Trying to understand how to set this all up!

J

jdizzle007

New member
Hello All,

I am super new at home recording... if there was a term that meant newer than newbie... thats what I am... :facepalm:

I'm trying to setup a little home-recording space at home, bought/traded for some gear and now am trying to figure out the best possible way to set everything up to get the best possible outcome.... and yes i know its not going to be pro-quality, and thats not what I'm going for, just hoping to produce some music that i wouldnt mind sharing with friends and on soundcloud, etc... I'm pretty close to my budget, but if there is something you think i absolutely can not go on without - please feel free to suggest. I am also running this on my Quad-Core Macbook Pro (Mac osx 10.8) with Garageband, but also have Abelton Live Lite for PC (Windows 7). I will at points have a vocals, drummer, bassist, and guitarist recording at the same time. If it makes more sense I can record vocals seperately -but again... clueless and making it up as I go lol... Any help would be much appreciated...
Thanks in advance!

This is what I have to work with:
Recording Interface: Focusrite Sapphire PRO 14
Mics: Behringer XM8500 Vocal Microphone, MXL990, and MXL991
Signal Processors: BOSS RPQ-10, Rapco db-100 DI, Behringer FBQ1000
FX Processors: TC Electronics M300 fx, Alesis MidiVerb 4 fx, Line 6 POD HD400
Instrument Inputs: Vox VR15 ValveReactor Guitar Amp, Roland TD-3, M-Audio Keystation 49e
Output: Presonus HP4 Headphone Amp and M-Audio Studiophile BX5 (pair) monitors

Setup Idea:
INPUT:
[Guitar] --1/4 to 1/4--> [Line 6 POD HD400] -- --> [Focusrite Sapphire PRO 14: Preamp Ch1]
[MXL/990 Mic] --xlr to 1/4--> [BOSS RPQ-10] --1/4 to dual 1/4--> [Alesis MidiVerb 4 fx] --dual 1/4 to 1/4--> [Focusrite Sapphire PRO 14: Preamp Ch2]
[Roland TD-3 Drum Module] --dual 1/4 to dual 1/4--> [Focusrite Sapphire PRO 14: Input Ch 3 & 4]
[Bass Guitar] --1/4 to 1/4--> [Rapco db-100 DI] --1/4 to dual 1/4--> [TC Electronics M300 fx] --RCA to RCA--> [Focusrite Sapphire PRO 14: SPDIF]
[M-Audio Keystation 49e] --Midi-Out to Midi-In--> [Focusrite Sapphire PRO 14: Midi-In]

OUTPUT:
[Focusrite Sapphire PRO 14 Output: Ch 1 & 2] --dual 1/4 to dual 1/4--> [Behringer FBQ1000 Ch 1 & 2] --dual 1/4 to dual 1/4--> [Presonus HP4]
 
Well, the good thing about this list is you have a great Audio Interface. The bad part is this interface only has 2 inputs with mic preamps, so that's the most number of mics you can use at one time (not good for recording drums) unless you get some external mic preamps.

Put all these in the closet (did you even know what you were buying?):
Signal Processors: BOSS RPQ-10, Rapco db-100 DI, Behringer FBQ1000
FX Processors: TC Electronics M300 fx, Alesis MidiVerb 4 fx

Plug everything straight into the Sapphire (bass, mics, POD output). You can use the POD if you like the tones you can get from it, you can also mic the Vox amp
 
Hi mjbphotos, Thanks for the response!

I'm glad to hear the Audio interface is good, i used it a few times just with my guitar and it was pretty easy to use. As for the other units, I had the BOSS RPQ-10, Rapco db-100 DI, and Behringer FBQ1000 laying around from awhile ago, and was trying to repurpose/reuse them lol... do you think its best to just leave them out/sell them off? I wanted to use external effects for my bass guitar and vocal recordings and was told the TC Electronics M300 and Alesis MidiVerb 4 (had good reverb and chorus review for bass recordings according to some forums) could fit the bill.

The TC Electronics M300 sparked my interest because it has the digital I/O and was hoping to use the matching Digital I/O on the Sapphire to gain another stereo input...

For drums I was going to use my Roland kit with the TD-3 module that has Stereo Out and take up Input channels 3 & 4 with that.



Trying to get drums, mic, guitar, and bass on their own track in garageband if possible... really so i can set it all up and sit down - pick up a guitar and go.

Thanks for the idea of mic-ing the VOX, didnt think of that because its such a small amp, guess that doesnt matter for my purpose here huh? :thumbs up:
 
mjbphotos said:
The bad part is this interface only has 2 inputs with mic preamps, so that's the most number of mics you can use at one time (not good for recording drums) unless you get some external mic preamps.

Put all these in the closet (did you even know what you were buying?):
Signal Processors: BOSS RPQ-10, Rapco db-100 DI, Behringer FBQ1000
FX Processors: TC Electronics M300 fx, Alesis MidiVerb 4 fx
Click to expand...

Okay, so i did some more research and took your advise (see below)..... i bought the Presonus FireStudio Project for a reasonable price and listed the Sapphire PRO 14, Alesis MidiVerb 4, and BOSS RPQ-10 all on craigslist for sell lol...

I want to hold on to the TC Electronics M300 for my bass or possibly vocals... if i were to keep this unit would it be better to plug it into the effects loop of the Presonus FireStudio Project or should i plug my bass directly into the unit and then the unit into the FireStudio?

This is what I have to work with:
Recording Interface: Presonus FireStudio Project
Mics: Behringer XM8500 Vocal Microphone, MXL990, and MXL991
Signal Processors: BOSS RPQ-10, Rapco db-100 DI, Behringer FBQ1000
FX Processors: TC Electronics M300, Line 6 POD HD400
Instrument Inputs: Vox VR15 ValveReactor Guitar Amp, Roland TD-3, M-Audio KeyStation 49e
Output: Presonus HP4 Headphone Amp, M-Audio Studiophile BX5 (pair) monitors

INPUT:
[MXL/990 Mic] --xlr-->[Presonus FireStudio Project: Preamp Ch1]
[MXL/991 Mic] --xlr-->[Presonus FireStudio Project: Preamp Ch2]
[Guitar] --1/4 to 1/4--> [Line 6 POD HD400] --1/4 to 1/4--> [Presonus FireStudio Project: Preamp Ch3]
[Bass Guitar] --1/4 to 1/4--> [Rapco db-100 DI] --1/4 to dual 1/4-->[Presonus FireStudio Project: Preamp Ch4]
[Roland TD-3 Drum Module] --dual 1/4 to 1/4--> [Presonus FireStudio Project: Preamp Ch5]
[M-Audio KeyStation 49e] --Midi-Out to Midi-In--> [Presonus FireStudio Project: Midi-In]

OUTPUT:
[Presonus FireStudio Project Main Out] --dual 1/4 to dual 1/4--> [Behringer FBQ1000] --dual 1/4 to dual 1/4--> [Presonus HP4]
 
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