New to recording, need advice
Home > Home Recording Forum > Recording Techniques > New to recording, need advice
Posted on Mar 07, 2006 12:36 am
Moonstruck
Member Since: Mar 07, 2006
Hello there. :)
A few months ago I ditched my old fender for a good acoustic guitar with pickups and the foresight that I may in fact one day want to start recording my music.
That day is here... I notice so much of the equipment advice here is geared towards people with electrics and I can't seem to find any real information on what is most suitable for acoustic.
I'm not a rich man (well at least not after buying my Tacoma) so I'm looking on a cheaper side of things. Obviously I want to record through the computer... So, specs:
Athlon 64 3000+
1GB OCZ Dual Channel DDR Ram (Expanding to 2)
300GB Seagate Hard Drive
I'm using the onboard Realtek soundcard so that could potentially be an issue, though I was looking into getting a Creative Xi-Fi but I don't know if it will make a difference except for CPU speeds while recording.
Anyway, help and equipment advice would be appreciated. Just want to be able to plug in the guitar, a mic and go at er'.
Thanks in advance. :)
[ Back to Top ]
meltdown5Faze 2 StudiosMember
Since: Aug 15, 2005
Mar 07, 2006 12:54 am well, it would be really helpfull if you could give us your budget, But if I were you i'd get a DigiDesign M-box, or M-box 2. They have very good sounding pre-amps, you wont need a new sound card (its a firewire interface) and it comes with very good software (atleast in my opinion, everyone has their favorite though) it comes with pro-tools. All you would really need to get would be a decent pair of headphones, and a lower end Condenceer microphone, and you would have a very good sounding acoustic guitar/vocal sound.
I'd at least take a look if i were you.
and depending on where you buy the stuff (id shop ebay if I were you) you can get that stuff for pretty cheap
-my 2 cents
Mar 07, 2006 10:34 am I use a Presonus Firepod, it has eight inputs though don't know if you need that much. They have a smaller model with two inputs call the Firebox. Check it out.
Mar 07, 2006 12:34 pm The SoundBlaster would be better, but still not good. The Realtek WILl be an issue, no doubt about it. You are better off getting some sort of pro or semi-pro sound card, a card like that with the same in and out jacks and such would run you about $100 for an M-Audio www.homerecordingconnecti...Audiophile+2496 which would be a huge improvement over the Realtek and a large improvment over the SB. The Audiophile will have better A/D and D/A convertors and records at high bit rates and is much better equiped for high volume full-duplex use. Another is the ESI Juli@ www.esi-pro.com/viewProduct.php?pid=43&page=1 which is the card I use and I love it...I have had the Audiophile in the past as well, it's a very good card.
Mar 07, 2006 01:07 pm With either the Audiophile or the Juli@ am I still going to need a pre-amp? They look like great solutions to me however I'm not sure I can shell out the cash for both... Though if need be, I might just do it.
I'm not too sure about the USB and firewire interfaces.
What are people's experiences? Are either of these solutions better than the other, really?
(Budget is about $500 - $600 canadian dollars, btw, I can't go hardcore and get the best in the world)
Mar 07, 2006 01:11 pm Well, whether you buy a separate sound card and preamp or a card with built in preamps you are going to be spending close to the same money for comparable quality...a small mixer isn't expensive and has the preamps you need...or there are standalone preamps as well.
I personally am not a big fan of firewire or USB solutions if you have a desktop, they are the only answer for laptop applications, but if you have a desktop I would always suggest sticking with PCI.
Mar 07, 2006 01:16 pm Alright then. Any specific cards with the preamp built in for reccomendation?
Thanks for the help by the way, it's a life saver. :)
Mar 07, 2006 01:22 pm It's USB, but it's cool www.homerecordingconnecti...erface+with+DSP and comes with some great software, Tracktion. For PCI solutions, there is quite a few, you'd have to search the online catalog to see them, to many to list out...
Mar 07, 2006 02:05 pm Does the Juli@ require a standalone? It seems like an amazing card.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Mar 07, 2006 09:18 pm How about a Line 6 UX-2.
www.homerecordingconnecti...rding+Interface
It is USB, but it is working absolutely stellar here. You would have the direct line inputs as well as 2 pre-amped mic inputs which happen tp be able to run through some killer high dollar pre amp models. I have allready used it several times for the pre models with fantastic results.
