new to comp recording, looking for more advice than already posted

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Member Since: Mar 17, 2009

i'm new to recording on computers also, and looking for advice on computer systems. i've used 4 track and digital 8 track recorders, but all i ever find on comps is "it depends on what you want." but..none the less...i'm open for suggestions but currently i'm thinking of an:
Acer - Aspire Laptop with IntelĀ® PentiumĀ® Dual-Core Processor T3400 its processor speed is 2.16 GHz, 250 GB RAM, and 5400 RPM (hopefully upgradeable to 7200)

[and plugging in with a Tascam us-122 interface, and using either Cubase or Cakewalk Home Studio (i already have this stuff from a friend)]

probably use a blue snowball microphone, a shure mic, and some other random stuff. but i'm really hoping for some good ideas here, and i'm on a limited budget of about 1200. tell me what you think...

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producer
Member
Since: Dec 07, 2006


Mar 18, 2009 02:34 am

Hi and welcome to HRC...

250 GB of RAM??? I'll go out on a limb and assume you mean hard disk capacity. :)

Sounds like a pretty decent set up to me. You might want to provide some more info about your goals with this system so people can make recommendations based on your needs.

For example, without knowing what type of recordings you are looking to do and what types of inputs you need (ie. number of instruments/mics) its hard to give advice.

I havent heard any personal reviews on the Tascam US-122, but keep in mind it will limit you down to 2 simultaneous inputs. Now that might be fine if you are tracking everything 1 or 2 tracks at a time and never need more than 2 inputs, but in the case of micing a drumset for example, you will need something with more ins.

Also, you will most likely want an external (usb or firewire) hard drive exclusive to your recordings. It's best to keep the recordings on a different drive than where your run your system and software. Also, most external HDs are 7200 RPM - as opposed to the laptop standard of 5400 rpm.

From what you have described (and consideration for not knowing the actual RAM on this PC), the computer sounds to be, as-is, more than enough to track and playback many tracks with effects.

i think others can help you more on mics, but the snowball and shure mics seem to me to be good general choices with budget and quality in mind.

Czar of Turd Polish
Member
Since: Jun 20, 2006


Mar 18, 2009 11:52 am

Honestly, the 5400rpm drive in my laptop handled 12 48Khz tracks at once no problem. 7200rpm is nice but not necessity.

On my old laptop I had issues with mmulti tracks and thought the HDD was the problem. Now, not so much. If I can track 8 channels through a USB port that only does 480Mbps I'm sure a 5400rpm drive should handle the task.

RAM and CPU are the biggies.

Member
Since: Mar 17, 2009


Mar 18, 2009 01:14 pm

hard disk capacity, correct. thanks. so you answered the questions well, and to solve the input problem i'm thinking of a mixing board, to mic all drums, the downside of that is that it will all be on one track, except for the snowball, which is a usb mic. i'm looking into external hard drives as well, so thank you for confirming. do you have any recomendations for an ex. hard drive? any other comments are appreciated.

as far as music goes, its punk rock typically, some metal probably, you know.

Prince CZAR-ming
Member
Since: Apr 08, 2004


Mar 18, 2009 01:40 pm

You'll probably want to have 2 tracks, actually a stereo track would work, coming from the drums. Then you can use the mixer to put individual parts into the stereo field, by using pan on the mixer, if they're not panning nicely already.

Also, you may not be able to record using the US122 and USB mic at the same time. Many softwares aren't too happy about 2 input sources at the same time. You may get WDM to work, or ASIO4ALL might as well, but I'd not hold my breath. You may have to track individually.

Otherwise, i'm not using external, so i'm no help there. I read over on reaper that esata external would be a great way to go. Much faster than other connections. I don't remember details, but it's worth looking into.

Czar of Turd Polish
Member
Since: Jun 20, 2006


Mar 18, 2009 02:30 pm

WD Mybook extrenal drive for me, Studio version which has esata, usb and firewire. Works well and is 7200rpm and therefore requires it's own power supply. Being powered it definitely has enough oomph to handle recording. I also do HD video work on it.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Mar 18, 2009 07:16 pm

Just a note, make sure you have plenty of RAM. You will find a 2.1gig CPU is on the minimum side but it will work for sure.

Also, you will nor be able to run the Blue Ball and your other interface together. ASIO drivers will allow only one manufacturer device running at once.

Also, you might want to make that that friend has all the updates for whatever software you are going to use.

Member
Since: Mar 17, 2009


Mar 18, 2009 08:18 pm

thanks for the update on the Blue Ball. i wont spend money on that then if i'm gonna have a usb mixer or anything. thanks for the help...

Czar of Turd Polish
Member
Since: Jun 20, 2006


Mar 19, 2009 11:36 am

What is the price on that acer just curious. I picked up my Dell from Best Buy on sale for $600, not good for HD video work as the graphics card is integrated (new adobe premiere can utilize discete graphics for processing video, how cool), but for my mobile studio work it has been fantastic.

With the external drive I simply capture all the tracks using the laptop, then hook it up to desktop for mixing.

Mine is the Inspiron 1420 with a T5750 @ 2.0Ghz, 3GB Ram, Vista 32 and a 250GB 5400rpm drive. Don't lowball it by all means, but most new generation laptops will tear through audio with no problems.

I'm not sure of your budget, but beings you want to do drums perhaps just save a bit more for an 8 channel interface. I have seen the UX8 going for as low as $400. Tracking drums on 6 channels while modeling two channels of guitar\bass etc.. is very usable and has got hours of use in my studio. I picked one up as soon as they were released and don't regret it whatsoever.

That of course is just an option, but you may be one of those guys that can actually use 8 channels or more.

Member
Since: Mar 17, 2009


Mar 19, 2009 01:42 pm

the acer is 399 standard...with the upgrades i planned on getting i'm not sure...maybe a hundred more or so...but i'm still testing the options. theres so much to take into consideration and what not. i'm looking at an 8 channel usb mixer as well thinking that might be a good way to go, four mic preamps and four other inputs that can record 8 tracks at once...rids me of a single mixer and the interface, and blends it into one, and it comes with cubase le. i heard thats a decent program...but can be confusing.

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