Recording Setup Suggestions

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PaLiC

New member
Hey guys!

I am finally in the digital world (for better or worse), but i just wanted some advice on my next step. I am trying to put together some "as proffessional as possible" cd's demos from home, and was wondering if some of you guys with lots of experience could give me some help

here's my current setup:

*Roland VS-880EX
*Pentium III with Soundblaster Platinum Sound Card with 32 bit capibilites and digital ins/outs
*Wave Lab 3.0 with bunch of patches/effects/mastering software
*Acid Pro 2.0
*Audio-Technica mic (4033) for vocals/guitar
*Oktava condenser for guitar,etc
*Roland XP-30 synth
*many guitars
*a Joe Meek V3Q preamp/compressor/enhancer

so what's my next purchase? am i going to want a better preamp? I interested in getting a very rich/warm sound to my vocals

any recommendations or something that I really need?

thanks guys

tony
 
I think the first thing is to get a better sound card.

Then maybe monitors... effect racks... SM57.... blah blah blah.. :)

Have fun!
 
Leeking, what a vaue respoese:

get the following:

A macie mixer
a good compressor: (RNC comp by fmr audio)
mics: sm57, sm58 a decent condenser mic (c1)
racks?????? buy a does it all that is good such as the boss vf-1
a keyboard (Roland xp-30) - I love mine

must have

mc pre: art dual MP

DI: direct injection box...must have for bass

--oh yeah . anything with the name evintide on it
 
4 what kind of music?

i can't see any midi equipment, so i guess you're into the classic songwriting genre.
If you don't have a drummer or keyboarder, then you'll have to check out a simple sequencer. I recommend the entry versions of Cubase or better LogicAudio which is common used in Pro studios (together with protools hw) and a AllIn1 synth. Here my recommendation is the korg trinity rack 'cause it is relativly cheap and sounds real great in all styles.
 
gargamel, you kept mentioning my name so you can get over the 100th post, aren't cha? ;)

maybe I should do that too to get to 200.

:D
 
thanks

thanks for the tips guys

one question: what's the recommended DI box to get? will this significantly reduce noise when i plug instruments into my Roland VS880EX?

and how's the ART MP Studio single preamp? is it as good as the bigger rack dual preamps?
 
I'm thinking that if you have the Roland VS880, you don't need a mackie mixer. If you buy the Art tube, it will work very well as a DI for yer bass. I'd look into a POD or a Behringer amp emulator for those guitars of yours. Are you recording live drums? Are you recording guitar through an amp? If not, hold off on the SM-57's for a while. I've got two that I have yet to use cos I program drums & use a pod for guitar. I have 2 condenser mics . A shure Beta green & a AT 4033a that I use for for acoustic guitar & vox. I usually either program drums using a softsynth or cut up some samples & use acid to create the track.
What are you using as monitors? If you are using multimedia speakers or your stereo, you may want to get some good studio quality monitors. I use Alesis M1 actives.
If you are recording into the Roland VS 880, I wouldn't think that you would need to buy a new soundcard right now. Can you import your songs into your computer for mastering? If so, wavelab is a great choice for mastering.
 
...

thanks for the advice,

yeah i make my drum beats on Acid Pro, and i have wavlab 3.0 for mastering with Mastering Edition, Magneto, and most of the other useful plugins

i'm pretty satisfied actually with my soundcard (SB Platinum 5.1)

it has 32bit recording and a front plate with spdif and digital ins/outs, and also midi in/out, rca in/out, 1/4" in/out all on the front plate... so i never have to reach around to the back of my computer anymore...

it also has a remote control...

and i have the roland vs880EX, so it has the COSM guitar simulator modules already built in... i'm going to see what kind of sounds i can get from that... if anything, i could put it on a amp simulator and use my own effects pedals....

is the POD much better? if so i might look into that....

i have found that although recording live from an amp is much more "pure" and "real"... in terms of a home recording, using simulators give a much "cleaner" tighter sound with less background noise.... in the end, the guitar purist might think it doesn't sound as good, but i prefer the "tightest" sound i can get from home...

looks like i might get an ART preamp.... and possibly and RNC compressor (since everyone seems to rave about it!)

thanks guys
 
I second the suggestions for Monitors. If you don't have good monitors, you're gonna have a damn hard time mixing yourself that "close to pro" demo no matter how good your recorded tracks sound.

I've got the JBL LSR25p's (they are active, the 'p' is for 'powered'). ~$500/pr (when on sale, which seems often these days). Great reviews on this site from everyone (newbies on up to pros).

Queue
 
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