Quick compatibility question
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Posted on Sep 21, 2005 10:40 pm
Anvil
Member Since: Sep 21, 2005
Hey, I'm looking at putting a little studio together for myself for the purpose of well, i guess the first purpose would be to use it as a learning tool to evaluate/improve my music, and also to put out a demo. I want to be able to record acoustic guitar and vocals, both to be recorded with mics (any suggestions for a good vocal mic and a good mic for acoustic would be appreciated), while using a midi controller to take advantage of some computer generated instruments as backup. I'd be using an ibook g4 1.33 GHz 512 MB RAM and probably garageband at least until i get the idea and can graduate to something a little more complex. My big question is basically what do I need to accomplish this? I have researched this alot and came up with a lexicon omega studio as a mixer/interface, and want to know if i will be able to use it with a MIDI keyboard such as the edirol pcr-30. Yeah, so if anyone sees anything wrong with my choices for gear considering what i wish to accomplish let me know, any suggestions/advice is more than welcome. one last thing though, my decisions are based on budget, idlike to try and keep the whole thing under 1000 CDN if possible without sacrificing too much, cost effective i guessis what im goin for. i dont know, also 1000 is not firm, but mainly prefered (gotta love university life) Thanks.
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Sep 21, 2005 11:22 pm u will want ot get a large diaphram condenser mic for the vocals.. service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear <<< this will be a good one for vocals... and u could get like a small diaphram condenser for your guitar....yes the keyboard will work with it tru the midi but that keyboard has usb also u know u could hook it straight to yuh mac if u got a extra usb...i think the lexicon have a maximum sample rate of 48khz i not 100% sure tho i remember that when i was shopping arround...but check this interface service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear
Sep 22, 2005 12:16 am Keep in mind the Omega also comes with other software, so Garage band won't be your only option.
Oh, and General, I changed your links to musicians friend links, same prices and MF is our affiliate, not zzounds.
Sep 22, 2005 12:30 am Ok Dan thanks for letting me know.....sorry for all the other times too. ...bless
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 07:48 am Thanx for the input guys. Would there be a better route to go other than the omega? keeping in mind i run a laptop and cant directly install anything into it, i guess the idea with the omega was that it would save me buying some other gear, (like i said, money IS an object on my $&@# budget,I actually can only afford one piece of equipment/month in the 150-300 dollar range anyway) but im not sure of the sound quality of it, ive heard mixed opinions on the preamps as well. Also if someone would just give me an outline as to exactly the things i will need, that would save me many hours on the internet reading forums and reviews... enough research to do with school as it is :)
Sep 22, 2005 08:20 am The Omega I think would be a great choice for your situation. If you decide you don't like the preamps for some occassions, you can always buy an outboard preamp later on and use the line ins of the Omega. The Omega seems to be a very versatile unit, though admittedly I never used one myself.
As far as outlining exactly what you need, there are many decent article in the computer-based section of the recording tips.
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 01:17 pm Thanx alot. for monitors, would i be able to get buy with M-Audio SP-5B's? and to record vocal and acoustic how many mics am I going to need. I was just going to try and get a 1" condenser and maybe a smaller diaphram mic or studio package of some sort. My room is also less than soundproof, so exterior noises may be a problem as well, maybe a less sensitive mic? Would it be wise to purchase a shure 57? I do some electric guitar but figured i would just plug it directly into the omega and eliminaste the need for a dynamic.$$$
Sep 22, 2005 01:23 pm You don't "need" a condensor, don't let anyone tell you that you do. They do sound good and all that, but you can get by with an SM57 and nothing more, I have for YEARS.
You don't wanna plug your guitar straight into the Omega unless you have a amp modeler, guitar preamp or something of that nature or something like that or it's gonna sound thin and nasty...
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 02:49 pm Perfect, that'll save me ALOT of $$$ but what about the monitors?
Sep 22, 2005 02:56 pm You could get by just fine with those monitors.
Be aware, many of us on these forums or any other forums talk about high end gear, how you "gotta have" this or that...well, it no different than any hobbiest wanting the best for their hobby. What is NEEDED is something totally different. When I was mountain biking a lot I had (still have actually) a Specialized Stump Jumper, top of the line bike...my wife had a Murray (not top of the line bike) she still went all the places I went...see my point?
You do NEED a microphone, you don't NEED an expensive condensor, you need speakers, you don't need expensive ones...when starting out, when we all have budgets to work within, get what you can when you can and learn to make the best of it all, that will ultimately make you a better engineer and when you do have the good gear, you'll be that much better with it.
Sep 22, 2005 03:31 pm tru that dB, thats how i do now well with a condenser ($70) tho....and only a mic100 pre amp to my audiophile 2496 and my car amp and 2, 2" satillites lol and i mix in my cheap coby head phones....and when people hear some of my mixes like my music friend they be surprise when i tell themn what i do it with.
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 03:31 pm Sounds good. So thats all I need then? Computer, the required software, Omega(since it covers alot), midi controller, monitors, decent full back headphones(already have)and mics? Just dont want to get it all and realize I missed a fundemental piece of the puzzle. And I spose cables of some sort would be important, ive got some patch cords already but...
Oh, and when I say all I need, I mean all I need to basically get started with what it is I said I wanted to do earlier. I figured if I didnt add that, you probably would, so yeah, just all I need to get me started and messin around a bit and experimenting, I'll save upgrading/expanding for when I really need it. (Don't like to get things that look pretty but are useless to me with my limited knowledge)
:)
Sep 22, 2005 03:35 pm Yeah, that is what you need, the next nice-to-have's would be an outboard compressor/limiter to control signals going to the sound card...that is almost a "must have"...
Sep 22, 2005 04:05 pm Also, be aware, to record your guitar "direct", meaning not being miked up, you'll likely want something like the Line 6 POD, Behringer Vamp or some other type of amp modeling type of gear...
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 07:05 pm i guess my last one didnt post...
any suggestions for compressor/limiter?
when you say direct, you mean for the electric right? Cuz my acoustic wouldnt have a pickup in it.
I would use the electric but for now am focussing on acoustic w/o pickups. that would mean they would be mic'd I take it and so I wouldnt necessarily need any amp modeling gear (until i wanted to use electric) Also, what the hell am I gonna hafta buy for cableing? imnot sure whats provided with most stuff, but i take it ill at least need something for the mics, everything else i would assume to be ok (unless i wanted to plug the midi controller into the omega and not the USB, then id need an additional cable for that too right?)
Sep 22, 2005 07:28 pm no cabling is supplied with anything...you'll need to get the gear you want, then find appropriate cabling.
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 07:55 pm suggestions for compressor/limiter?
need a POD with an acoustic w/o pickup?
Sep 22, 2005 09:18 pm no, you don't need a POD for an acoustic, and there are dozens of different compressors, look in the studio gear section and read some member reviews.
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 10:41 pm you know anything about a Pyle Audio PDMIK5?
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 22, 2005 11:27 pm also, aside from the mic question above, what about the hard-drive issue, is 40GB enough, or should i get an external hard drive for more storage, and if so, what issues would this bring up? <- last question for a while i promise haha
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Sep 22, 2005 11:40 pm Depending on how many tracks you want to do a 40 gig should be enough. As long as you back your stuff up to Cd or whatever. Otherwise, and this depends on how serious you and how ambitious you want to be you might consider a larger drive. In my case drive space is an extreme side of things. My main box has a couple 200 gig sata drives as well as the main drive for programs to run on and a removable bay to swap out whatever size drive I need to back a project onto.
You may not need anything that serious, but it shows you what may be needed if things get serious.
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 23, 2005 08:11 am ok thanx alot! one more thing, ive herd ofsome lateny issues with using an external hard drive, or certain things not working ifthey are running off one and writing to another, whats the story on that?
Sep 23, 2005 08:33 am All of that depends on the specs of your computer and many other factors.
USB 2 is MUCH faster than USB one, Firewire 800 is faster than Firewire 400, so it depends on the speed of your external busses. In addition it depends on the amount of data being moved between drives and over the external bus, you may do just fine with 8 tracks of audio, get up to 10 or 12 and it may start doggin out.
Ultimately that is just something you will have to learn for yourself as you set up your system, you'll learn what your PC is capable of and what it's not.
AnvilMember
Since: Sep 21, 2005
Sep 23, 2005 09:25 am thanx i appreciate it, decided also to go with the alesis 3630 compressor, seams like a good choice for someone like me on a fixed budget.
Sep 23, 2005 09:28 am Yeah, the 3630 is pretty common, as is the dbx 266 and 266xl...
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Sep 23, 2005 08:02 pm And both those compresor's have mods that can be done to bring their quality up a bit when you are a little more experianced with them.
