Incredibly Nub Questions Regarding Recording
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Posted on Nov 04, 2009 12:17 am
Senior Weasel
Member Since: Nov 03, 2009
Ok after getting past the self explanatory (not to mention long) title I'm going to go ahead and start the post by saying i have zero to no recording experience under my belt. I've been playing electric guitar pretty steadily for the past 3 years now, and the last 6 months i've been playing quite hard in my mind. I'm playing on a Schecter Hellraiser with a Fender 40w Blues Deluxe amp, and i've gotten myself quite interested in making my own recordings. With that being said, i've done a little research over the past few days and have found this forum very helpful, which is why i decided to finally go ahead and post.
But where do i start? What do i need? I like the idea of miking up to my amp. I'm leaning towards the Shure SM57, for both financial reasons and because it seems quite highly regarded. But what cables will i need to plug it into my computer? I see that Musician's Friend sells the mic with a USB converter, is that something i should consider?
What software do you guys recommend i look at? Something kind of user friendly that you don't need to know everything there is to know about recording/mixing to operate. (A friend showed me Audacity, seems alright but again, i'm looking for more input.)
All in all, I'm just looking for a little direction, I have a lot of questions that i would really like answered, but hate looking like i know little about nothing, y'know. :P
Anyways, thanks for putting up with me, and thank you for your answers. I really appreciate it!
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Nov 04, 2009 01:02 am Well, first off how serious are ya? :] Are you just looking for high quality guitar recordings for riffs, or do you plan on adding drums, bass, and vocals to the mix? And then theres the ever limiting question of your budget. How much would you like to spend on this stuff?
and btw, welcome to HRC :]
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Nov 04, 2009 09:40 am Welcome Senior, and don't be too shy around here, this bunch is quite noob friendly.
Anyway, good questions on Fragile's part; scope, and budget are two very important things.
I can give you a few ideas to start your research;
I'm assuming you're going to be using a PC, not a mac
Your mic choice is a good place to start. SM57 is a rock, and is used all over the industry (country, rock, etc). It will do you fine for now, and when you want to upgrade your mic(s), it still is very useful for lots of other things.
A preamp is needed, in some fashion. Some devices have one built in, some don't. For your use, having one built in will be easier. Something like the Line6 UX2 is a great place to start. Not much $$$, but pretty solid and well used by many on here.
if you went with something like the MAudio AP2496 PCI card, or the Delta 44 or 66 (all good options) then you'll need some sort of external preamp. Sometimes this can be standalone, or you can use preamps that are in a mixer. This is how I operate: mixer feeding channels into my interface (ESI ESP1010).
If you're looking towards MIDI (drum parts, other instruments, etc) then you may want to look a little farther. MAudio has some USB devices that have MIDI built in, plus have 2 onboard preamps (with XLR inputs).
It wouldn't hurt to have a device that can provide phantom power (necessary to use condenser mics), as you may be using condenser mics at some point.
I wouldn't point you in a 'usb converter' device, as I think these are pandering to the lowest level of home recordist. I don't think the quality of parts and build will be very high. Plus you will be limited with what you can do with them. I'd more see you spend some $$$ on a device that will work well for you, have low latency, good driver support, and added goodies (UX2 has modeling included, so you can change your sound just in software).
Oh yeah, don't overlook the possibility of plugging direct into your interface (guitar) and recording that way. There are lots of great options for this (freeamp comes to mind, as does the ABG stuff).
Here's a good post:
www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3817277
Over on reaper board there's been lots of chatter about the ABG stuff and how to get a great tone:
forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=41429
Those may be over your head for now, but others may be interested in the direct / amp sim process.
Software, i'm partial to Reaper, as it's full featured, pretty easy to get started in, and is free to try, and uncrippled shareware. But there are many that are doing full production with it, so don't let the low $$$ steer you off. Many people on here use Sonar to great ends, and Sonar has a home version for not much $$$. I believe Sonar has demo versions too, so you can poke around with that. Cubase is also very popular with many, but I haven't had much inclination to poke around with that much, so i'm not much help there.
Other options include ACID, which is good for loops, they have a free version limited to 10 tracks, but you can put loops into it, and create stuff pretty quick. Kristal audio engine is a free option, but I don't think they have MIDI, and are somewhat limited in it's features. But it's free =).
Traction is another option, that has a different, 'mixer-less' view. Some love it, i didn't like it too much, but it did look nice to work with, if I wasn't already ingrained in the way I work now. Multi-track Studio is another option, that's not too much $$$. I think the admin here; dB did a nice review on it, and he likes it much for a low-budget option.
For sequencing drum parts, and using MIDI instruments and soundfonts, I use FL studio, and it does pretty well for me. It may not be something you get into yet, but just letting you know.
You may want to think about monitors, and headphones, as you will want to hear what your doing. those can be cheap and spendy, depending on quality, but you probably could assume that =/
eh, enough for now, hope that helps you out some.
Nov 04, 2009 12:14 pm Hey, the responses are tremendously appreciated. This is giving me a lot to think about here!
In response to Fragile, to be quite honest i'm not 100% sure how serious i am about this. As i've been playing here more recently i've had a growing urge to try something new, add a little meaning if you will, to what i'm playing. I believe that recording my stuff is the answer to that. If that's the case then i may be rather serious, and would be interested in adding the whole shebang: drums, bass, vocals perhaps. It really depends on how well i pick things up, and the total cost factor really. I think my overall enjoyment will be through the roof, (i'm very excited about this) so it's just a matter of getting things together and going from there!
My budget is shakey... I'm living at home putting myself through school and paying for the essentials, y'know, gas, toys for my guitar...the every important McDonalds occasionally... But i do have some money to spend and am interested in most options, but will probably have to focus on the lower end of the spectrum for now.
And now onto Pjk. First off, thank you for taking the time to go through and walk me through most of what needs to happen for me to get this thing going! I'm still processing most of it in my head and will continue to do that for a while today...(something to do at work perhaps :P)
My question now leads towards connections and how things will shake down. I found the Line 6 POD Studio UX2 very interesting, and will probably be something i end up with here in the future. Now as far as connections go, will my mic end up going through that, and from the 'preamp' into my computer? Once again, i'm sorry i can't quite piece this together myself, this is all a little foreign to me...a little more complicated than plugging my guitar in and flipping on the amp!
From what research i did on Reaper it looks both very useful, as well as being on the cost friendly side. I didn't quite have a chance to look at the other types of software (i'm a little pressed for time this morning) but i'm hoping to check some things out later tonight.
Alright guys, thanks for the help, if nothing else it's got me even more excited about jumping into this.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Nov 04, 2009 12:30 pm no prob.
The UX2 has the preamp and the 'soundcard' in the same device. So the UX2 is performing 2 operations at once: 1) preamping your microphone signal up to line level, and 2) converting your analog signal over to digital bits and bytes for the computer to record. Both are necessary if you're using a microphone, as microphones (generally) only put out MIC level signal.
So the mic will plug into the XLR input on the UX2. If you're using the SM57 then you don't need phantom turned on. SM57 is dynamic mic. The USB cable will connect to your computer. Inside your software, you say what inputs to listen to, and 'arm' a track to record, or 'listen' and print the signal. Then press the Big Red Button, then sit back and wait for the fame and accolades.
If you're plugging your instrument into the UX2 for direct recording, then you wouldn't use the XLR input, but instead a 1/4" input, usually set on INST for instrument. This level is greater than MIC, but less than LINE, so it's kinda in between.
The UX2 can listen on 2 inputs at once, so you could have 2 mics recording to 2 tracks in your software, or you could have 1 mic, and 1 direct recording, in case you want to record acoustic w/ onboard mic. this is where your options get better, compared to a USB converter type thing. They're cheap, but they don't offer much.
Yeah, reaper's worked quite well for me. It's only like a 4 meg download, and doesn't touch your registry, so if you don't like it, just uninstall and EVERYTHING is gone, no lingering remnants of dlls, reg hacks, etc. floating around.
Welcome to the Recorder's Addiction =).
Nov 04, 2009 07:08 pm I second everything pjk said :]
and you sound EXACTLY like me at the beginning of this year. I started rounding up a bass, electronic drum set, mics. And i'm still working on purchasing equipment. I mean, the things you're saying are perfectly candid to what i was thinking a few months back. Chances are, you'll be blowing sickening amounts of money on gear soon without a second thought, and only a tinge of regret haha.
But, just to be on the safe side you should probably keep your costs low for now. You've already got a great guitar (oh how i love schecters :]) so yeah, i'd personally just get the UX2. Record everything direct into the system, play with the amps. Find some tones you like and save them. And record away. Put the output into your guitar amp or something for now. Then down the line, buy a bass, some sort of drum program or electronic set if you want to learn how to play them. Monitors. Mics. Preamps. "The whole shebang" haha. And if you upgrade all your equipment, the UX2 will still do its job just fine.
