Suggestions on gear

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cocopuck

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I am planning on starting my own home studio and have been researching gear for quite some time. this is the list of equipment that I plan on purchasing and was wondering if anyone out there had any suggestions.

A Korg D1600 16 track recorder
A cheap 8 channel mixer for premixing acoustic drums (due to the korg having only 4 xlr inputs)
A Nady 7 pack drum mic kit with 2 condensers
2 Large Diaphram Condeser Mics (costing under $70 like the Global Audio GXL2000 or Samson C01)
And 3 or so all purpose mics such as 3 Samson R21s ($50)


I want to spend my money first on a quality recorder with 16 tracks first. At first i just want adaquate mics like the ones listed above but would really like suggestions with which ones to choose. I would like to have enough to record a band live. And after a while i will build up to higher quality shure mics.
 
cocopuck said:
(due to the korg having only 4 xlr inputs).
Click to expand...

That shouldn't be a problem, if any channel has a pre-amp anyway, you can get yourself an adapter from XLR to jack, but you won't be able to get your mics eventually phantom-powered.
 
I haven't actually used one, but from what I hear there are much better LD condensor mics to be had for around/under $70 than the Samson. Depending on what kind of music you're recording, the MXL 990 might be a good choice, for only $69 with case and shockmount from musiciansfriend.com. And there's also the v67B. If you don't care about getting the pretty gold one (the v67G) you can get this mic for $79 on Samash.com, assuming they still have those two left that they had when I checked yesterday.

Any particular reasons why you chose the C01, other than price (you're right, the price is right! You can get one brand new on eBay for $49!)? It's probably worth doing lots more research to find a mic that sounds like it would be most versatile. It might end up being the Studio Projects B-1, for $79. It's supposedly a VERY versatile mic.
 
All those mics you listed are absolute shit. You would be better off with one good mic than 10 crappy ones. Check out the mic forum for some better mic choices.

I wouldn't premix the drums either. 4 tracks is plenty for drums. If you can't get a good sound with 2 overheads, snare and kick then more mics won't help.
 
Well the korg is a nice unit, but the trend around here is certainly been to record direct to computer so you have unlimited tracks, even more hard disk space, and ready access to the full range of VST and DX sound effects.

And I definitly endorse the opinion to have fewer better mics
 
Would this be better selection for mics. For drums 2 over head condeser mics (I will do my homework in the mic section), and 2 Shure Sm57s one for the kick and one for the snare. And for recording guitars use the same two sm57s and directly run my bass. For vocals I will do my homework agian in the mic section and find a good LD Condenser. Also if needed i could use the LD Condenser for sound reinforcement 6 feet in front of the Drum Kit. Does this sound logical and practical and what could i still do better, or do i need to go back to the drawing board agian. Thanks for all of your help.
 
That's a better strategy.

57's are good on snare and electric guitar, not so good on kick. Something like an ATM25 is a better choice for about $100 used. One or two good LDC's can be used on anything.

A couple dynamics, a couple SDCs and LDCs and you should be ready for anything. It's also better to stick to good brands for mics and get fewer if that's all you can afford. Studio Projects and MXL are the only cheap mics that I would recomend and even they have a few clunkers in the lineup.
 
I agree that the mic choices you listed basically suck. Consider a dedicated kick mic (AKG D112, Shure Beta52, Audix D6), 2 small diaphragms for overheads (Oktava MC012, Marshall MXL603), a good basic dynamic for snare (Shure SM57,Sennheiser E835, AKG D880), and if you plan vocals, a large diaphragm condenser (Marshall MXL V67 B or G, Studio Projects B-1, Oktava MK319). Lots of channels and lots of bad mics will not help you to get good sound. I would skip the mixer initially and spend the money on better mics, high quality cables, and some really good mic stands (consider cables by Mogami with neutrik connectors *not* HOSA, and On Stage SB96+ boom stands). If you're tracking separately, consider a pair of B-1's with the same color dot on the box (semi-matched). They are $80 each, and will work well as overheads, on acoustic guitar or other instruments, and aren't bad as vocal mics or on toms. They are very versatile, and that's good when the budget's tight. If it were my tight budget, I'd start with any of the above kick mics, 2 B-1's, an SM57, and V67. There's nothing that can't be decently recorded with that cabinet.- Good luck.-Richie
 
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