recording myself

johnboy8

first of all i need to reintroduce myself,i have been gone for an age(a baby and a new job will do that)anyway i want to record myself playing guitar(electric and acoustic)i am very happy with my amp so i would like to use that for the electric instead of plugging straight into the computer.i would like to keep it very simple,plug and play without setting up to many things and the less knobs to play with the better.i have heard about usb microphones and the simplicity of them.i dont need studio high quality,just good enough to listen to and hear the difference between my playing from month to month also i am want to change pickups and hear the quality difference.cheers.

eoin5

Usb mics are grand but itd be hard to monitor yourself. I'd recommend:

http://www.focusrite.com/products/saffire/saffire_6_usb/

plus

http://www.seelectronics.com/sE2200a.html

To get a good versatile setup.


If you didnt want to do any multitracking the zoom h1 is cheap but good.

johnboy8

that zoom might fit the bill,the first suggestion looks too much.cheers for the reply.

Paolo_M

From my experience, you'll think now that you want a simple set-up.
when you get into it you will find that you want more features.

Simple cheap set ups might seem like a good idea now, but I'll be shocked if you don't decide "jeez I'd like to be able to do x, y and z" or "if only I could do such and such" in a couple of months time.

A two channel USB interface is quite cheap and Reaper (a fully featured professional DAW) is only €30, or something like that, and there are loads of free excellent quality amp sims. These are great for any guitarist.

The beauty of using a DAW during learning is that you can visually see your playing on the screen. The DAW will show grid-lines where each beat should fall, and where your notes actually fell. It's great for analysing where problems are and fixing them quickly. It also makes you "future proofed". Yes, I did just say "future proofed"!!!

http://www.thomann.de/ie/maudio_fast_track.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/alesis_io2.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/line6_pod_studio_ux1.htm
Are all fairly decent options.

johnboy8

thanks for all that.plenty of food for thought.

Zombienosh

I'd second the Line 6 toneport UX1, Ever since i got one years ago I used it everyday, and its got a mic and line input, comes with the gearbox virtual amps too.

johnboy8

will defo look that up.cheers.

lalee17

Myself & my band use this for rough demos of songs, works perfectly & very easy to use.

http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h1/

Myrddin

Whats the best route to go if I'm looking to record via an XLR mic (non phantom) & my pc? It's just bedroom levels, but I want a recording as good as my mic will give me, if that makes sense.

Someone mentioned a usb thingy to me a while back called an m-audio (I think), are they known to be decent?

**Vai**

I use an m-audio firewire 410, definitely a great addition for recording. Its got the option to use phantom and has xlr inputs on the front.