I am in a couple of bands. I do the sound. Rehearsals and jams are at my house. The main band is five-piece rock n roll. Right now there is only vocals through the mixing beard. All I have to record with is a laptop. Oh, and I have a Tascam 22-4 reel-to-reel that I may or may not use. I would like to be able to record outputs from the mixing board as well as a couple (or more) of area mics to pick up the room sound. I'm thinking area mics because I think that will be easier. We play gigs two or three times a month and the gear is always being moved.
So now you are saying "Why?" Here's why. One - to be used as a tool for the bands. Two - there is magic that happens on jam nights that I want to capture. And three - (the most important) this is all gearing up to actually having a recording studio. I want to learn more and get more gear and work my way into a full studio.
Will I get good results from area mics? What kind of mics? The room is 14 X 20. Interface? Software? My budget right now is about $1500.
Thanks for any replies.
Wayon
Comments
Thanks for the welcome. And yes, I am sure I want to do this.
Thanks for the welcome. And yes, I am sure I want to do this. I want to at least get started and see how it goes. My passion for music has already caused me some trouble so that's nothing new.
My experience is limited to an analog four-track. The only equipment I have is this new laptop (windows - Vista), as well as all the gear we use as a band. My goal for now is to be able to record the room sound the best that I can. If that goes well, I want to expand.
I am under the assumption that I can download some free software, pick up some sort of interface, a couple of mics, and start recording. Now I also know that there may be some issues with the laptop and Vista, I do have friends that can help me with that. But I want to try and use this laptop as my workstation.
Am I expecting too much?
Nothing wrong with Vista SP1 provided you use reputable gear and
Nothing wrong with Vista SP1 provided you use reputable gear and do some minor tweaking. Do not use Alesis anything unless its the HD24. Do not use Behringer. Just because. Free or inexpensive DAW's are Kristal, Reaper, Tracktion, Audition, Audacity and if you can prove you are a student many of the major DAW companies have educational versions for nominal expenditure.
"Am I expecting too much?" I don't think so. Free software, the
"Am I expecting too much?" I don't think so.
Free software, there's another thread going on right now about software, I linked to a post in it. That is pretty good for software needs.
Interfaces, just stay away from Pro Tools & Digidesign and you'll be fine.
You will probably have problems with Vista and with the system in general. Getting a system to work for audio involves sacrifice and stripping down to the bare essentials. You can't easily use any system for work/uni/internetting and audio.
As far as recording goes I guess we have all been bitten by the
As far as recording goes I guess we have all been bitten by the recording bug, why would we be on this forum anyway? ? ?
I just think it funny, one of the highest divorce rates is amongst recording producers, it makes me think twice about what I really want out of my life.
Many years ago after doing many cassete recordings I decided to take my technique to the next level and went to school.
Once I had found a good small school at Film In The Cities I had started with a 1/2" 8 track Otari and 16 channel Soundcraft 400 series board in a tiny midi studio back in 1990. So, I may know where you are coming from in the world of analog recording.
One quality recommendation I can make is to look at a presonus firestudio. It comes with cubase LE which could be a decent DAW to start with. I have no experience with it but have read about others using it on the forum.
If your interested you can check for Vista and related issues to PreSonus here:
Best of luck to your new goal, let us know your next steps. This can be a learning experience for everyone, including me.
Once we get your path clear on the system we can talk more about microphones and techniques, how to make the most of what you have.
There is a great wealth of talented people on the forum, welcome aboard.
Welcome to the forum Wayon. Are you sure you want to do this? ?
Welcome to the forum Wayon.
Are you sure you want to do this? ? ?
Being a Recording Musician can be very time consuming and producing music can be a life long addiction that can get you into a whole lot of trouble.
So, there are many variables in setting up a starter studio that can lead to a professional studio. You have your front end (mic preamps+ line inputs = computer interface) then you have the computer and the the DAW (PC or Mac : Logic, GarageBand, Protools, Cubase, Wavelab ect. . . ) then you have the rear end (the monitors and control room)
These all balance into making a working studio.
Question is what experience do you have, what are your goals and are you willing to spend more time with your purchases so you make wise decisions.
Its way too easy to spend $1500 on just a computer, especially a Mac notebook which happens to be what I use. I have always preferred the Mac OS anyway. People complain about the price but to me it is well worth the hassle. PC's require time customizing the OS (windows) for the job at hand, and thats fine if you are familiar with that. However, if you know someone who is willing to help that would be a huge benefit to you.
Not everyone will agree that Mac is worth the $. You can spend much less on a PC, but then there is the issue with stability and Operating systems such as XP which has been axed by microsloth. Then you have internet issues with PC and a DAW. Of course what do I know about that? Not much.
Now if you would like a Mac, you could look for a used MacBook with a partial warranty remaining. I know a friend that had good results that did this, that can save you about a third of the cost.
Many people start with a limited experience of recording, thats where I come from as well.
I would suggest searching the forum for info on the different DAW's and then making your decision on what you are familiar with.
Let us know what your thoughts are on the DAW/ Computer choices and we can talk more then about the front end and so forth. :wink: