Help Me Assemble My Studio!
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Posted on Aug 16, 2004 09:10 pm
strings
All smoke, no mirrors.
Member Since: Aug 16, 2004
I've been a working musician for 20+ years, now getting ready to start a simple home studio. I can use windows based pc's and have limited experinece with cool edit, but I am sorta lost when it comes to ID'ing the equipment I need to get quality recordings using my PC. Can anyone recommend a list of components-i.e mixer, preamp,sound card, processor, that go between the microphone and the PC? There is such a variety of gear out there and it seems not everything is compatible. I'll be recording mostly country/bluegrass material with vocal harmonies and limited percussion. What setups do ya'll use? Sure appreciate any advice!
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drakeMember
Since: Apr 13, 2004
Aug 16, 2004 10:40 pm you are right about one thing, there is A LOT of epuipment out there for each component of studio recording. the hard thing is telling someone what exactly to get. there is so much that can vary. i.e. how much are you willing to spend? what are the specs of your computer? what kind of mics do you have? things like that.
i good place to start for you might be checking out some peoples profiles here to see what their setups are. (that is not saying mine is anything special) ;)
good luck! and have fun hunting/shopping for epuipment!
Aug 17, 2004 01:44 am If I were going to start recording with a PC I think one of the new Mackie Onyx compact mixers would be on my List. It has a fire wire out option that looks pretty cool. The sound Craft M series compact mixer comes with a s/pidf out If your sound card has a s/pidf in. These 2 mixers are probably among your best choices fidelity wise for this application.
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Aug 17, 2004 04:32 am ive got a behringer 602 mixer5, which now goes for about $50 over there i believe, a shure sm57 mic (very versatile) and the free kristal multitracker which you can get from kreatives.org ...and anything else i managed without for quite a while, though im collecting bits and pieces again now
stringsAll smoke, no mirrors.Member
Since: Aug 16, 2004
Aug 17, 2004 04:31 pm Thanks all for the replies, I guess I need to be more specific. My PC is fast&capacity enuff to handle whatever I load, and I understand live sound reinforcement and studio theory. Where I fall down is knowing how to get from the mic to the PC and end up with a good quality recording. I use AKG D880 mics for vocals, (used to have Shure beta 87's but the AKG's are much better at 1/3 the price.) 57's to mic instruments, might go to a Neuman studio condensor mic if needed. Fender guitars and amps, Taylor acoustices, misc dobros, mandos,, etc.
What I'm looking to do- for $1000 or less - is find out what 4-6 channel board, what DSP and what sound card will work best with Cool edit on an NT PC and will be compatible with each other.
I don't understand midi, word clocks, firewire or alot of jargon, and suspect I don't need to in order to make a decent recording.A buddy taught me how to get around in cool edit. I can load software and work a cd burner, so the PC end of things won't be much trouble. While the rest of y'all were learning how to do this home recording stuff I was playing live in the analog age and the high end studios had 16 track magnetic tape machines!
Anyhow, sorry so danged long. If some of you would post a list of gear - brand and model- that gets me from the mic to the pc it'll sure shorten up my learning curve and save me from getting stuff that I don't need or that won't work. Thanks again!
stringsAll smoke, no mirrors.Member
Since: Aug 16, 2004
Aug 17, 2004 04:38 pm Oh, and PS to Flame, Karyn & Drake- thanks for the input- I'll check into the gear you listed and see what I can figure out. Very Grateful!
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Aug 17, 2004 05:57 pm pleasure, ill come up with some more tomorrow wehn in not asleep!
Aug 17, 2004 10:17 pm I'd recommend the UB series Behringer desks also. Bang for buck, these mixers kick some serious tail. Look for 'em at Musicians Friend to figure out which one'll suit your needs.
Also, you'll probably want a compressor. I own the Alesis 3630, and I like it considerably, but most people here will point you to the DBX or Behringer models. A hardware compressor is invaluable in my opinion.
UB Behringer desks have IMP's (Invisible Mic Preamps) built into the mono channels, but if you feel the need for an upgrade, Presonus and Behringer have some good ones. The Behringer Ultragain MIC200 looks really nice for the price.
Aug 18, 2004 08:29 am Yes, I use a UB series mixer and love it, however, much depends on how you record. Just you, one instrument at a time or full bands. You can get sound devices for your PC that have only stero inputs or that have up to 8 or 10 inputs (or more) and some have preamps built in them that can eliminate the need for a mixer if you have creative signal routing skills.
To answer your most basic question, you mics have to plug in to some sort of preamp (standalone preamp, mixer or something) and go thru whatever other analog devices you want (compressors, gates, reverbs, multieffects units, or whatever) then into the sound card which will record it.
Don't believe the hype put out by Sound Blaster and other gaming cards you can find at any local computer store. These cards are not meant for recording. They can do it, but they are not as good at it as a real recording card.
Aug 18, 2004 12:01 pm Thanx db, I knew someone would chime in with that option. I know very little about it, so I just kept my mouth shut. If I were gonna record with my computer, this would seem the ideal setup to me. You can have 8 separate signals routed to eight different tracks on a recording app with this card? Giving you track isolation and flexible editing and mixing options? For a bluegrass type band, that WOULD seem ideal. What are some cards that offer this?
Aug 18, 2004 02:09 pm I have been really happy with my setup and it is very easy to use, Right now I am using the behringer UB2442 and the Delta 1010 and you could get both of those for about a grand. check em out
stringsAll smoke, no mirrors.Member
Since: Aug 16, 2004
Aug 18, 2004 06:55 pm Thanks for the good inut db and GtrLord, I've been looking at the archives also. I think that aardvark 10 in 10 out setup on the MF link looks like the ticket- one package gets me from the mic to the pc and includes the software to boot. I already have the rack mount hardware and pretty much everything else.
Everyone that rated it seemed to love it and after readin awhile I got the picture of how this thing has gotta work.
I'll probably leave awhile now and get to work on this project, but no doubt I'll drop in from time to time with questions. Ya'll are the best! Thanks much!
