home studio setup help
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Posted on May 27, 2005 12:56 am
Fej180
Member Since: May 27, 2005
Well, I am looking to start a PC based home studio, and I need to know what I should get. Ive been looking into things, and trying to get advice, but I am still not sure.
I play the guitar, and I would like to record ideas, songs, and start working on a possible solo project. So far all I have is a SM-57 mic, and a computer. Im going to use drum loops for it, so Im not worried about getting them recorded.
So basically all I need to do is one track at a time, with guitar and bass, and this is what I am looking to get...Sound Card service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear
Mixer service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear
Monitors m-audio.com/products/en_us/BX8-main.html
Subwoofer(I have been told that its not a good idea to have a subwoofer for recording...but if I were to get one, this would be it) m-audio.com/products/en_us/SBX-main.html
And thats all I have now, someone told me that I will need an amp to power the monitors, but I dont know what to look for, I could use some help with that, so I dont now if after I pick out an amp, if I will need something more still, or will I be set?
Also, after I figure out al the stuff I need...how would it all get hooked up? I have all the software I need, I just need to know what hardware I need aside from what I posted, and how to hook it up...thanks a ton.
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cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
May 27, 2005 01:14 am Well, it looks like that would be some quality gear to start with, though you may be better off going with a pci sound card rather than a firewire card. Also, the bx8s that you linked to are powered monitors, meaning you don't need to have a power amp to run them. Only other thing you will NEED is cables to connect everything.
tonyd1970The fat one always watches us.Member
Since: Nov 08, 2002
May 27, 2005 09:10 am I use a behr 602 mixer- close to the one youre looking at and an sb live sound card. i come out of the mixer using a stereo cable and go into the line in of the sb using a stereo adapter to get stereo and get down to the tiny little plug. works great for recording one thing at a time.
as for monitors.... when recording i use headphones, play back (for tweaking)i use my 5.1 surround logitec system. i dont have any monitors for real. i do think you should go with an internal sound card, better than a sound blaster, (i also use my system for gaming so it works for me) because of the speed. also make sure youve got a 7200 rpm 8meg cache harddrive for recording onto- and gobs of memory- that goes a long way for recording a bunch of tracks and not having "drop outs" Drop outs occur when something in your system cant keep up. used to happen all the time when the software was more advanced than the hardware. ive got a p4 2.4 gig - 1 gig ram, and 7200/8meg cache hd. I have gone up to 16 tracks with no problems.
thats my 2 cents
and good luck!
Fej180Member
Since: May 27, 2005
May 27, 2005 04:59 pm Thanks for your replies, I am looking at the Audiophile 2494 PCI sound card...does anyone know anything about it? It seems like it would work for what Iim trying to do, but like I said, I dont really know to much about any of this...also, why would a PCI be better then a firewire sound card, would it be because its directly hooked to the motherboard? What do you think about having a subwoofer involved in the mixing or mastering process, would it be a bad idea to have one because it might create an innacurate represtentation of what im creating, or is it a good thing to have? Thanks again for the responses.
May 27, 2005 05:04 pm The Audiophile 2496 is a fine sound card, I had one for a while. I prefer PCI just because I hate having more outboard gear than necessary, as far as the bandwidth differences go, I am not sure...a few months ago I switched from the 2496 to an ESI Juli@ which is a comparible card as far as inputs and outputs go, but it also has an optical out. The latency is much better in both ASIO and WDM mode...in WDM it's incredibly better performing than the 2496.
As far as a subwoofer goes, I recommend against it if you are mixing to simple stereo mixes. If you are mixing to a format that has a sub, such as theatre mixing in 5.1, 7.1 or the like, than yes, you need one. If just stereo, you really need to make DAMN SURE you set it up right with an SPL meter and such, or it will surely throw off your sound...
