Looking for some advice...

Ian C

Hi there,

I guess by way of introduction, I'm a 22 year old musician currently based between Dublin and Galway. It is my plan to enter the studio later this year, to record an e.p. but at this moment I'm looking to put myself in a position to make some passable and listenable home demos. This is where I hope you guys could lend some of your expertise. I'll try to follow the format laid out in the sticky.

- What you wish to record. Solo vocals, acoustic guitar, a band, a ukulele orchestra, or whatever. Be as detailed as you think is necessary.

For the moment... vocals, guitars, piano and perhaps a small bit of violin as well. Probably best to leave the drums out of it at this stage

- Where you wish to record. Your rehearsal space, your garage, your bedroom, etc.

Will probably be recording in a variety of bedrooms, kitchens and basements!

- Whether you have a PC or whether you intend to buy one. Operating system, RAM, and soundcard are the important factors here.

Current machine is:

Dell Inspiron MXC061
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU
T5600 @ 1.83GHz
1.83GHz, 0.99 GB of RAM

running Windows XP (Media centre Edition, which is essentially XP Home). I've been toying with the idea of going the MacBook Pro route, but that's more of a maybe than a definite!


- What your budget is. This is the most important bit. What you are willing to spend will define the results you achieve to a large extent. Digital recording is possible whether you buy a €10 mic from Maplin or a €10,000 Pro Tools HD setup. Of course if you are just starting out, a low budget is no problem either.


I've quite a bit of money put away this year for:

1. New guitar/amp/other bits and pieces.
2. A "decent" home recording set up.
3. Some "proper" studio time later this year, with a view to the release of an e.p. some time in the autumn, and costs associated with that.

1 and 3 are out of the immediate scope of this thread I suppose, what I'm looking for really boils down to:

• Suitable microphone(s): A friend had recommended something like this: http://www.dv247.com/invt/51651/
• An Audio Interface
• Which software to go with (I guess this ties in a little with whether to stick with the Dell or go the Mac/Logic route).

While I'm not really in the market for a "€10,000 Pro Tools HD setup", I'm equally not just looking for the cheapest option (for instance, I'd happily drop the few hundred euro on a quality mic that will last me, such as the one recommended to me above), but I'm kind of reluctant to put an exact figure out there. I'm open to suggestion basically.

Cheers in advance for any advice (and to those of you who had the patience to read all that!).

studiorat

Ok.
The important question is how much exactly are you prepared to spend. That should narrow the possibilities down a little.

Is it say, up to €500, between €750 and €1,000. There's not much point in spending loads on one thing and not enough on another, each link in the chain should be roughly the same kind of price starting out.

That's a pretty good microphone I think, I haven't heard one yet but I'd guess it's pretty good. Akg are a good company and the 414 is a serious microphone. Mind you their "C-series" C-1000 etc is sh1te.

Audio interfaces kind of depend on whether you want to go down the Pro Tools route or go for Cubase or Reaper. You could be looking at either the €500 mark for a 2 or 4 channel interface or something for around €1,200 for something with more inputs and outputs and a few more bells and whistles.

Examples would be the Digidesign M-Box series or the Digidesign 003 box for Pro Tools. Other manufactures worth looking at would be RME and the firewire 400 interface.

Have you considered just going to a cheap studio and demoing there? It could be cheaper in the long run.

PaulBrewer

studiorat wrote: »

Ok.
The important question is how much exactly are you prepared to spend. That should narrow the possibilities down a little.

Is it say, up to €500, between €750 and €1,000. There's not much point in spending loads on one thing and not enough on another, each link in the chain should be roughly the same kind of price starting out.

That's a pretty good microphone I think, I haven't heard one yet but I'd guess it's pretty good. Akg are a good company and the 414 is a serious microphone. Mind you their "C-series" C-1000 etc is sh1te.

Audio interfaces kind of depend on whether you want to go down the Pro Tools route or go for Cubase or Reaper. You could be looking at either the €500 mark for a 2 or 4 channel interface or something for around €1,200 for something with more inputs and outputs and a few more bells and whistles.

Examples would be the Digidesign M-Box series or the Digidesign 003 box for Pro Tools. Other manufactures worth looking at would be RME and the firewire 400 interface.

Have you considered just going to a cheap studio and demoing there? It could be cheaper in the long run.

It should be pointed out that whilst the 214 has the rep of being a cardioid only 414, that isn't the case.

Ian C

studiorat wrote: »

Is it say, up to €500, between €750 and €1,000. There's not much point in spending loads on one thing and not enough on another, each link in the chain should be roughly the same kind of price starting out.

Well, we'll say 500-ish as a ballpark figure for a mic, and same again for an interface then, though I can go a bit higher (or lower :pac: ) if it needs be.

studiorat wrote: »

Have you considered just going to a cheap studio and demoing there? It could be cheaper in the long run.

To be honest, I'd like to have some kind of a home set up. It doesn't need to be perfect, but I'd like to have something to play with...

i57dwun4yb1pt8

id go with an se electonics sE4400a mic

and a tc electronics studio konnekt interface ( various types ) if you have firewaire ,

and download reaper to record with .

that would be cheap enough and very good sounding .

make sure you pick decent monitors ( active would be better and cheaper ) and a good room to mix in - recording room is one thing, mixing room needs to be acustically flat as possible.

although headphones might work for you for now .

Ian C

DaDumTish wrote: »

id go with an se electonics sE4400a mic

and a tc electronics studio konnekt interface ( various types ) if you have firewaire ,

and download reaper to record with .

Thanks for the suggestions. Is that a mic you've used yourself? Having a look online for interfaces at the moment.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

im using a pro modified oktava 319 ,

but im likely going to get a pair of se 4400a's for drum overheads and general use , i would have got a pair of akg 414's but they are just that bit too expensive for me .
that said , the oktava mk12 is a great overhead mic ( which im using at the moment ) - but id like a multi pattern set up as well.

the rest is a tc studio konnekt 48 firewaire , a pacifica pre amp , a dav bg preamp , quad core pc , focal solo be6 monitors ( THESE ARE AMAZING ) and a selection of good drum mics - no desk for the moment - all in the box mixing .


this is a super sounding set up for home use - took me a while to get there though - i treat it like a cottage industry for my music - do the lot myself .

will be putting out the fruits of this labour towards september.

TelePaul

Buy "Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies" by Jeff Strong.