I have been dabbling with recording my music for years. I've never gone gung ho on it, but I've bought some nice equipment over the years hoping to get rolling. In the past, I've used Cubase LE4 I got with a Tascam bundle. It worked well, but ever since I've gotten Windows 7, it hasn't worked right. I tried the trail of Cubase 5, but NEVER got it working...hopefully I can be re-paid for the USB license. Currently, I am using a Tascam DP-008 Pocketstudio. I love it, very handy for rehearsals and ideas. I now want to work fully on songs, and produce great results. As crazy as this sounds, can I do this with the Tascam and not a computer?
A little about my "process."
I am a multi-musician. I play guitar, bass, drums, keys, and sing.
I record everything naturally...I'm not into loops or anything. Real drums, that kinda stuff.
I have various mics... SM57, CAD kick drum mic, couple condensers, couple dynamics.
Again, I use the pocketstudio.
I think I need a good mixer for recording drums, considering the pocketstudio can only record 2 tracks at a time. What is a good mixer, possibly under $250-300, that has EQ, phantom power, and is the best for the money? Also, is there a device that could double as a mixer/preamp?
Basically, I'm wanting a product to record drums, has effects for vocals and other stuff, and is affordable and will produce a decent sound.
I want to put effort in this time, and I think the right equipment will help me. Thank you for reading my LONG post, and any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
Comments
Well to be honest it sounds like you need a multi-track recordin
Well to be honest it sounds like you need a multi-track recording interface.
Guitar, bass, drums and vocals at least 8 channels
But if your only recording one track at at time, then a high quality 2 channel would work.
A mixer is fine if your looking to mix out of the box and not use Cubase, but with Cubase you can record mix and make any song you like...If your computer is properly setup for USB or FW interface with good drivers you should be on your way...millions of people have recording interfaces into their computers and recording complete songs everyday...for 2 channels maybe the RME Babyface or Apogee Duet would be your best bet...you couldn't record all the mics for your drums with only 2 channels...so the next jump would be maybe 8 channels and there are plenty of those out there....RME, Motu, Apogee etc....
You need to define your tracking preference....i.e. simultaneous multi-track or just one or two at a time...