help me putting my first 'studio' together

[venusandeve]

i want to start assembling a small set-up of required stuff to record stuff straight to a computer. the whole thing is aimed at silent recording (except for drums, can't really silence those...) for later software mastering and burning onto a CD(with all the nice quality you expect from whatever you last spent 20 bucks on).

it must have:
a 1:1 sound quality compared to what i get from a half decent practice amp.
8-12 channels of input.
tipical volume and EQ.

what i need to know is:
what kind of computer and hardware do i need?
what kind of price range am i looking at in each?
how good is it practilly?
and where do i get information about all those annoying technical numbers i really dont get.

if you have your own setup, posting it along might help me get an idea.

thanks in advance! :D

plus: is it a good idea to squeeze the drumkit into one track or should have more lines just for that?

[bathtubpirate]

Bootlegged software will save you a bundle.

[escapeartist]

Get a Mac G5 for a computer, any kind of POD product for guitar and bass, a solid condenser mic, powered monitors and last but not least Pro Tools. For $350 you can get Pro Tools with two mic-pre's. All this will run you around $4k. Keep in mind that this is minimal.

[The Hierophant]

There's a guide to home recording at ultimate-guitar.com
Here's the link to Part 1

http://ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/home_recording_part_1.html

[chris g]

Originally posted by bathtubpirate
Bootlegged software will save you a bundle.

Sure will, and while you're at it, you may as well put on a ski mask and steal the G5 from the local computer store. And next time you're at the music shop, see if you can run out with a good set of monitors too, without getting caught. Then you'll be just about set-up. :rolleyes:

[venusandeve]

uh, 4k is not in my spending range... honnestly, i dont want to wait forever, nor do i have rich parents.

im looking for a minimal WORKING thing. first, i dont believe for a second that software packaged effects are going to beat a stompbox. second, i want to run the sound as clean as possible into the computer. if relooping it for reverb/distortion and other effects is going to spoil it, then i'd rather spend a few hours figuring out what the ideal configuration on the pedal is before recording it, and then doing it all inline.

all i really want on the software side is EQ'ing(as least as possible), mixing and mastering. after all if you fix it thru the PC, there is a chance you screw it up live...

also, i live in a rented space. i dont think my landlord would be too happy with me glueing spong and styrofoam all over the walls(not to mention what i have to pay if fire inspection shows up :mad: ). meaning that miking an amp is not that great (oh yeah, and neighbours...). with everyone with their ears comfortably in headsets, that leaves drums and vocals as MUST MIC things (bribe neighbours, kidnap their chiuaua...).

the vocals would be like 2 lines, but im not sure if the drum's mic set (the small expensive ones...) go out one line or several. if so, then using normal mikes would be cheaper, but with a small acoustic twitch to it.

BUT what i REALLY need is for you to throuw some brandnames around so i can start digging myself.
and POD sucks for what i want. line6 has nice toys, but pod is just not what im looking for.
if anyone feels like adding any more online guides, go right ahead. but please let them be for the utterly iliterate, cuz im no gearhead.;)

[satchaholic]

bootlegged software will save you a bundle.. sad but true (however if you DO love the product, i encourage support of it)

as for a minimal setup...

-bootlegged software: Cubase, Cool Edit Pro, Sonar, Live, Pro Tools (hard to bootleg without the hardware)

-a mixer: behringer makes decent entry level ones, mackie, anything with 8 inputs (or however many you need

-mics: an sm57 and a cheap condensor


and its better to use separate mics on the drums and send them to their own tracks for mixing's sake but they can all be sent to one track assuming theyre eq'd decently going in...

[venusandeve]

right, after taking a look around the lower spectrum i came across Behringer stuff (the shop right in front of my house actually sells them... in bulk!).

what do you think of

http://www.behringer.com/BCA2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG
http://www.behringer.com/UB1622FX/index.cfm?lang=ENG

or is that going to give such shoddy results that i wont evem dare to burn as much as a demo CD?

EDIT: is it just me or computer ports dont really have that many I/Os... how the heck do i master 8 tracks separatly in the computer then? or do i need some REALLY expensive alternative then?

[chris g]

Originally posted by venusandeve
right, after taking a look around the lower spectrum i came across Behringer stuff (the shop right in front of my house actually sells them... in bulk!).

what do you think of

http://www.behringer.com/BCA2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG
http://www.behringer.com/UB1622FX/index.cfm?lang=ENG

or is that going to give such shoddy results that i wont evem dare to burn as much as a demo CD?

EDIT: is it just me or computer ports dont really have that many I/Os... how the heck do i master 8 tracks separatly in the computer then? or do i need some REALLY expensive alternative then?

I've heard decent things about both of those Behringer units, but I was curious, how many simultaneous inputs do you need to record at one time. If you need to record to 4 or more tracks at once, I may be able to help steer you in a different direction.

[Kid_BS]

These are two different kinds of mixers. With one of them you won't need a sound card to record as it's USB. With the other it's just a simple mixer that will require that you have a sound card.

Neither one will be a good choice. The first mixer only has two mic preamps which means that's all you'll be able to record with at a time. This is certainly not enough for drums. The second one will mean you have to mix down to two channels before inputting into a sound card. Again, this will limit your ability to mix individual tracks later.

I already have a pretty kickass recording setup with a desktop PC at home, but I have been looking into getting one of these to use with my laptop http://www.music123.com/Alesis-Multimix-16USB-i148245.music

This would be a much better choice as all you would need is some mics and recording software. All of the mic preamps (with phantom power) are built into the mixer. You will be able to use this with a desktop or laptop computer and it's portable. Oh and they have a USB or firewire interface so you don't need a separate hardware interface.

As for a computer, I would say you get at least a Pentium 4 2ghz with a 100gb drive and at the very least 512mb of ram though I would strongly recommend getting 1 gig of ram. Seriously you can get a PC like that pretty cheaply off of the internet or even ebay. Don't waste your money on a Mac like someone mentioned because they are pretty darn expensive and there is a lot more free stuff available for PCs. You'll need some money for decent mics after all.

I would say you need a minimum of 4 mics to get a decent recording of drums (2 overheads, 1 kick, 1 for snare). I have made some good recordings with just that. Of course you can use more if you have them available. I would get a SM57, a kickdrum mic, and a few small condenser mics for your overhead drums.

I think you will find that it's pretty damn hard to record everything separately, especially drums. Generally you have to have at least one person playing along with the drummer to help keep the rhythm going smoothly. You may be able to run the guitars direct and just route the signal through the drummers headphones.

Originally posted by venusandeve
right, after taking a look around the lower spectrum i came across Behringer stuff (the shop right in front of my house actually sells them... in bulk!).

what do you think of

http://www.behringer.com/BCA2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG
http://www.behringer.com/UB1622FX/index.cfm?lang=ENG

or is that going to give such shoddy results that i wont evem dare to burn as much as a demo CD?

[venusandeve]

that alesis looks like what im looking for but on a lesser bit rate.

chris, if you have another way, go on and tell us.

[Kid_BS]

The firewire version has a higher bitrate. Check out the Alesis website for the info on the firewire version.

Originally posted by venusandeve
that alesis looks like what im looking for but on a lesser bit rate.

chris, if you have another way, go on and tell us.