Possible setup?

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Member Since: Jan 21, 2003

im wondering if anyone can suggest a possible setup for my equipment so i can achieve the best result possible from my limited resources. my whole rig consists of..1 behringer ub8o2, tascam 414 mkII, windows 95 pc with cool edit 96 and pro(shareware) and multitrack studio(i only have a basic soundblaster soundcard) 2 dynamic mics, 1 acoustic, 1 electric guitar with 80watt amp.

thats it, i'd love is someone could suggest the best way to wire it up cos im finding it tough!!

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sloppy dice, drinks twice
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2003


Nov 12, 2003 02:41 pm

I'll give it a shot... my specialty isn't the tech stuff, though...

I'm writing this assuming that you'll be recording music made with your guitars and the drums I saw listed in your profile. I am also assuming that we are not talking about pro recordings here, but rather recording as a hobby.

If you have a working pc-based recording setup, my first advice to you would be to sell the 4 track. You can probably get about $100 for it on eBay, give or take. Use that money to buy yourself an outboard compressor. I own the Alesis Nanocompressor, got it for $50 at Guitar Center here in the US. You'll probably find those on eBay as well. PC based recorders tend to get overdriven easily, so you'll probably want this to smooth out the audio going into the sound card. You can get by without one but it will improve your sound and your recording experience to have one.

If you are writing and recording your own music, you may not actually need more than one input at a time. Use your mixer as an interface to your sound card. In other words, hook up your mixer to the card (line out -> line in) instead of constantly swapping the cables running into your sound card. Then you can control the inputted sound levels and sound quality from the mixer. Try to keep your audio cables and your power cables from running parallel to each other as this will create noise on your audio lines. If you must have the audio and power cables near each other, try to cross them all like this + as opposed to this =. Does that make sense? Further reduce your noise from nearby power cables by wrapping your audio cables in aluminum foil if necessary, that's what I did and it helped.

Once your hardware is setup - and by the way, take the time to plug it all in in such a way that it's easy to use, not cluttered - you should be able to record a track at a time. If you want multiple mics for drums, run both mics into the mixer and test the blended sound by recording some sample tracks. It won't be pro quality but that's probably good enough to give you decent recordings. I hope this helps you!

sloppy dice, drinks twice
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2003


Nov 12, 2003 02:44 pm

What kind of drums - hand drums or trap set?

Member
Since: Jan 21, 2003


Nov 13, 2003 03:16 am

im not to concerned about recording drums yet, im just going to use some beats using hammerhead. im just looking for decent recordings for myself, acoustic and electric guitar-i dont mind it not being very pro, i just want to lay down some decent sounding tracks and see how it goes from there, thanks for the help!

do i really have to part with my 4 track tho!!?? is there any way i can incorporate it with my pc?

sloppy dice, drinks twice
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2003


Nov 13, 2003 07:40 am

"do i really have to part with my 4 track tho!!??"

Well, no, it's your gear, you can do anything you want with it. :) But what? Aside from using it to record at remote locations, or using it as a really noisy mixer, I don't know what you'd do with it. Do you do your work in a place where you're restricted working at a low volume? You could give it a job working as a headphone-monitor mixer, I suppose... on the audio cable going from your mixer to the sound card, put a splitter on it, route the signal through to an input on your 4 track and then into headphones. Then send an audio cable from your soundcard out to another track on the 4 track/mixer. You can then record using the 4 track as a headphone monitor to keep the noise down. Of course the 4 track will add noise, but it's just the headphone mix, so it won't matter.
Uh, you may need to buy another soundcard... I don't know if your card has the capability to playback without recording itself. Maybe one of the more tech-oriented guys on this site will post advice on this. If worst comes to worst, just pick up a cheapo sound card to use as your "monitoring sound card". If you're looking to step up to a better card, my recommendation is the M-Audio 2496 card. I run everything through mine, and I'm very happy with it.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 13, 2003 09:29 pm

If it can except a synd track, you can lock it to yoru DAW and use it to shoot out track to give them that tape feeling. Or as Tincanbug said, it is always good for a scratch pad. I wish I still had my old portastudio.

Member
Since: Jan 21, 2003


Nov 14, 2003 08:17 am

thanks for all the help, the problem is my pc is pretty old-its only real purpose is for typing college essays! i bought the mixer with the intention of using it in front of the four track to give it more volume cos the gains on the 4 track arent great-i could be totally wrong in doing this, i was then going to mix it down and finalise it on cool edit 96 (its about all it can handle) from the 4 track

sloppy dice, drinks twice
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2003


Nov 14, 2003 08:40 am

aongodavo, if I were you I would consider your recording needs in your next computer upgrade. I think you get a lot more bang for your buck if you go the pc-based route rather than the outboard gear route. You can pay $1000 for a 16 track recorder full of mechanical parts and scratchy pots that wear out, or pay $1000 for a moderately fast computer that will allow you to record 60 tracks at digital quality, plus surf the internet, plus play your video games.
If I were you and seriously wanted to open up my recording possibilities, I'd consider selling my computer and 4 track and using that money to get a better pc. It doesn't have to be great - mine's only 800mhz and I still can handle dozens of tracks. Beats juggling tracks on a cassette tape, believe me! Just my 2 cents.

Member
Since: Jan 21, 2003


Nov 14, 2003 11:03 am

TheTincanbug

sorry for being so stubborn! i hate parting with any of my musical equipment, but i have taken your advice and just put an ad in for my portastudio

thanks for the advice!

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Nov 14, 2003 11:07 am

A stubborn musician? No way, I refuse to believe it! :-D

Seriously, it wasn't until about 6-8 months ago I finally sold my 8-track Tascam Syncassette. SOmething are just hard to part with, but when I realized I hadn't even taken it out of it's box since I moved into a new house well over a year previous to the sale...well...

The wise man knows when he has grown beyond something...and gets something back out of it while selling it to somebody who will appreciate it.

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