Starting from Zero

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Locke

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Hi all, newbie here.

I am looking for a reasonable quality low-ish price set up for home recording of mainly vocals.

What I need:

Microphone - I want a condenser microphone for vocal recordings, mainly of single vocals but also possible small group vocal recordings.

Preamp/Mixer - The number of channels required would be pretty low, probably only 2, vocals and potentially a keyboard, if this could come with phantom power that would be ideal as I don't own a separate one.

I have been suggested a potential dynamic microphone alternative but wanted to know what else was out there, any suggestions would be very much appreciated!!!

Thanks
 
Not knowing your budget... I'd look at SE2200a (MP) and the Rode NT2. Both sit in what most would consider to be the 'mid-range'.

Your 'Preamp/Mixer'... Would this be your Audio Interface for a computer based recording setup?

If so... There's a lot to choose from... I like my little Focusrite 2i2 but some people would find it limiting on features...
 
Old record I know but...Anytime "keyboards" are mentioned you have to consider MIDI and the 2i2 does not have it.

2i4 does but the Steinberg UR22 is way cheaper (£99 in many places here) and nothing bad found. However, if the keyboard contemplated has its own audio output an AI with two extra lne iputs would be the most flexible choice . None better for the money of course than the NI KA6.

Dave
 
My suggestion for a microphone that can do solo or group vocals would be a multi-pattern mic. I can only vouch for the Avantone CV-12 with my limited mic experience, but there are a bunch of mics based on the same design. You can switch from a cardioid (unidirectional) or figure 8 (bidirectional) or omnidirectional pattern, and a few in between patterns, which would be able to accommodate one or several singers gathered around the mic.
 
Thanks all for the reponses so far! I should definitely have put in a price range in the original with a lot of this stuff being quite a bit higher than my my price range. I was looking for thing at a more amateur level, total maybe being around £150. Of course there the is the alternative of going the dynamic microphone route which would obviously be cheaper but I didn't know at this price range whether it was still worth trying to find a cheap condenser set up.

Thanks again :)
 
ecc83 said:
Old record I know but...Anytime "keyboards" are mentioned you have to consider MIDI and the 2i2 does not have it.

2i4 does but the Steinberg UR22 is way cheaper (£99 in many places here) and nothing bad found. However, if the keyboard contemplated has its own audio output an AI with two extra lne iputs would be the most flexible choice . None better for the money of course than the NI KA6.

Dave
Click to expand...

Although I agree with everything said, most new midi keyboards are USB-midi so the lack of midi port on the 2i2 make no difference and you can always pick up a midi interface as and when you need it...

As for your budget... If the £150 is just for the mic : NT1a is a good bet, maybe an Audio Technica AT2030...

If the £150 is to include your Audio Interface then back to Focusrite (or maybe Presonus) for one of their 'Studio' packages...

Merry Christmas everyone...
 
The fact that you asked about a mixer, means you need to do some learnin' - read this thread first.

Do you have a DAW (recording software) already? Headphones for monitoring tracks when recording with mic? Monitor speakerss? Mic stand?
 
"most new midi keyboards are USB-midi so the lack of midi port on the 2i2 make no difference and you can always pick up a midi interface as and when you need it..."

We (well! "I") have been through this ad.n. A USB kbd is not a MIDI interface and it is cheapass penny pinching beyond belief to make an AI sans DINs! In any case the UR22 is an excellent interface and cheaper than the 2i2 so a win-win no brainer.

Dave.
 
How about the Samson C01 condenser mic for £49? RockStop have it, and there's a Sound on Sound review of it to help you decide.

I have one of these but haven't used it much yet. It gives good sound through my Scarlett 2i4, and I haven't noticed the background noise the SoS review mentions.. This thing is heavy, though, and while it's fine on a desk stand, you'd need a strong mic clip to put it on a boom. I should also point out that it doesn't come with the spider shock mount as shown in the SoS article; those things come in at £25-30 on their own.
 
Not to beat the midi horse past death, but my new keyboard (Kawai CE220) came with both, and I cannot tell any difference in functionality when I plugged it in using the dins and now when it's plugged in USB except that now, if I want to use the internal sounds and record via stereo 1/4 outs, I have to disconnect the USB cable or it makes a racket. Dins were quiet through the unit's outputs.
 
AFA mikes go, don't forget MXL. Cheap mikes based on great schematics that can be upgraded to much better mikes for reasonable later.
 
Thanks a lot! Been reading and I'm now looking at Audio Interfaces.

As a simple and pretty cheap set up:

-Focusrite Scarlett Solo Audio Interface
-Audio-Technica AT2020

This would mean the use of the aux out of my Yamaha P105 but presumably this would do the job?

I have quite a bit of experience using Audacity and it seems pretty capable, I have some pretty good headphones for the job as well so I would just need a mic stand :)

Thanks
 
And mike stands are fairly cheap! (especially if you find one in a pawn shop).
 
What I said about MXL before, they've got the 990/991 kit HERE for $99 today. I'm considering it myself for that price.
 
AFA interfaces go, for inexpensive, try the ART USB Dual Pre ($80 at sweetwater and elsewhere) 2x2 simplicity.
 
I don't really understand what difference having a stereo output from a keyboard would have seeing as it is a single audio source... would it split different parts of the sound to L and R?
 
Locke said:
I don't really understand what difference having a stereo output from a keyboard would have seeing as it is a single audio source... would it split different parts of the sound to L and R?
Click to expand...

A CD or MP3 player is "a single audio source" but you want them in stereo doncha??
Consider a synth playing a piano sound? Pianos are Big Mothers with bass strings one end, middle in the centre and "treble" on the right (a fact that makes it a skill to record them well). Then, keys can split. L hand bass guitar, right hand sackbut!

ALL live sound has space around it, "stereo" keyboard is just an electronic attempt to make them more interesting.

Dave.
 
Yeah, it's like making a drum kit sound stereo by panning the toms and cymbals left to right as you'd hear them if you were right on top of the kit. When you're 30 feet away from the kit, you don't get that separation, so it doesn't sound the same. Same with the piano. When you play a big grand, you get that beautiful stereo field, and it's a joy to play, but the people in the audience only hear what's coming off the sound board as a whole. When you play a guitar, you hear the fret noises more on the left side (if you're right handed) and the sound hole more in the right ear.
If you've spent your life listening to instruments from a distance, the stereo thing is kind of moot, but if you've been right on the instruments or played them, and you hear them mono, it's noticeable.
 
The MXL 990 is one of the best mikes in the world for modding as it is based (as referenced in Mark's reference) on a very nice Schoeps circuit. With proper mods (usually around $350) you replace the board with a better quality, the capsule, and trim the screens down and get a (by all accounts) fabulous microphone for under $500. One such example is the Michael Joy mod set. No DIY worries, and only $329. Just Google "Hulk 990"
 
BroKen_H said:
The MXL 990 is one of the best mikes in the world for modding as it is based (as referenced in Mark's reference) on a very nice Schoeps circuit. With proper mods (usually around $350) you replace the board with a better quality, the capsule, and trim the screens down and get a (by all accounts) fabulous microphone for under $500. One such example is the Michael Joy mod set. No DIY worries, and only $329. Just Google "Hulk 990"
Click to expand...
Sounds like a "Trigger's Broom" scenario to me!

Dave.
 
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