creating a studio for as little as possible
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Posted on May 09, 2004 08:51 pm
audioguru
Member Since: May 09, 2004
I just found this site, honestly, it's exactly what I needed to find. Anyway, I've got a freind who is a missionary overseas. He wants to get recording capability for as little money as possible. His basic idea is to record an acoustic guitar, and vocals, at least that's all I've heard fo far. I've done a little recording with a pc myself, so I recomended that to him since he has a pc, he could get a minimal amount of equipment, and record at reasonable quality. Basically, I recommended a M-Audio MobilePre and a good condenser mic. He already has Cool Edit Pro v2.0, so I figured that with that setup, he should be able to get what he wants. After looking around online, I found the Samson C03 for $68, which, as far as I can tell, is a better buy than the $300 mics people in music stores are trying to sell him. I was hoping to get some advice from someone who knows what they are talking about before I tell him to go for this stuff. Any suggestions?
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MauzgrrrrrrrMember
Since: Mar 29, 2004
May 10, 2004 09:08 am It will all depend on how good a quality recording he wants to achieve. If he is just into guitar and voice this is ok. Should probably go for a sm57 I think even though i don't have one. It does a decent job of recording acoustic. And is cheap and doesn't require phantom power which is necessary for a condensor. Condensor mics are also a bit more fragile so that should also be taken into consideration. Flame does everything with a shure 57 I think and his stuff is really good.
I have the Tascam Us-122 which is quite good as a soundcard even though I have a bit of latency problem sometimes but this is more the fault of the low processor power of my cpu. In general go for firewire or an internal card. Does he have a desktop or laptop?
Some good headphones will also be necessary I think and a lot of nw strings (acoustic sounds much better with new strings.
A bit more info on what he is trying to achieve and what kind of computer or guitar he has would help.
May 10, 2004 08:07 pm Well, I'm not sure that he's making an effort to go for sonic perfection. He has a 800mz desktop, somewhat old, but I've used cooledit 2 on a 233 pentium 2 desktop, and though it was slow, it did the job. I just figured that by going digital by using his pc, then he'd be getting digital quality without paying a whole lot of money to get there. By the way, I really appreciate the advice.
May 10, 2004 08:19 pm There are a few sound devices available that have preamps in them, thereby eliminating one of the components. For simple vocals and acoustic guitar type of stuff an 800Mhz PC should be plenty.
Regarding mics, well, there are MANY options available...and MANY threads on this forum that you can read on the subject to educate yourself.
Welcome to HRC, hope you enjoy your stay :-)
May 10, 2004 09:48 pm I am avoiding this thread because I am sure if my wife ever reads it she will find out that you can build a studio on a b-b-b-b-b-budget....
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
May 11, 2004 11:39 am Quote:
Flame does everything with a shure 57 I think and his stuff is really good.
ive got a shure 57, a behringer 602 mixer (about $40 there i believe) and a stock crystal soundcard...its not what ya have, its what ya know that counts...
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
May 11, 2004 11:39 am oh, and if ya dont know, hrc's the place to learn!
WillumIdiot.Member
Since: Apr 22, 2004
May 11, 2004 01:19 pm Shure 57s are bomb.
All ya need. :)
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
May 11, 2004 01:52 pm along with hrc, beer, pizza and the love of a good woman!
May 11, 2004 02:37 pm And this paddle game, the ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need. And this remote control. The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need. And these matches. The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control and the paddle ball. And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one - I need this. The paddle game, and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches, for sure. And this. And that's all I need. The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, this magazine and the chair...
riffgodwww.charlienaebeck.comMember
Since: Apr 10, 2004
May 12, 2004 05:58 am I agree with Mauz on this one. Depends on the quality he wants to get out of his recordings. If he just wants to lay down demos with his acoustic and vocals, I would just say pick up a cheap sound card with some sort of pre-amp and go with the sm57 which will do the job for both. If he wants to produce a full blown album, we all know its a different story all together and the "gear lust" effect will set in immensly once he gets started on setting up the studio which can get quite expensive. lol
Ask him a few questions though like:
What does he want to do with his recordings?
Does he have a budget in mind for the max ammount of $$ that he wants to put into this?
How often is he going to be using the setup to record?
If he says something like he just wants to use the recordings to show off to his friends, the sound card and sm57 will work nicely, but if he wants to do more, then ya get into the upgrades. If he doesn't have a whole lot of time to make use of the equipement also, I might suggest putting very little investment into it due to the fact it might not get the attention it deserves. Just a few suggestions though. :)
May 12, 2004 06:35 pm Thaks for the advice. After looking around at that shure 57, it seems to be ideal, but what would be a good soundcard? I'd imagine one with a couple of inputs, obviously at least one XLR, that is compatible with that old 800mz, that also maintains good sound quality. Is there any really outsanding choice, with that criteria in mind, or is it just a matter of getting whichever one you can get, so long as it has certain specs?
