Setting up a home recording studio, need expert advice

[Keegan]

Hi everyone,

I'm in a 3 piece rock band in Sydney, Australia.

I've been keen on getting in some studio time to record my band's first e.p, however after recording some demo's at a friend's house on his BOSS digital 8-track i was considering doing it all myself.

i'm looking to buy a new laptop (most likely an iBook, possibly a PC... i'm better with PC's) anyway, so i'm considering a software recording package, but i'm unsure as to what would be best for me and the band's "sound" (pixies, stooges, lou reed, weezer, etc...).

I've looked into DigiDesign's MBOX, but people seem to have some issues with that. What I really need is the Hardware and the software, something easy and portable to record professional sounding songs (obviously).

I know this may sound quite basic to you but i'm only starting out on the recording front. I used to use Cool Edit Pro with a Line-in to my PC, but found that there was a lot of PC distortion on the tracks.

I'm pretty cluey when it comes to getting all the sounds together to make an overall recording, but not really the technical requirements. I'm quite serious about this band and don't treat it as a hobby. Someday i'd like to get into engineering and production and would like a good place to start.

So, what sort of product (in the US$500ish price range) should I be looking at getting?

Thanks for your trouble!

 

[Rokket]

Hi everyone,

I'm in a 3 piece rock band in Sydney, Australia.

I've been keen on getting in some studio time to record my band's first e.p, however after recording some demo's at a friend's house on his BOSS digital 8-track i was considering doing it all myself.

i'm looking to buy a new laptop (most likely an iBook, possibly a PC... i'm better with PC's) anyway, so i'm considering a software recording package, but i'm unsure as to what would be best for me and the band's "sound" (pixies, stooges, lou reed, weezer, etc...).

I've looked into DigiDesign's MBOX, but people seem to have some issues with that. What I really need is the Hardware and the software, something easy and portable to record professional sounding songs (obviously).

I know this may sound quite basic to you but i'm only starting out on the recording front. I used to use Cool Edit Pro with a Line-in to my PC, but found that there was a lot of PC distortion on the tracks.

I'm pretty cluey when it comes to getting all the sounds together to make an overall recording, but not really the technical requirements. I'm quite serious about this band and don't treat it as a hobby. Someday i'd like to get into engineering and production and would like a good place to start.

So, what sort of product (in the US$500ish price range) should I be looking at getting?

Thanks for your trouble!

I think you can do a lot if you just change the soundcard in your pc and do your recording there with a good mixer.
Look at MAudio....

 

[Keegan]

MAudio

MAudio? Thanks.

I don't actually have a PC anymore (left it at my parent's place) so i'll really be starting from scratch.

will something like MAudio eliminate the need for a pre-amp/mixer if i have the right software??

 

[Rokket]

It depends on what you plug into it. I'd still go with a mixer. Yamaha mg series are great for the price. Condensor mics will need phantom power to run, and honestly, your recordings will sound better if you use pre amps.
If you don't have a pc anymore, why not look into getting a multitrack recorder? They are resonably priced, and you can definitely get one and a mixer and some good mics for what you would pay for a pc that's good enough for recording. A laptop from what I have been hearing is not really what you want for recording. There is a lack of inputs and other problems associated with them that make a pc more desirable. If you want to go the computer route, that would be my suggestion. It's been my experience that getting a pc that is good enough for recording will be much cheaper than a laptop.
If you are looking for portability, then get a digital recorder with a usb, like the Fostex MR-8. If you combine that with a mixer, you can lay up to 8 tracks, import them to pc, and lay more tracks.
I know this is a lot of information, and will give you much to think about, so I hope that I was helpful, at the very least.

 

[oh_the_blood]

fostex VF80ex. its an 8 track stand alone recorder with 20 gig built in hard drive and a built in cd burner for only 500 bucks, mines on the way!!

 

[Keegan]

computer

i'm looking to get a computer, anyway. so this is the logical choice. i figure if i've already got a DVD burner and a decent soundcard in there, i might shell out a little more and record on the sucker.

when you have a mixer, it's designed for multiple tracks to run at once, isn't it? in a live band environment, i mean? i'd like the opportunity to record both live and with individual tracks. maybe i'm just being greedy

Thanks. You guys are being very helpful!!!

 

[Ibrow]

You will need multitracking software, but will basically be limited by how many "ins" on your soundcard. For laptop recording, you will have to get an outboard soundcard via Firewire or USB2.0. Just get a soundcard with enough "ins" for as many tracks as you are planning to lay down at a time.

The tracking software should know how many ins your soundcard has, and you can assign each track to a different in.

You are in the right place if you need info for starting to homerecord.