The one man band

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georgem

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I tried searching for this topic and found it difficult to not use words like sudio, recording, etc that pulled up a million unrelated threads. So this total noob is just looking for some answers.

I have often toyed with the idea of recording but never ws educated enough on the technicals and didn't have any equipment. But, now I'm all about it and the only info I can find is for recording a full band and people needing the capacity for multi-track simultaneous recording. I don't. As of now its just me, but now the less I'd like to record some demos using songs consisting, at the very max, of 2 guitars, a bass, a keyboard, and vocals. So I need to have the availabililty to record and overlay at least 5-6 tracks but I don't need to record them all at once considering its only me.

So I'm looking for some suggestions from you all on what the best course of action is, everything I've read about for the most part is going to be way overboard for me. I looking for a PC based setup, mixer and most effects in the software form. But i'm totally clueless on hardware necessities and what things i'll need to get for my computer etc.

Any help is appreciated and a run through from guitar in hand to cd in hand would be awesome.
 
Well, I can tell you what I have, and then you can see if it is helpful. I generally do everything myself, except for some internet collabs I've done recently. I have a very simple setup, but it gets the job done. I have no aspirations of being a pro, just do it for fun.

That said, my guitars are played through a POD XTL as the stompbox, and either mic'd with a Shure SM57, or just direct, depending on if i can make noise or not. If mic'd, it goes into an M-Audio Buddy pre, then into a Delta 44 soundcard. I then edit it in Adobe Audition. Vocs are done with an At4040 mic, into the pre, soundcard, and same program. For my bass, I amp it through a cheap digital 4 track that has a bass amp modeler, then direct into the soundcard.

I did just order a DMP3, but it won't be here until next week, so can't really comment on it, but alot of people like them for a decent, yet inexpensive pre.

So, for equipement, you will need some editing/recording software for the pc, and some of it comes with plugins, or you can download some good free ones to use as effects. You will need a mic, or 2 and a preamp at least.
Can't think of anything else to say right now, so let me know if this helps, or not.
Ed
 
that definately gets me on the right track. I looked up the soundcard and found on M-Audio's site. Just to clarify the preamp you have is the listed here under the related products area.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Delta44-main.html

i'm just trying to get a shopping list going. So hypothetically i could buy the soundcard and pre from these guys then go out and buy whatever software i'm comfortable with and i'd pretty much be set? (minus extra cables, other little stuff, and new mic of course)

oh one other question, does this sound card replace the existing and preform all the regular functions as well, or is this an "in addition to" kinda thing?

thanks a lot.
 
Another simple solution is getting the Mbox by Digidesign. It comes bundled with Protools LE and a host of other "lite" versions of different software and plugins like Sampletank, Amplitube, Reason, Live. Etc. It's got everything you really need and probably more. The PC requirements for Protools are a little annoying, but you can probably get it to work on most machines with a little tweaking. Make sure you check their website for compatiblity documents before buying though.
You'll need to add a mic and some monitors, but there's lots of options for either of those.
How much are you willing to spend?
 
i'd suggest the Delta 66 over the Delta 44... its a bit more expensive, but if you ever decide to add some more inputs for a relatively small amount of money, the SPDIF is going to help. if you look for posts on them both, you'll find a couple of people who wished they'd forked over the extra moolah :p

Andy.
 
i just came across the Mbox as well, but I actually already have a copy of Cakewalk from about 2 years ago. A friend put it on my comp and I have never used it, so i won't probably go with the MBox b/c I dont need protools. I'm only looking to spend around 300, which i think is acceptable. I found the delta 44, the Audio buddy pre amp, and a shure 57 all on ebay for about 300 combined.

I did see the 66 but i'm just really positive i don't need the extra capacity, i don't have any intention of recording with others at this time, and since i can only play one instrument at a time i don't need all the other inputs. everything is written on an acoustic, i'll put that down and then lay vocals, leads, piano, and maybe a bass over that.
 
One other solution that hasn't been mentioned, is instead of the preamp, get yourself a mixer. They (even the cheapies,) come with preamps and are fine for most home applications. Mixers are VERY useful and can be found for as little as $50.
 
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