What Non-Computer Equipment Do I Need For Recording & Mixing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Doctor Varney
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Doctor Varney

Cave dwelling Luddite
I want to set up a small recording facility for making audio books. I wish not to rely on computers because they keep going wrong.

What kind of hardware should I be purchasing to bring me professional results in recording and mixing?

Thanks in advance

Dr. V
 
Hey Varney.
When you say audio books, are you talking about straight speech?
Are you going to have intro/outro/story music, or sound effects?

I know it's not the answer you're looking for, but I'd encourage you to investigate your computer problems. Maybe someone here can help?
 
Yes, I had this problem too. As you can see, I've double posted because the site kept doing strange things. Come at a time when I can't tell if it's my computer or not.

I get what you're saying about investigating the computer problems. The system is here, up and running and it's probably one simple, little thing which is preventing my sound from going in and out right now. It was alright this morning. Now I have to do some serious work with a deadline, I have no sound in or out. I can't have this.

It's been happening for a long time now. I build quality computers out of hand picked parts. Everything is as good as it can be on my budget. I have good software....

But...

Computers are too complicated. They work for hours, weeks at a time and they are awesome and exciting. I learn my craft on them and get to a point where I'm confident. I bring in actors, directors and basically sell myself on my computer experience. Then, everyone arrives, ready to work and one tiny thing goes wrong, unexpectedly with the computer. I look like a complete idiot who doesn't know what he's doing and I'm left with egg on my face, wondering how I'm going to salvage my reputation...

...when what I should be sitting around doing, is mixing what we've just recorded.

And this is never gonna happen while I'm fudging about with these toys.

Plus, why is there a fucking dirty great advert in the middle of my post? I'm here to talk about recording, not Viagra or the online dating of geriatric nymphomaniacs.

Regards

The red-faced artiste (formerly known as Dr. V)
 
Hey,
I get what you're saying. There is an unwritten rule that if anything's going to go wrong, it won't go wrong when you're nice and relaxed with plenty of time to sort it out!

You could pick up a handheld recorder with XLR inputs and an SD card or USB slot.
That way your recording will (hopefully) never fail, but you can dump the recorded audio to PC afterwards for editing and mixing.
Solution?


The adverts thing.......two reasons... :p

One is that you've got some kind of virus I guess.

The other is....wel.....adverts are tailored according to your viewing history.
I've no idea how far that goes but I'm happy to edit my post if you want to edit yours. :p
 
your sound is limited by it's weakest link.


the most important link, is the capture.

if it's a live source, that means a good mic.

this is more important than any other issue.

after that, comes external processing (in order of importance: mic preamps, compressors, limiters, EQ's, cables, room treament, room treatment, room treatment, monitors, monitor amp if passive)
 
GONZO-X said:
your sound is limited by it's weakest link.


the most important link, is the capture.

if it's a live source, that means a good mic.

this is more important than any other issue.

after that, comes external processing (in order of importance: mic preamps, compressors, limiters, EQ's, cables, room treament, room treatment, room treatment, monitors, monitor amp if passive)
Click to expand...
Yeah....... but......

......he's saying his computer doesn't allow him to get sound in and out of it. All the room treatment in the world won't help that. :eek:

:D
 
Stand-alone recorders can fail too! Any equipment can fail. If this is a business (recording), first you should have a dedicated computer for recording - not be using the same one you use for internet stuff, etc. Second - a backup system! It need not be as powerful as your primary computer, but able to do the job 'in a pinch'.
 
Haha! No, I'm fine with that. I was exaggerating the effect of the advertising. The point is, computers don't just work for us, they invade out privacy. Can't do anything these days, without being tracked. Yet another complication.

I need some kind of unit where it's "Come in, sit down, *bish, bash, bosch* See this thing here? Well, your voice is going to be inside it *taps box* when we've finished. Happy with that? Right, go."

With computers there is too much added complication. I don't like the computer way of doing things. It doesn't suit me to sit starring up at a screen, pushing little coloured things about with a mouse, like some kind of video game.

So yeah, I would like to take my recordings and edit them finally on the PC. I will have to in order to burn the final production to CD/ render to MP3 etc for the market. But the in the actual creative process of performing, I don't want to be chained to a computer that could go wrong at any second, without warning.

Cheers

Dr. V
 
Doctor Varney said:
So yeah, I would like to take my recordings and edit them finally on the PC. I will have to in order to burn the final production to CD/ render to MP3 etc for the market. But the in the actual creative process of performing, I don't want to be chained to a computer that could go wrong at any second, without warning.
Click to expand...

A little handheld like I described should do the job then.

If you're interested in scrimping and saving, I'm sure you could probably pick up an SD based digital multitrack or something.
I actually just sold on an old stereo DAT recorder which had 2 mic preamps, phantom power, and spdif I/O.
Other than the real time transfer to computer, it would have been perfect.
Went for nothing too!

If you don't want to work at a computer that's cool, but I still think there'll be some underlying issue there.
People often give the advice about disabling this and uninstalling that, or even having a dedicated separate recording computer.
That has not been my experience; My laptop does everything and never skips a beat.

I've never had to treat my computer differently because I record on it.
 
Doctor Varney said:
So yeah, I would like to take my recordings and edit them finally on the PC. I will have to in order to burn the final production to CD/ render to MP3 etc for the market. But the in the actual creative process of performing, I don't want to be chained to a computer that could go wrong at any second, without warning.
Click to expand...

A little handheld like I described should do the job then.

If you're interested in scrimping and saving, I'm sure you could probably pick up an SD based digital multitrack or something.
I actually just sold on an old stereo DAT recorder which had 2 mic preamps, phantom power, and spdif I/O.
Other than the real time transfer to computer, it would have been perfect.
Went for nothing too!

If you don't want to work at a computer that's cool, but I still think there'll be some underlying issue there.
People often give the advice about disabling this and uninstalling that, or even having a dedicated separate recording computer.
That has not been my experience; My laptop does everything and never skips a beat.

I've never had to treat my computer differently because I record on it.
 
mjbphotos said:
Stand-alone recorders can fail too! Any equipment can fail.
Click to expand...

That much is obvious. Just as it was obvious, when my toaster stopped making toast, that it needed to be thrown out and replaced. What isn't so obvious is what obscure line of code, driver conflict, virus or god knows what else, is preventing a computer from doing what it's programmed to do.

My toaster was old, so it's failure was more or less expected sooner or later. My computer is brand new. Computers go wrong in so many colourful and interesting ways, yet by the time you've figured out precisely what the fault is, you could have returned any other purpose-built machine to where you bought it from, for a refund or sell it for parts only and buy a new one.

Yes, things go wrong and things break down. But that's life. I don't happen to want that part of my life complicated further, by something that still pretends to work, despite flatly refusing to do what I want it to.
first you should have a dedicated computer for recording
Click to expand...

Exactly - and I did - and that broke down as well. So I replaced it with a far more powerful system but was convinced by the PC builder that this new system would handle everything. Now I have all my money invested in an all singing, all dancing system, which is useless for work. Now this means I have to buy YET ANOTHER computer. This just isn't practical.
 
Doctor Varney said:
Exactly - and I did - and that broke down as well. So I replaced it with a far more powerful system but was convinced by the PC builder that this new system would handle everything. Now I have all my money invested in an all singing, all dancing system, which is useless for work. Now this means I have to buy YET ANOTHER computer. This just isn't practical.
Click to expand...

It doesn't sound like you're going to, but please don't buy another PC.
It's like buying a new car because you've a flat tyre or something.

You're right; They can be more hassle than they're worth when they're not set up right or infected, but those are the key words....not broken or damaged.

So many people I know say "oh, my computers really slow now so I'm going to buy a new one".
I always say "Was it fast when you bought it?"

If the answers yes, it's a 99.9% chance that they just need to start from scratch with it and a 0.01% chance that something is physically broken.
 
i use a Roland VS-1880, as a portable device.

it's not easy to get the output to wav, i have to burn a 'backup disc' in a proprietary format.....
then use a 3rd party software program to turn that backup disc into WAV files, then dump it into sonar to edit.


but i can work so much faster with a PC (desktop or laptop) that this method of working was retired at least 5 years ago.

with the exception of hard drive failure (you should always back up your data to an external drive anyway)....... there is no method of working faster and as powerful as a good pc setup.
IMHO

there are plenty of old school digital recorders that record at 16/44.1 into wav files.....

but i'd never record anything below 24 bit/44.1khz myself......
 
Steenamaroo said:
It doesn't sound like you're going to, but please don't buy another PC.
It's like buying a new car because you've a flat tyre or something.

You're right; They can be more hassle than they're worth when they're not set up right or infected, but those are the key words....not broken or damaged.

So many people I know say "oh, my computers really slow now so I'm going to buy a new one".
I always say "Was it fast when you bought it?"

If the answers yes, it's a 99.9% chance that they just need to start from scratch with it and a 0.01% chance that something is physically broken.
Click to expand...

You're right. When a computer starts acting badly, it's usually because the OS on the hard drive has become corrupted. You can salvage most computer hardware easily enough by re-installing or starting again with a new HD.

I'm sure I will be sooner or later advised to re install all my drivers and if this doesn't work, I can always wipe the OS and start again with Windows. But that will take days. I have a performance on Saturday and there is a lot of work to be done before then. By the time I have finished setting up this machine again, I doubt there will be enough time to get the preliminary work done.

It was set up, months ago, ready for this sort of job. Job comes in... computer fails. Just in time to make a fool of me, yet again.

So all I can do is switch the computer off now and find a way of working without it. If I persist in trying to get it to work, much time will be wasted and there's no guarantee it will be ready for use this week.

With a basic computer, I could surf and check my email and talk to you. If that had gone wrong, I could still get my work done, if I were recording and mixing with dedicated hardware. Now all I have left is a means to surf the net, check my email and moan online about it.

The fans make too much noise, anyway. Don't need that. Recording equipment needs to be silent. I've been advised to situate the computer outside the room, drilling holes in the wall to route cables and all manner of upheaval. What noise would a digital recorder make in the first place? None.

-----

So - what sort of price am I looking at for a basic hardware set up - for, say... 8 tracks? I need some basic FX, such as artificial reverb and reliable pre-amp staging for my mic. I already have a Behringer mixer which could be adapted for use here. Where would you recommend I start looking? And what are the pros and cons of different types?

Thanks for your time

Dr. V
 
Doctor Varney said:
So - what sort of price am I looking at for a basic hardware set up - for, say... 8 tracks? I need some basic FX, such as artificial reverb and reliable pre-amp staging for my mic. I already have a Behringer mixer which could be adapted for use here. Where would you recommend I start looking? And what are the pros and cons of different types?

Thanks for your time

Dr. V
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't realise you needed so many discreet tracks. I'm afraid I can't really help much further but I'm sure someone on here will have the info.
 
What do you mean by 'discreet'?

I only need to record one voice at a time. When the time comes, I intend to be able to multi-track my actors' voices to create live radio play recording. But for now, one voice in at a time will do. Which is all I can do with a computer, anyway. I just need to be able to mix up to eight tracks into the end result, which is two channel stereo.
 
Doctor Varney said:
...what sort of price am I looking at for a basic hardware set up - for, say... 8 tracks? I need some basic FX, such as artificial reverb and reliable pre-amp staging for my mic. I already have a Behringer mixer which could be adapted for use here. Where would you recommend I start looking? And what are the pros and cons of different types?

Thanks for your time

Dr. V
Click to expand...

Zoom R24 Multi-Track Recorder, Interface, Controller, and Sampler
  • Stand-Alone Multi-Track Recorder
  • USB 2.0 Computer Interface & Controller
  • Field Recorder & Portable Mixer
  • Sampler with 24 Voices
  • Drum Machine
  • AC or Battery Power
  • Built-In Stereo Condenser Microphones
  • Supports 32GB SD Cards
  • Mac & Windows Compatible
Zoom R24 Multi-Track Recorder, Interface, Controller, and R24
 
That looks really nice. Thank you. I'll start there and search for reviews of that and similar stuff then.
 
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