Thanks for checkin this out! I need some advice on setting up my home audio workstation. My band consists of my cousin (piano) and myself (bass). We use a drum machine for our drummer. For the last 2 years, we have been recording on a Zoom MRS 802b 8 track recorder. Well, to make a long story short, the recorder died on us.
I've been interested in these DAW programs for a while now. I thought it might be a good time to start now. The problem is that we know nothing about what to buy to set this up. I would like to get the best quality sound for as low of a price as possible.
Here are the things I would want with a setup:
1- Ability to record (real) instruments (ie piano, bass, vocals)
2- A solid equalizer and drum kits
3- Copy/Paste/Delete instruments/FX
4- Ability to burn to MP3 format to burn to disc
If you have any (and I mean advice!) on these questions I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks Guys,
toneuc
Comments
Send him everywhere but here lol, right on, and sending him over
Send him everywhere but here lol, right on, and sending him over to Gearshills (We actually started RO 3 years before GS was even born.) is about as bad as it gets but, wow, all great advise just the same... you put together a stellar list.
IMHO,
Way too much information for a newbie and all the info you need is right here.
Do you have any gear? Tells us your budget and you go from there.
You go from spending a grand to many thousands. You've posted in the pro audio forum, I recommend posting in our Home Recording Forum as well. You wouldn't be asking these question in the Pro Audio forums just yet.
Reaper and a PC is a great start. You need a PC (what OS laptop or desktop), Recording software (reaper, Pro Tools 9, Samplitude, Sonar, Cubase etc), a soundcard (adda interface), preamp(s) , Mic(s), cable
Starting reading...
My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad
My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):
First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
[="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470385421?ie=UTF8&tag=myjescom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421"]Amazon.com: Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies (9780470385425): Jeff Strong: Books[/]="http://www.amazon.c…"]Amazon.com: Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies (9780470385425): Jeff Strong: Books[/]
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!
Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
[[url=http://="http://www.amazon.c…"]Amazon.com: Recording Guitar and Bass: Getting a Great Sound Every Time You Record (Book) (9780879307301): Huw Price: Books[/]="http://www.amazon.c…"]Amazon.com: Recording Guitar and Bass: Getting a Great Sound Every Time You Record (Book) (9780879307301): Huw Price: Books[/]
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)
And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at [="http://www.tapeop.com"]TapeOp.com[/]="http://www.tapeop.c…"]TapeOp.com[/]
Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!
Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
[[url=http://="http://www.tweakhea…"]Tweak's Guide to the Home and Project Studio[/]="http://www.tweakhea…"]Tweak's Guide to the Home and Project Studio[/]
[="http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs"]Free beginner PDFs | Computer Music Magazine | MusicRadar.com[/]="http://www.computer…"]Free beginner PDFs | Computer Music Magazine | MusicRadar.com[/]
[[url=http://="http://www.harmony-…"]The #1 online community for musicians | Harmony Central[/]="http://www.harmony-…"]The #1 online community for musicians | Harmony Central[/]
[="http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html"]Tips & Techniques - Gearslutz.com[/]="http://www.gearslut…"]Tips & Techniques - Gearslutz.com[/]
21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: [[url=http://="http://www.tweakhea…"]How to Configure a Recording Studio Rig[/]="http://www.tweakhea…"]How to Configure a Recording Studio Rig[/]
Also Good Info: [="http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm"]Directory - The Project Studio Handbook - Digital Audio, Compression, Mixing, Monitoring, Microphones[/]="http://www.theproje…"]Directory - The Project Studio Handbook - Digital Audio, Compression, Mixing, Monitoring, Microphones[/]
Other recording books: [[url=http://="http://musicbookspl…"]Music Books Plus - Home Recording[/]="http://musicbookspl…"]Music Books Plus - Home Recording[/]
Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and user-tested suggestions that work: [="http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm"]The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab[/]="http://www.tweakhea…"]The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab[/]
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)
Another good article: Choosing an audio interface - [[url=http://="http://www.soundons…"]Choosing An Audio Interface[/]="http://www.soundons…"]Choosing An Audio Interface[/]
Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:
Sony ACID Express (free 10-track sequencer): [="http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/"]ACIDplanet.com: Free Downloads: ACID Xpress[/]="http://www.acidplan…"]ACIDplanet.com: Free Downloads: ACID Xpress[/]
Audacity: [[url=http://="http://audacity.sou…"]Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder[/]="http://audacity.sou…"]Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder[/] (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: [="http://www.wavosaur.com/"]Wavosaur free audio editor with VST and ASIO support[/]="http://www.wavosaur…"]Wavosaur free audio editor with VST and ASIO support[/] (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)
Kristal: [[url=http://="http://www.kreative…"]KRISTAL Audio Engine[/]="http://www.kreative…"]KRISTAL Audio Engine[/]
Other freebies and shareware: [="http://www.hitsquad.com/smm"]Music Software - Computer Music Resources - Shareware Music Machine[/]="http://www.hitsquad…"]Music Software - Computer Music Resources - Shareware Music Machine[/]
Another great option is REAPER at [[url=http://="http://www.cockos.c…"]REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits[/]="http://www.cockos.c…"]REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits[/] (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...
Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - [[url=http://[/URL]="http://myriad-onlin…"]Myriad: Music Notation Software and much more... / Myriad : logiciels de musique, et bien plus...[/]="http://myriad-onlin…"]Myriad: Music Notation Software and much more... / Myriad : logiciels de musique, et bien plus...[/]
Demo you can try on the website.
And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE, November 2010 SamplitudeSilver. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)
'Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll eat forever...'