Vocal Recording and playback

Quattroste

Hi,

I have an attic converted to a music room with a Mac, Berhinger mixer(:o ), a couple of shure mics, guitar amps and a Vox tonelab. A while ago I made the mistake of buying a Meridian 100Watt PA system(a cheap and complete heap of dirt).

I want to record vocals but also just sit and play acoustic and sing amplified. Would a good set of studio monitors allow me to do this? Would they be able to handle live guitar either acoustic, or electric through the tonelab via the mixing desk.

Any suggestions on monitors?
Do I buy active, or passive and a power amp?
Do I get rid of the Behringer mixer and invest in a power mixer?

I have about €600 (maybe a bit more). Thanks for your help.

TelePaul

Quattroste wrote:

I want to record vocals but also just sit and play acoustic and sing amplified. Would a good set of studio monitors allow me to do this?

Do you wanna sing amplified and record at the same time? You won't be able to do this for obvious reasons....so I think you're asking are studio monitors suitable as a PA replacement for amplified pratice. Studio Monitors are 'unbiased' in that they wont colour the sound too much; your PA will accentuate high end and low end.

Quattroste

TelePaul,

I do want to be able to sing and play amplified but not necessarily record at the same time. The singing and playing would be to write and get the sound I am looking for and also to experiment. The recording would have to be done later as I only have a 1 stereo input on my sound card (Audiophile 2496)

TelePaul

Quattroste wrote:

TelePaul,

I do want to be able to sing and play amplified but not necessarily record at the same time. The singing and playing would be to write and get the sound I am looking for and also to experiment. The recording would have to be done later as I only have a 1 stereo input on my sound card (Audiophile 2496)

Yeah it seems a good monitoring system is what you need...you could probably run the outs from your Audiophile to the ins on your PA.

You can't really here yourself and record anyway...without heapdhones I mean.

Quattroste

I don't have a PA(or at least one that is worth using)

I have a mixing desk and use a Mac with Cubase to record. I think I need a good set of Monitors (Active) to hear the final sound and to help with getting the vocal sound I want.

I should be able to go from the desk to the Mac, then from the Mac back to the desk and then from the desk to the Monitors right? This way I can record midi drum and base, playback and record the guitar and then palyback and record vocals using headphones.

Can anyone suggest a decent set of Monitors. I'm not sure of the make or wattage and I don't want to buy more rubbish.

TelePaul

Quattroste wrote:

I don't have a PA(or at least one that is worth using)

I have a mixing desk and use a Mac with Cubase to record. I think I need a good set of Monitors (Active) to hear the final sound and to help with getting the vocal sound I want.

You're right, a dedicated set of studio monitors will improve your mixing skills and give you an accurate portrayal of what you have recorded.

Quattroste wrote:

I should be able to go from the desk to the Mac, then from the Mac back to the desk and then from the desk to the Monitors right? This way I can record midi drum and base, playback and record the guitar and then palyback and record vocals using headphones.

Can anyone suggest a decent set of Monitors. I'm not sure of the make or wattage and I don't want to buy more rubbish.

There are two ways of monitoring; you can monitor direct, i.e the sound you hear through the monitors is the sound you are putting in, unprocessed.Or you can monitor through the sequencer (i.e Cubase) whereby the sound you hear through the monitors will include whatever processing the sound ahs undergone: for example, if you have a reverb plug-in on your vocal track, your computer will playback the sound source you are recording with added reverb. It does this in real time, and depending on the speed of your processor and (possibly) bus, you may be subjected to 'latency', or a delay.

Why do you want to go from the mack BACK to the desk? Can you monitor direct through the USB desk?

By the way all, this si the first time I've had to explain this to anyone I just realised how complex it is. If I've messed up, please tell me.

Quattroste

Telepaul.

The live instruments go from the desk(not USB) directly into the Mac via the inputs on the sound card. The output from the Mac then goes back to the mixing desk and out to the Monitors(when I get them). Actually I should just send the output straight to the monitors right? Don't know why I did that originally. There was some reason though!

TelePaul

Quattroste wrote:

Telepaul.

The live instruments go from the desk(not USB) directly into the Mac via the inputs on the sound card. The output from the Mac then goes back to the mixing desk and out to the Monitors(when I get them). Actually I should just send the output straight to the monitors right? Don't know why I did that originally. There was some reason though!

Oh thought it was a USB mixer. But yeah I would think you'd send the output of the Mac right to the speakers.