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zendao 10 October 2013

Hi, so I'm thinking of recording a 4 song EP. I need to record guitars, bass, drums and some effects I can take care of with my pc. I've recorded a few demos before but the quality isn't good enough, I've gotten better with my pc but I'm not sure I've got the equipment or DAW fit for the task. I've been using Audition but the program is not really geared towards recording music. I have tried paying for cheap studios to record but the result are not good enough either.

So I need to know if my 7 year old laptop is good enough to invest in a soundcard (I'm thinking the PreSonus) and try to record the drums home. I've gotten some old versions of most DAWs out there to try out too.

Here's my specs

Windows XP
HP Pavillion DV8000t (2006)
Intel T2600 (2.6GHZ) Processor
2GB RAM Memory

I've also got the EMU 0202 external sound card and a pair of small M-Audio Monitors.

So is it worth investing on a soundcard to record the drums with several mics or should I rather invest in a new laptop?

Thanks!

Comments

zendao Fri, 10/11/2013 - 14:59

DSPDiva, post: 407728 wrote: And a better DAW. But you also need good mic placement techniques, a good sounding room, decent musicians and most importantly, mixing skills to make things sound acceptable after they've been recorded.

Well I'm actually thinking about outsourcing my mixing either localy or online, what do you think about that? I just need unlimited time to record enough times to get a perfect take. Mic placement can be learned online and tweeked hands-on no? same with the room?

CoyoteTrax Sat, 10/12/2013 - 14:04

DSPDiva, post: 407728 wrote: ...But you also need good mic placement techniques, a good sounding room, decent musicians and most importantly, mixing skills to make things sound acceptable after they've been recorded.

^^^^^
+1000 on this.

A better DAW is nice to have, a new computer with Win7...all that jazz; yes. However, the specs you quoted (WinXP/2.6GHz CPU/etc.) will get you there.

But it totally comes down to skills as a recording engineer, quality musicianship, and mixing skills.

Also keep in mind that slamming the final mix against a "brick wall" limiter in the end for loudness will only create a noticeable over-compressed effect with regard to how your EP will sound on small speakers like laptop speakers. So you want to stay away from that and make sure the mastering is done by someone who knows what they're doing.

kmetal Sun, 10/13/2013 - 21:10

the firestudio qould be fine, if it were me i'd get this [[url=http://[/URL]="http://tascam.com/p…"]Product: US-1800 | TASCAM[/]="http://tascam.com/p…"]Product: US-1800 | TASCAM[/] its a hundred bucks cheaper has two more inputs, and comes w/ a version of cubase. looks like the firestudio comes w/ a version of studio one which is cool. either one should be fine.

DSPDiva Tue, 10/15/2013 - 08:07

zendao, post: 407738 wrote: Well I'm actually thinking about outsourcing my mixing either localy or online, what do you think about that? I just need unlimited time to record enough times to get a perfect take. Mic placement can be learned online and tweeked hands-on no? same with the room?

Ok so you're just handling the recording aspect. Your EP might be possible then. So you've decided to invest in your computer, but you should also get the interface. The Presonus will work fine. Like I said, just make sure you're experimenting with mic techniques so you can get the best sound possible. Good luck with your project.

And thanks CoyoteTrax for the +1000

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