Yeah, I'm newbie at this. posted by c...

pjk
Prince CZAR-ming
Member
Since: Apr 08, 2004

Oct 08, 2006 09:47 am

Welcome to HRC, Matt.

First, the mic, like WYD mentioned. A Shure SM57 is a workhorse mic, used on lots of well known recordings, and reportedly good for male voices. Another option, is the LDC, like WYD also mentioned above. LDC will give you a more open, airy, and detailed sound. Sometimes you want this, sometimes you don't. Research will decide.

From mic , goes the cable. pretty easy to understand.

After the mic, is the preamp. This can be standalone, like an maudio audio buddy, or it can be in a mixer, like a behringer ub802. standalones can be easier to work with - cable in, cable out - but the mixer can offer routing options, connecting a few things, and routing signal as you need it. A few decent low priced LDC - AT2020, MXL stuff, Studio Projects stuff.

Preamps can also be integrated in an audio interface (mentioned below) so you don't need a separate preamp.

Between the preamp and audio interface, you can use a compressor, limiter, gate, or EQ. These aren't required, but a compressor is a good investment, as it can fatten up your voice signal, plus keep your input from clipping in the audio interface. I'll let you research these hardware devices too.

Next, audio interface. This can be an external device, like a USB or Firewire device (maudio mobile-pre, edirol UA25, Tascam US122, etc). Being external lets you use it on a laptop, but laptops can offer their own issues. Opting for an internal card, PCI would be the route. These offer usually superior speed of tracking, and there's a lot of options out there that are quite stable (maudio audiophile 24/96, ESI Juli@, etc).

I'll throw in multiple input cards, like the maudio delta 1010lt. This gives 8 analog inputs, and 8 analog outputs, for tracking more than 2 inputs at a time. The price goes up, and you may not need more than 2 inputs, so these probably don't apply.

Inside the computer, you'll need software to work all this. WYD mentions Home Studio, which I'm sure is a great app for up-starts. I've not used it, but I'll back WYD's info, as he's done this for awhile.

Software wise, midi may be an option, as it gives you access to sounds you can't get on your own. MIDI can eat up time, and creativity though, while adding many layers to your sound. If you need Sitar, Glockenspiel, vast symphonic backgrounds, etc., MIDI would be the way to go. I'm pretty sure Home Studio has some midi implentation. They've been pretty well known for their midi engines.

Drumming may be an option for MIDI as well. I've used FL Studio for sequencing drums, and it's worked pretty well. MIDI can be used to program drums as well, getting soundfonts with the drum samples inside, then just 'playing' the note (drum sound) when you want it.

After you get the signals tracked, you'll want to mix them together, and maybe add some proccessing, or additional effects. The Kjaehus audio classic series is great for free:

www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-series.php

I've been using their compressor and limiter on stuff, plus their reverb a few times. THey have worked great for me, and sound pretty decent too.

THere's other free audio plug-ins, plug-in instruments, effects, etc. out there. I'll let you research that too =). KVR audio (kvraudio.com) is a huge tool for plug-in stuff. There's tons of stuff out there, some good, some bad. I'm sure people have spent huge amounts of time, trying out different things. Beware, plug-in searching can be addictive, time-consuming, and hard-drive-space consuming. =)

After you get the sound nice and together, you'll want to hear it =). Outputs from your audio interface, can plug into a amp of some sort, which drives speakers, or you can drive your output directly into powered monitors. This is an important part of the chain, because if you can't hear what your sound is like, you can't correct correctly =). Some use house type speakers, but home stereo speakers generally skew the sound, boosting the highs and lows, for the normal consumer ears. You don't want this for studio work. You want to hear accurately. Prices on monitors can start fairly low, and get very high, very quickly. I'll let you research this too =).

The room you mix in is critical as well. small rooms tend to give room nodes, which muddy and mask accurate sound. Give some attention to sound control in your mix area, if it's even just a few packing blankets, or maybe a couch, poofy chair, etc. It can help.

Lot's to look into, as you've asked a pretty open ended question.

Hope this helps out, and doesn't scare you away =). Like WYD says: "welcome to the money pit!".

I would have to agree =).

A good resource, is to look into people's profiles, here on HRC. (profile link, at the bottom of each post). You can see what people are using, and listen to their work (if they have some) to see if you like their sound.