Home Studio Recording Hardware

Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 9:46 am

Hi, I am a 17 year old from the UK and have recently become interested in doing some recording. I have tried using the line-in port on my computer and a couple of old microphones and had pretty rubbish results. I am now thinking about buying some equipment so I can do some semi-decent recording, however, I am a novice at this and so need some help in what I should be buying.

I have a budget of around a few hundred pounds and would like to be able to record vocals, guitar and keyboard (possibly an electronic drumkit), have you got any ideas?

I have been looking at the 'Alesis IO/14 Portable Audio Interface', along with perhaps buying a couple of microphones (not sure which ones yet-any tips?) and would like to know whether these would be a good investment or whether I would be better getting something else?

I am open to any suggestions and would like to be able to 'mix' some of the tracks after recording, on the actual computer.

Thanks in advance! regards,

Tristan

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:11 am

There is so much recording equipment available these days that it can be a daunting task to read about any of it. However, a short term goal (like yours) should also be mindful of a little growth, because recording (and the gear) can be addicting!

Get a Shure SM57. That's a mic you'll never outgrow, and will likely keep, and use.

Assuming, of course, that your PC or laptop has a firewire port, look at Presonus' Inspire, or Firebox. Presonus has some nice gear for the money. Cubase LE recording software comes with it.

If you have a band, each member can get an Inspire, and they can be piggy-backed together, up to 4 units I think, for up to 8 simultaneous inputs.

Let us know what you get and how you're doing with it!

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:40 pm

+1 to Firebox. It s quite good for the bucks.

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:51 pm

I'm not familiar with the Firebox, but I see that the Mackie Onyx Satellite is now half price at musicians friend, only $200 for two onyx preamps with phantom power, firewire connectivity, and monitoring outputs. I use a larger onyx board and love it!

For $500 you could get yourself an onyx satellite, a good pair on headphones(sennheiser hd280) and a couple sm57's or 58's. That would be a great beginner recording setup.

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:55 pm

I'm not familiar with the Firebox, but I see that the Mackie Onyx Satellite is now half price at musicians friend, only $200 for two onyx preamps with phantom power, firewire connectivity, and monitoring outputs. I use a larger onyx board and love it!

For $500 you could get yourself an onyx satellite, a good pair on headphones(sennheiser hd280) and a couple sm57's or 58's. That would be a great beginner recording setup.

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:04 am

Hey again!

Thanks for all the info I am looking into it, been a great help thanx! Just another quick question, with all of these computer interfaces, is it possible to multi-track record onto the computer, i.e. record two instruments at the same time and get two separate tracks on the computer so I can edit them afterwards? when I have tried recording in the past, using the line in input, I can only get one track, which is very difficult when I realise after that the drums are too loud in one bit and I can't do anything about it without losing the level of the other instruments also recorded!

regards

Tristan

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:46 am

Yes and people usually do. IMHO grabbing a book or two about home recording from amazon will be a good start for your case. (Or read the forums but books really deliver way more better structured info)

Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 6:21 pm

To multitrack into a PC, you need an audio interface (soundcard) that has the number of inputs you need to record seperately. If you need to record eight tracks simultaneously, you need an interface with eight inputs.

M-Audio has several PCI cards that range from two to ten inputs and outouts and they're all under $500. I bought the Delta 1010LT for $239 with 10 ins and 10 outs.

My first post... Hehehe !!

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:02 am

right, I have nailed it down to two interfaces, either the edirol fa-66, or the presonus firebox, bothe of which look really good, plus I will probably buy two microphones and a computer soundcard (thanks!)

this will probably be a really stupid question, but through firewire, is it possible to record more than one track or can you not record through firewire, I don't really know what it is exactly, sorry if it's stupid!

regards and thanks for everything again!

Tristan

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:08 pm

Firewire IEEE1394 is a digital interface standard sort of like USB and connects between your PC and firewire devices ie audio interface, camcorder... It is not recommended to connect more than one device to these ports. You should verify that your computer has firewire other wise you need to add a firewire card or PMCIA to firewire (laptop).

Yes you can record more than one source to multiple tracks. The analog signals get converted in your audio interface to digital and are sent to the PC via firewire connection.

+1 on Terrapins recomendation on the headphones you need to hear what you recording.

This topic sponsored by: