Recording Software

  • Thread starter Thread starter JinsTa
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mixing and recording skills are up to you. if both of there are done right, you get well sounding mixtape.
i can bet sm57 is one of the most used mics on planet. somebody posted around here a song entirely recorded with sm57 mics and it didnt sound bad at all. if you are aiming to record vocals only get sm58 instead;)
 
JinsTa said:
I understand, so Ill probably get the Dynamic at first, then we will see from there. So let me tell you my set-up and tell me what you think:

- That Dynamic Mic
- The Audio Interface you told me to get
- Reaper / Audaciy
Yeah thats about it. Can those create a well sounding mixtape?
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yup that'll get you going


your next decision will be what to monitor on...ideally you should be looking at nearfield monitors further down the line but headphones will do for the detailed work and if you can get an old hi fi to put your sounds through it will help you mix....nowhere near ideal but fine for learning the ropes


what you might want to do at first is after youve mixed a track add another audio track with a song in the same genre and compare them, try to get yours to sound as much like it as possible...this will help get a better mix out of speaker/headphones that arent meant for home studio work

This is all quite a big learning curve up ahead Jin but you are asking the right questions in the right place...
 
Seidy said:
mixing and recording skills are up to you. if both of there are done right, you get well sounding mixtape.
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But will Reaper / Audacity be able to provide me with the level of software so I can achieve high skill levels at recording / mixing?
 
JinsTa said:
And what do you think about a sure sm57?
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an sm 58 is probably a better for vocal work but there are a ton of chinese knock -offs floating about for cheap...Id say the e825 is of similar quality and it hasnt been chinafied :)
 
Honestly, I'd stay away from the SM57 & 58. They aren't the best choice for any application and you can get much better mics for the same price or less. The AKG D5 is a good choice that runs the same price as the 58 and will sound better. An even better microphone is the MXL v67g, which also runs around the same or cheaper ($70) if you can find it used. The MXL mic is a condensor, so it'll need phantom power (+48v, would be provided by the interface usually, but you should check the interface to make sure it has that option first). I wouldn't use it for live, though, because condensors are easier to break and are more prone to plosives (popping sounds from the letter p or b). If it's only for recording, though, the v67g is pretty much the best mic you can get for under $100. I use it for vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar... I'm planning on getting another and trying them as drum overheads.

For cheap interfaces, M-Audio stuff is usually pretty good. I think the Fast Track is the cheapest you can get right now and that runs around $120. You might want to suck it up and get one of the fancier Fast Tracks, though, in case you want to record more than one thing at a time later on.

Also, the $60 Reaper is the non-commercial license, so you have to specify that. It says that on their homepage, I think. You can try it out for a while (well, indefinitely) without paying, which is what I'm doing right now since my ownership of the program expired several versions ago, but you'd eventually want/have to pay for it if you plan on using it for anything more than personal use.
 
thebigcheese said:
Honestly, I'd stay away from the SM57 & 58. They aren't the best choice for any application and you can get much better mics for the same price or less. The AKG D5 is a good choice that runs the same price as the 58 and will sound better. An even better microphone is the MXL v67g, which also runs around the same or cheaper ($70) if you can find it used. The MXL mic is a condensor, so it'll need phantom power (+48v, would be provided by the interface usually, but you should check the interface to make sure it has that option first). I wouldn't use it for live, though, because condensors are easier to break and are more prone to plosives (popping sounds from the letter p or b). If it's only for recording, though, the v67g is pretty much the best mic you can get for under $100. I use it for vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar... I'm planning on getting another and trying them as drum overheads.

For cheap interfaces, M-Audio stuff is usually pretty good. I think the Fast Track is the cheapest you can get right now and that runs around $120. You might want to suck it up and get one of the fancier Fast Tracks, though, in case you want to record more than one thing at a time later on.

Also, the $60 Reaper is the non-commercial license, so you have to specify that. It says that on their homepage, I think. You can try it out for a while (well, indefinitely) without paying, which is what I'm doing right now since my ownership of the program expired several versions ago, but you'd eventually want/have to pay for it if you plan on using it for anything more than personal use.
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Yeah I feel you on that. I mean, I would probably rather get the MXL v67g over the e835 because, well it just seems more comfortable. But we all have different tastes and likes. But if I get this mic, whast do you mean by phantom power? And I'm def. going to get reaper. And if I do the trial, I can record some music like that just with the trial ? And download it to an MP3. And the audio interface, i'm probably going to get the on KC told me to get.
 
JinsTa said:
Yeah I feel you on that. I mean, I would probably rather get the MXL v67g over the e835 because, well it just seems more comfortable. But we all have different tastes and likes. But if I get this mic, whast do you mean by phantom power? And I'm def. going to get reaper. And if I do the trial, I can record some music like that just with the trial ? And download it to an MP3. And the audio interface, i'm probably going to get the on KC told me to get.
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M audio do make good cheap interfaces as well...I only mention line 6 as the software would swing it for me, especially the pre amp stuff which is very good, but M audio is fine as well

phantom power is needed to power a condenser...either in a standalone pre amp or a built in pre amp in a mixer...

this is the thing with music forums everyone's got an opinion and every bodies voices are different so without trying every mic you'll never really know whats best suited for you..

all Ill say is you will see professional singers use the dynamics mentioned (whether stage or not) you wont see them use $100 condensers..and that's a fact :)
 
kcearl said:
M audio do make good cheap interfaces as well...I only mention line 6 as the software would swing it for me, especially the pre amp stuff which is very good, but M audio is fine as well

phantom power is needed to power a condenser...either in a standalone pre amp or a built in pre amp in a mixer...

this is the thing with music forums everyone's got an opinion and every bodies voices are different so without trying every mic you'll never really know whats best suited for you..

all Ill say is you will see professional singers use the dynamics mentioned (whether stage or not) you wont see them use $100 condensers..and that's a fact :)
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I agree 100% with you on that, but then again, most studio's I see, I see condensers. You know? But yeah I mean, its whatever. I'm just trying to get everything straight. So anyways, I DLed the Reaper demo, see how it is and everything, it looks good, just a little confusing. But, one more thing I was thinking, How do I make it so that my headset plays the same exact thing I'm saying with NO delay at all.
 
JinsTa said:
I agree 100% with you on that, but then again, most studio's I see, I see condensers. You know? But yeah I mean, its whatever. I'm just trying to get everything straight. So anyways, I DLed the Reaper demo, see how it is and everything, it looks good, just a little confusing. But, one more thing I was thinking, How do I make it so that my headset plays the same exact thing I'm saying with NO delay at all.
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yes you do see condensers...ones that cost thousands not sub $100


its your cash and you can always pass on the mic when you upgrade I just know you have an image of a condenser in a shock mount, pop filter, holding one can over your ear...and that's great, you can have that, it just wont be the best bang for your buck that's all


when you get an audio interface you use it as your soundcard then you can adjust its latency so what you sing/play comes out at roughly the same time...at the moment you'll have the PCs soundcard which is good for bleeps and not much else, so its latency will be high but you can still load up a tune in it and just get to know Reapers ins and outs..I dont use it myself but many here do so they can help you with any hurdles you need to get over


Good luck with your new venture and welcome to the world of recording :)
 
You're never going to have it be EXACTLY no delay. That's just a function of how everything works. It's practically impossible. If you get a PCI card (the kind you install inside a desktop computer) you'll get less latency (pretty close to 0) than you would going over USB or firewire, but you'll always have some issues somewhere. A good interface will compensate for it some so that you won't notice it. Usually you can monitor directly from the interface so that you are getting zero latency. Cheaper interfaces will have the signal run to the computer and back first, which is where that latency (delay) kicks in.

The only dynamics I've ever seen people record with are an RE-20 or an SM7B, both of which are several hundred dollars. The other mics people have recommended will probably do well, too. You can probably try a lot of them out at Guitar Center, though I don't think they normally stock the v67g (which is unfortunate). Just do yourself a favor and stay away from the 57/58. They're boring and not worth it.

I don't know why they call it phantom power, but it basically just means that they send a little power back up the wire to make the mic work. Most, if not all, of the M-Audio interfaces (and most other decent interfaces) will have that for the mic preamps.
 
kcearl said:
yes you do see condensers...ones that cost thousands not sub $100


its your cash and you can always pass on the mic when you upgrade I just know you have an image of a condenser in a shock mount, pop filter, holding one can over your ear...and that's great, you can have that, it just wont be the best bang for your buck that's all


when you get an audio interface you use it as your soundcard then you can adjust its latency so what you sing/play comes out at roughly the same time...at the moment you'll have the PCs soundcard which is good for bleeps and not much else, so its latency will be high but you can still load up a tune in it and just get to know Reapers ins and outs..I dont use it myself but many here do so they can help you with any hurdles you need to get over


Good luck with your new venture and welcome to the world of recording :)
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Thank you so much for everything. I will make sure to be active on this forum cause it has helped me alot as you can see. I will make sure to read all the posts I can, and if I have any more questions, you will be the first guy I come too. Thank you.

-Jin
 
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