Small studio setup

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anderman

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Hey guys. Im sorry cause i bet this has been asked 100 times before but all the threads i found were to old or didnt really answer my question.. but if someone finds some thread that does by all means link me! :)

Im currently doing a course in sound engineering which ill follow through to a degree (im only 6 months in)

And I want to start getting some recording equipment.

I want to get stuff that I will be able to use for a while as i upgrade.
Ill be doing mixing etc on my computer which has fairly good specs.

I was thinking maybe an 8 channel PC interface setup? Im not sure of a good setup. Id rather spend more money on this now and have less mics then have to upgrade this later.

and a set of drum mics (also dont know a good set), maybe a Rode NT5 matched pair for overheads, an Sm57 for basic guitar etc and maybe another mic for vocals??

This would let me be able to practice and get my skills up and record some local bands etc which would fund better equipment..

My budget is around the $1500 mark. I know its not much but as a student i dont have loads of cash.

The stuff i am going to record is Rock, metal, hardcore, hiphop etc

Any advice on mics, equipment would be great guys

I also live in Australia if that helps or not.

thanks
 
yea we use them in class.. Not really my thing.. a few to many restrictions/limitations etc for me. thanks for the idea though!
 
Restrictions/limitations? What exactly are you looking for?
 
Well i want to run it into my computer and mix it there and do levels etc. And most of the portable recorders iv found just dont seem to give you much freedom.. thats probably not the right word.. um.. yea id just rather go into my computer directly rather then into a portable recorder


cheers
 
after reading about that multitrack recorder some more it seems to have many more options and better features then the ones iv used in the past.

But would this be better then just getting something like a Presonus Firepod? and just mixing it on my pc etc?

thanks
 
What's nice about the Tascam is the portability and the fact you don't need a computer to process your recordings although you can still export to a computer for mixing and mastering if you want. What's better is subjective and you should base that on your needs.
 
Portable recorders are the way to go. Im alot like you in the fact, that i would prefer to mix and manipulate on my PC rather then those things.

But to record on one of those things and then just take all the audio from it and dump it into software of choice and go to town.

Those portable things are perfect for that. Only trobule is mine is a roland VS880EX and its damn near impossible to 'dump' stuff to my pc with out spending a fortune on new gear. Or re-recording all the shit into my DAW which 95% of the way to being a total waste of time.

But in the past thats what worked amazingly for me.

Recording anymore then two or three tracks at a time directly into my laptop proved to be a giant pain in the ass. Dropouts, freezing, etc etc. Not to mention it would piss off the guys i was recording.

Record, dump, mix. Thats the way to go till your outta school and can afford your dream set up.

Again my opinion only.
 
Aa 1.5 mixing help

hey guys , ive been using aa 1.5 for 6months now, and i need some one to analyse a song and tell me what improvements i need to make so far I use studio reverb(small room size), dynamic processor(heavy master limit preset)parametic equalizer(the remove hum and hiss preset)graphic equalizer(premaster eq or spitclear preset). I USE ALL OF THESE ON ALL OF MY SONGS AND I ALSO TWEAK THE EQUALIZER ON EACH TRACK IN MIX VIEW... THANK FOR THE HELP

to hear what im talkin about go to www.myspace.com/gboyinternational

i really need the help
 
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
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421
(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
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.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:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

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 tested suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


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

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (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 - http://myriad-online.com
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. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)
 
Tim, thanks for the tip on the free TapeOp subscription. Had no idea.

Even non-newbies must continue to learn...
 
Anderman - you say you want ot do your recording on the computer, you didn't say that to start out with. What do you have for computer/firewire/interface right now?
 
Hey guys i think iv decided on something like this setup??

Audio Interface
Tascam US-1641 USB Audio Interface $719
Or maybe a Presonus Firepod?? iv seen some of them secondhand going for about $350

Overheads/Acoustic
Rode Nt5 matched pair $483

Hi-Hats/Guitars/Vocals/Snare
x2 SM 57 Already Bought

Bass Drum/Bass
AKG D112 D 112 Kick Drum $290

Toms
??

Better vocal mic
?



any comments on this setup?? and what are some decent Tom mics??
I would like a room mic but i guess i might try and get a good vocal mic/room mic later or something

thanks
 
It sounds like your in this for the long haul. I would consider a better interface and not a portable device. In the future you may even want to go to 16 channels of I/O, mainly for the digital to analog conversion. This will give you the capability to mix either on a analog console or a analog summing device. Some interfaces have 8 channels onboard and the adat option to add 8 more channels of I/O. Something to keep in mind.

The bad thing about the mic pre / converter combos are that you cant upgrade just one part of it. Having things modular will also give you more flexability.

For example: If you have a nice outboard mic preamp (stand alone) you wouldn't want to run it through a lesser quality preamp on a combo unit.

Anything you put in the signal chain will affect the outcome.
 
For Tom mics, I have finally settled on the Sennheiser e604's...

I would love to outfit my kit with 421's, but the e604's are doing everything I need them to do, both live and studio work.

You can find them used for under $90, and many times for under $75, or a 3 pack new is around $325-$350 I think.

Great mics!

:)
 
anderman said:
Hey guys. Im sorry cause i bet this has been asked 100 times before but all the threads i found were to old or didnt really answer my question.. but if someone finds some thread that does by all means link me! :)

Im currently doing a course in sound engineering which ill follow through to a degree (im only 6 months in)

And I want to start getting some recording equipment.

I want to get stuff that I will be able to use for a while as i upgrade.
Ill be doing mixing etc on my computer which has fairly good specs.

I was thinking maybe an 8 channel PC interface setup? Im not sure of a good setup. Id rather spend more money on this now and have less mics then have to upgrade this later.

and a set of drum mics (also dont know a good set), maybe a Rode NT5 matched pair for overheads, an Sm57 for basic guitar etc and maybe another mic for vocals??

This would let me be able to practice and get my skills up and record some local bands etc which would fund better equipment..

My budget is around the $1500 mark. I know its not much but as a student i dont have loads of cash.

The stuff i am going to record is Rock, metal, hardcore, hiphop etc

Any advice on mics, equipment would be great guys

I also live in Australia if that helps or not.

thanks
Click to expand...
I started out in a similar situation to yourself.

My best investments have been:

-an Apple iMac (Make sure you have lots of ram), gets a minimum of 4 years use out of it.
-Presonus Firepod, 8 ins with pre-amps, great investment.
-A student version of Logic.
-get 1 shure '57, killer mic, will work forever.
-1 tube condenser (for vox etc.)
-don't buy drum mics, rent them when u need them (you will need once in a while)

Hope that helps.
 
Hey guys. Im just wondering what I should look for when Im looking for mic stands and mic leads?? any specific brands?? Or just anything that looks decent and is fairly cheap??

Also.. I think i might have decided on a PC interface. Which is a Presonus FireStudio Project.. Seems like a decent project.. and i should be able to get one sent to australia from america for around $700AU

thanks
 
I'd say do NOT get a usb interface.. Yeah I know usb 2.0 is theoretically fast, but in practice it uses a LOT more cpu than firewire, which you're gonna notice when you start getting up there in number of tracks and plugins. Get a firewire interface, and buy a fw card if you have to. Presonus makes good firewire interfaces, that's gonna be WAY better than any usb interface. If you're running Vista, search around to see if there's driver issues.

For mics, can't go wrong with SM57 and SM58. You WILL use them for a very long time, no need to upgrade. *Add* sure, but 57/58's dont end up collecting dust in drawers..

Stands - Cheap stands work for a while. I have cheapos, they tend to strip out, so eventually you can't tighten them enough and they move on you. Especially if you try to move em a little without loosening then up first. With cables, I dont think you need $100 xlr cables, but the 10-for-$16 musiciansfriends cables are throwing your $ away. I go middle-of-the-road on cables. If they have good connectors and good soldering, they'll last. If they have good connectors you can fix em later too if the soldering isn't so good..
 
Hey guys. Been a while since I last posted here haha.

Bought some more mics, nothing big. They are a AKG drum mic set i got secondhand for about $190. Has 4 x D430 and 1x D440 microphones. Something to start out with mainly and I managed to pick them up really cheap.

Looking at Getting a Nice Vocal condensor which also can double as a makeshift room mic for drums. Not sure what to get.. Might get a Rode NT1A or spend bigger money and get a Rode NTK.. not sure if its worth It currently though as the music I record Has less Clean vocal parts and more Hardcore/metal sort of vocals, But I also record some hip-hop so yea im not to sure on that one.

And I think Iv decided to get a Presonus interface. I can get a Presonus Firestudio proJect for around $700. But i have found a Presonus Firestudio 24x24 which the actual firestudio from what Iv read? secondhand for $600 and is 1 year old. Wondering if I should get that, or get the lower model new. Not to sure.

But yeah thats my update so far, hopefully this year I am going to produce/record/mix my friends band and record them midyear while doing preproduction between now and then. So my goal is to have all the equipment ready before then so I can get uesd to using it all before the recording.

If anyone has any suggestions on a Vocal Condensor/valve mic for under $600 max then any advice would be amazing! also some opinions about weather to get a new firestudio proJect or secondhand firestudio would be good to as I have not had much use with these and Im wondering which one.

also, thank you to everyone on this site! I've learnt a bunch of different stuff thanks to this site.

cheers
 
Do you have a laptop or desktop? I read the whole thread and saw that you have a computer with decent specs, but didn't see if it was a laptop or desktop.
 
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