Sound Advice Needed from Forum Members

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trustgod

New member
Greetings,

My wife and I were blessed recently with the birth of twin baby boys. Since I will be spending more time at home we agreed that it would be an ideal time to purchase the desktop recording system I have been musing on for several years. However, I must admit that I am more than a little bit confused at all the options currently available. Although I have been playing guitar, bass, and piano for over 25 years I have never attempted to record anything myself.

In a nutshell: If YOU were starting out all over again - knowing everything you know now - what high quality entry level system would you chose? My budget in US currency is $7,000.00

Please be as specific as possible. List the Apple or PC computer, motherboard/chipset, soundcard, software, active speaker/monitors, etc. Additionally, what is the easiest software to learn for a beginner? Kindly point out anything relevant I may have overlooked.

I intend to write and record contemporary Christian music. 95% of the time it will be just me playing the instruments. When the Worship team is called in to sing I will require a few additional mic and line level inputs. I estimate 6 mics in use at once will be the max. I have a Kurzweil PC88MX at home and access to a Korg Triton Pro X at my church. There is a Mackie 1604VLZPRO at church and the soundman has offered to teach me the basics.
The mixer cannot leave the church however since it is hooked up to many pieces of equipment in a formidable oversized rack enclosure.

The home studio will be located in my bedroom which measures 14' by 20' with an 8' high ceiling. Sorry for my ignorance of metric measurements. No acoustical foam is allowed per my wife's directive. After all, what woman wants her bedroom turned into an eyesore? There is a walk-in closet that I shall utilize as my recording booth for the vocalists and acoustic instruments. It is quiet with no windows or reflective surfaces (glass) and is carpeted and filled to capacity with clothing.

I realize that responding to my post will take a considerable amount of time and thought on your part. I appreciate the effort involved and thank you for the assist.

Blessings,

Edward G. Jones
Minister of Music
Faith Assembly of God
 
Just don't buy M-Audio...I hear they're in bed with Satan.
 
Dolemite said:
Just don't buy M-Audio...I hear they're in bed with Satan.
Click to expand...

Well with that bit of advise you should be up and running in no time...:D

And Mr. trustgod, look around a bit, especialy in the newbies section and get some basic ideas. It will help you to focus your questions.

-Angermeyer
 
Greetings,

Thanks for the quick response.

Dolemite - Strange bedfellows. Caution noted.

Angermeyer - Will do. Should I delete post from this forum and move it to the Newbie section?

Blessings,

Eddie
 
trustgod said:

Angermeyer - Will do. Should I delete post from this forum and move it to the Newbie section?
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it. And M-audio happens to have some of the best stuff for home recording. I would think Behringher is more satanicaly oriented. Oh well.

-Angermeyer
 
Welcome to the board, Edward! :)

And congrats on the new additions to your family!! (I mean the kids, not the studio....:D)

You're asking a very tall question, and one that I can't answer too well. I'm a laptop guy and you'll be looking for a desktop studio. I haven't researched that stuff for while. Take a look around, though- the best gear generally comes up often around here.

I can answer some of your questions, though.

(Hmm- I should add that all this is for PC audio. I don't know anything about Mac.)

The easiest software to learn, in my opinion, is called n-track. www.fasoft.com. You have the money in your budget for much more expensive software, but n-track is very full featured and will allow you to learn about multitrack computer recording very inexpensively. Then, armed with more knowledge of what you need from your recording software, you can sink your money into a more professional platform.

You've got the list of needs down pretty well, too. I'll just run through the signal chain in rough order.

Mics (with cables and stands) -> Preamps (either in a mixer or as a separate unit) -> Line level cable -> Compressor? -> More cable -> Audio card interface (not all card have these breakout boxes) -> Audio card (obviously in the computer.)

(In the computer) Recording software, software effects plug-ins, wave editor, CD burner. Lots and lots of harddrive space!

(After the computer) Monitor amp and monitors OR powered monitors, cassette deck for tape mixs?

You've got a nice budget, too. You can get a classy setup for that amount, but you'll still want to prioritize how it gets spent. There are many options for low cost/high performance, but some things are more important than others. Here's my thoughts.

Spend the cash on a good computer, but avoid bells and whistles. Get lots of solid hardware- fast processor, lots of fast memory, 2 30gig 7200rpm harddrives, and a flatscreen monitor. The flat screen cause a LOT less buzz and noise through instrument pickups and cables. Hopefully, someone else can recommend a good computer.

Next, get a good mixer or good preamps. Since you want to record up to 6 mics, I'd go for a mixer. That will offer the most flexibility for the lowest cost. You may want to get a mixer and an outboard pre just to have different sounds availible. I, for example, have an Art Tube MP that I use to run my bass through- I just like the sound it gives the bass.

Next- Get a great soundcard!! This is the major bottleneck for digital audio so get the best one you can afford within the budget. You won't regret having a few more ins and outs than you thought you would need.

There are lots of inexpensive mics around these days. Studio Projects has some good ones, a few of the MXL mics are good. Rode makes some nice ones. Don't forget to pick up a couple Shure SM57's. Just hang out in the Mic forum a little and all the current good deals will surface pretty soon. :) DON'T spend a fortune on any one mic until your had some experience playing with the less expensive ones. I'd Learn first so that I know what to buy.

As for recording prgorams- here are the major players (other than n-track): Logic (which I hear tends to be complex. Anyone?), Cakewalk and Sonar (simpler, good MIDI handling.), Cubase (Good all-arounder, but new version out soon...who knows?), Cool Edit Pro (easy, but no MIDI. Good for audio.), and Pro Tools (literally pro level, may be complex?) There's lots of discussions about these things- truth is they all work and have their strengths and weaknesses.

I know that's not very specific as you had hoped, but that's the best I can do.

Good luck, and welcome aboard!
Chris
 
trustgod said:
When the Worship team is called in to sing I will require a few additional mic and line level inputs.
Click to expand...

Worship team? Is that kind of like the Football team? Only without all the pads and violence, I am assuming (?) Yea, I remember my high school soccer team and debate teams use to really blow, but our worship team kicked some serious ass, if you know what I'm saying.

Oops, I'm sorry. I forgot I was talking with a man of the cloth. Please forgive me.

So how does one aspire to become Minister of Music, if I might ask? I have been seeking advice on making a move to such a position, but I am doubtful that my college background and/or past experience . . . potty mouth, etc., make me a very good candidate.

I'm sure your Kurzwell will do just fine. :) They tend to have a sound that works very nicely in bedroom closets.
 
Yea, I know a lot of Ministers of Music who's worship teams swear by the Auralex Maxwalls.
 
wow, C7 gave you some good stuff there, lots of it. Good job C7! I agree with his post.

H2H
 
That's it c7! :mad:

I've had enough of your crap, I'm sending in my Worship Team to fight your Worship Team!

Ignore that, bizznatch!

;)
 
Hey Dolemite!

I'll bet my Minister of Music can beat your entire Worship team single-handed ! ! !
 
Chris Shaeffer: Many thanks for the link to fasoft and n-track. Excellent suggestion. I will take your advice and start out with this software since it is very affordable and seems easier to learn on. I am unfamiliar with the terms software plug-ins and wave editor - what are they specifically?

chessrock: In the most basic terms - A Worship Team is a band of musicians and singers that use music to glorify God. How does one become a Minister of Music? Good question. I was asked and accepted. Only the vocalists and acoustic guitars wil be mic'd in the closet since the acoustics are probably better in there due to the lack of reflective surfaces. The Kurzweil (when it works) has a nice sound. They do not stand up well to touring however.

c7sus: Does it matter if the PC is Intel P4 or AMD? My brother offered to give me his old AMD computer that was optimized for playing games. However, I was informed by another musician that gaming computers are not always best for audio applications such as home recording. Thank you for the RODE NT-2 mic suggestion. I will add it to my list of possibilities.

You wrote: "A decent board is the best way to keep track of everything and have I/O, volume and routing control at your fingertips. The Mackie you mentioned is a solid piece of gear........ there's unlimited opinions about the "musicality" of it, though..."
How so? What mixer should I consider for my set up? Angermeyer expressed concern about Behringer mixers. Are they poorly constructed or is the company unethical? I'm off to check out the Auralex website.

Thanks All!
 
Wow, TrustGod- you're up late! :)

A plug-in is like an effects unit- like reverb, chorus, vibrato, compression, etc. They are one of the nice perks about digital recording. For the most part, though, you have to buy the ones that sound really good. Most recording software comes with an assortment of them, some more useable than others.

A wave editor is a program that you use to doctor up a single audio file. I don't use mine very often, but others use them all the time for adding some effects or doing fine editing on their tracks. Most notably, you will need an editor of some kind for finishing your song and getting it ready for being burned to CD. Cutting the song file to the proper length, adding a fade out, and perhaps compressing or limiting it. They are handly programs.

Hmmm...just how old is that AMD? You can always re-optimize the machine for audio, but old AMD's (pre-Athalon, I think) don't do nearly as well as the Intel chips for audio. In any case, a free machine is a free machine. It might work.

Geez, I'm so used to thinking in terms of low budget. These days, a decent new machine will make only a small dent in what you have availible. Still, if you can save money on the machine, why not?

Now I am off to bed- so early over here on the West coast. :D

Chris
 
Chriss Shaeffer and c7sus have given you very sound advice.

I would like to reinforce the fact that.........

Your SOUNDCARD and MONITORS are the essential pieces of your setup. They are very important. It is how you get the material IN and OUT of your computer (AD/DA), in reference to the soundcard. AND, how you hear what is truly going on sonically with your music, in reference to the monitors.
 
SPINSTERWUN: Thanks for all the great links! Most appreciated.
The Mackie HR824THX bested all the other monitors I auditioned the other day. I would still like to give the KRK V8's a listen before I make my purchase. Any thoughts on the top two or three soundcards I should consider?

c7sus: Sweetwater.com recommends the Spirit M12 mixer for my system. They put together an Apple/MOTU based DAW that exceeded my budget by several thousand dollars. They prefer Apple over PC.

Chris Schaeffer: You noted: "Wow, TrustGod- you're up late!"
Insomnia. I average three to four hours of sleep a night. It is both a blessing and a curse.

Are there latency problems when using "plug-ins and doing overdubs?" Is there a software/soundcard/plug-in combination that works best if i opt to use soft synths/virtual instruments?

Blessings,

Eddie
 
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