanks a lot with the advice
I have around about another £300 I am planning to spend but can push to £500 so somewhere in that region and should of mentioned that i was planning to buy more microphones but wasn't sure what's out there.
I play a lot of Music by Bands such as Keane and cold play Mainly
For the software regarding I have access to Sequel 2 by Steinberg as well.

 

[Armistice]

OK - you should be able to get a decent interface for well under that.. not sure on British prices (may you all rot in hell... ggrrrrr... damn cricket team.... ). Search through some of the other posts here and you'll find plenty of recommendations...

I expect a few more people will chime in and give you an opinion sooner or later... interfaces and basic set ups aren't really my area, so I'll let them educate you.

Cheers

 

[Johnny R H]

Okay then many thanks for the advicee and 3 more wickets and the series is wonnn you've put up a good fight thoughh

 

[JimmyS1969]

Tascam 1641 if you have usb2.0 port. Comes with Cubase LE5. Cheapest 8 in 4 out

 

[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
Amazon.com: Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies (9780470385425): Jeff Strong: Books
(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
Amazon.com: Recording Guitar and Bass: Getting a Great Sound Every Time You Record (Book) (9780879307301): Huw Price: Books
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at 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:
Tweak's Guide to the Home and Project Studio
Free beginner PDFs | Computer Music Magazine | MusicRadar.com
The #1 online community for musicians | Harmony Central
Tips & Techniques - Gearslutz.com

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: How to Configure a Recording Studio Rig

Also Good Info: Directory - The Project Studio Handbook - Digital Audio, Compression, Mixing, Monitoring, Microphones

Other recording books: Music Books Plus - Home Recording

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: The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)
Another good article: Choosing an audio interface - Choosing An Audio Interface


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

Sony ACID Express (free 10-track sequencer): ACIDplanet.com: Free Downloads: ACID Xpress
Audacity: Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: Wavosaur free audio editor with VST and ASIO support (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: KRISTAL Audio Engine
Other freebies and shareware: Music Software - Computer Music Resources - Shareware Music Machine

Another great option is REAPER at REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits (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 - Myriad: Music Notation Software and much more... / Myriad : logiciels de musique, et bien plus...
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, November 2010 SamplitudeSilver. 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...'

 

[kcearl]

Ive some experience with XT...and while its a fairly usable DAW, Reaper is clearer, and easier to pick up...I suspect XT is slightly better with midi but Reaper has a new version, or is just coming out with a new version, and they seem to update its midi capabilities each time

 

[Muzzaman]

Reaper $40 licence that about £25 to me and you and a Line 6 UX-8 that's my standard reply haha short and sweet.

about £300 ish for a UX-8

Line 6 TonePort UX8 Modelling Audio Interface