3
3nigma
New member
Hi. I've always wanted to create electronic music, but only recently did I get serious about it. My goal is to basically set up a GOOD, not amazing, not perfect, but good home recording studio in a small bedroom. My budget is somewhere around $300. So, lets get into the technical stuff that maybe you more experienced guys can help me with.
Here's what I already have. I'm going to be using Fruity Loops Producer 8.0, Audacity, Sony Soundforge, and a few other audio programs. So that part is taken care of. My hardware is an HP Centrino laptop, and I'm just going to use the onboard soundcard. I don't even really have any information on it. It says in my system information that it's SoundMAX integrated Digital Audio.
1. I want to be able to record professional sounding vocals without having to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. I know it can be done, and I've seen people do it inside their closets and the sound comes out crisp and amazing. So, I've been eyeing a few microphones and I've found these.Shure SM58 and a MXL V57M Studio Condenser Microphone. (Blah, new user, can't post links) What do you guys think? I've heard great things about the Shure, but the condenser one seems nice as well.
2. This is the big thing. I need to be able to plug the mic into something which then records into the computer. But, I'm sort of confused on this issue. Since my sound card is obviously pretty crappy, I shouldn't invest in a mixer right? So I was thinking of getting one of those things that records inside it, then you just hook it up and transfer the raw uncompressed sound format through USB without having to do anything else, and THEN you mix it using a program or something. I don't want to spend more than... say $100 on one of these. No clue what it would be called.
3. I need a MIDI keyboard, just to be able to key the notes that would show up in the Fruity Loops program. I don't need a fancy keyboard either, just able to sequence the notes to the computer. $50 should be fine? Let me know if you guys know some good offers.
4. Some giant tutorial book that I can read whenever I get a chance, or as a reference guide. I saw this one at a Barnes and Nobles, but tell me if you know something better. It looked really comprehensive though. It's the Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies.
And then, what else would I need? The microphone, the standalone recorder thing, the MIDI keyboard, and then what? Do I need lots of cables? Or, some sort of master cable input? Because I don't think my soundcard has a MIDI input. I've basically got USB and that's it. I don't care about recording multiple tracks at the same time by the way, which seems to be one of the downsides of USB to some people, so USB is just fine with me. Also, what kind of cable do I need for the microphone to be able to plug into the recorder?
All of this should be able to get up to 320 kbps in sound quality I'm assuming. As today, any Joe Schmo can make a brilliant piece of music in his garage, so I'm guessing I can too. =D So thanks in advance for reading my babble and I appreciate whatever advice I get. You'll probably see me lurking on here a lot.
Here's what I already have. I'm going to be using Fruity Loops Producer 8.0, Audacity, Sony Soundforge, and a few other audio programs. So that part is taken care of. My hardware is an HP Centrino laptop, and I'm just going to use the onboard soundcard. I don't even really have any information on it. It says in my system information that it's SoundMAX integrated Digital Audio.
1. I want to be able to record professional sounding vocals without having to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. I know it can be done, and I've seen people do it inside their closets and the sound comes out crisp and amazing. So, I've been eyeing a few microphones and I've found these.Shure SM58 and a MXL V57M Studio Condenser Microphone. (Blah, new user, can't post links) What do you guys think? I've heard great things about the Shure, but the condenser one seems nice as well.
2. This is the big thing. I need to be able to plug the mic into something which then records into the computer. But, I'm sort of confused on this issue. Since my sound card is obviously pretty crappy, I shouldn't invest in a mixer right? So I was thinking of getting one of those things that records inside it, then you just hook it up and transfer the raw uncompressed sound format through USB without having to do anything else, and THEN you mix it using a program or something. I don't want to spend more than... say $100 on one of these. No clue what it would be called.
3. I need a MIDI keyboard, just to be able to key the notes that would show up in the Fruity Loops program. I don't need a fancy keyboard either, just able to sequence the notes to the computer. $50 should be fine? Let me know if you guys know some good offers.
4. Some giant tutorial book that I can read whenever I get a chance, or as a reference guide. I saw this one at a Barnes and Nobles, but tell me if you know something better. It looked really comprehensive though. It's the Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies.
And then, what else would I need? The microphone, the standalone recorder thing, the MIDI keyboard, and then what? Do I need lots of cables? Or, some sort of master cable input? Because I don't think my soundcard has a MIDI input. I've basically got USB and that's it. I don't care about recording multiple tracks at the same time by the way, which seems to be one of the downsides of USB to some people, so USB is just fine with me. Also, what kind of cable do I need for the microphone to be able to plug into the recorder?
All of this should be able to get up to 320 kbps in sound quality I'm assuming. As today, any Joe Schmo can make a brilliant piece of music in his garage, so I'm guessing I can too. =D So thanks in advance for reading my babble and I appreciate whatever advice I get. You'll probably see me lurking on here a lot.
