Follow up...

Ok, after talking to the guys at Shure, I guess I need a pre-amp
Can anyone suggest a decent one for under $200?

Thanks
willy

Another follow up....

Im slowly getting to my goal,

Which one of these would work best for my application
(keep in mind i want to do the live jam recordings that dont have to be great, but at the same time, use this equiment to do decent demos)

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=home/search/detail/base_id/53872

http://69.56.206.66/html/audio-buddy.html

Have you tried plugging the mics in and finding what works best for you?

ya I hear that comment, just got em in the mail.
Didnt get home to try yet, just seeing if I could get a heads up before I got home.

If I were you I would get a DMP3: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=41/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/241101/
and a Y cable: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/YMP137/
and some cheap or free demo recording software and go to town.

I don't know what a BG40 is, but I would try something like the 57 on a guitar cab, and maybe the Beta above or over the drummers shoulder pointing down at the drums. Overdub other stuff afterwards.

Hey Reggie,

What would the advantage of the DMP3 be over the Audio Buddy?
The DMP3 is about $90 dollars more, is it really worth it?

Also that Y cable, can I use that on the Audio Buddy if thats what I end up getting.

I have Guitar Tracks Pro by Cakewalk, pretty user friendly software. It also has more indepth features that I have only touched the surface of.

The BG40, I hear ya, I couldnt find any info on the net for it.

My dads buddy in the head of resource and development for Shure, he just sent me those 3 mics. (I only wanted a 57, what a nice guy) Its a condensor mic, he told me to use it for drums and acoustic instruments.

Ugg, so many questions, so little time.
Thanks for helping me out
-willy

The Audiobuddy would be fine with that cable, the DMP3 might sound a bit better though. I was kind of educatedly guessing that your soundcard has a 1/8" stereo input; most of the stock cards do. The cable allows you to connect those two channels from whichever preamp into that little 1/8" stereo jack.

Guitar Tracks Pro will work fine. If you are saving money by going with the Audiobuddy, you might wanna put the extra money into an actual recording soundcard like the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 or whatever.

PS: Could ya hook me up with some more of those free mics for all my in-depth help? :lol:

Haha, I wish I could.
Your not the first to ask.

Ok so that Y cable I will need no matter what (if im using a two channel pre amp) so i should get one of the regardless.

I can get the ABuddy for about $70, so I think im gonna get that.
Yes I also want to get a better soundcard.
And I also need play back monitors.

Pre-amp first though. Atleast then I will be able to record.
I will research both more and decide.

I will also check out that soundcard.
Thanks so much Reggie, I learned alot.

willy

Found a BG4.0 - a cardioid condenser. This will be your best bet for distance micing.

http://www.shure.com/pdf/discontinued/bg40.pdf

Battery power (AA) or Phantom power required.

Thanks so much, I was looking for a pdf for that.

grab a behringer 1202 mixer to put between the mics and sound card. It has good mic preamps and 48v phantom power for condensor mics.

Uggg im confused.

I posted above what I have and am trying to do.

Now I need

1. Recording Soundcard
2. Pre amp for my mics
3. Monitors
4. Headphones

This is all new to me, so "user friendly" is key.

I think some of you guys are getting a little too in-depth here. this guy just wants to capture rehearsels to keep track of ideas that come out of jamming.

Here's what I would do. Get yourself a little Behringer mixer like the UB802, it's $50 buck and has 2 mic pres, a couple stereo channels, and phantom power. Also pick up a mic stand or two, a couple xlr cables, a couple 1/4" cables and the y adapter that Reggie reccomended. You don't need monitors, you can use headphones.

Toss that BG40 on a stand, plug it into the mixer using the xlr cable, make sure the phantom power switch is on. Connect the two 1/4" cables to the left and right main outputs of the mixer then into the y adapter which you will then connect to the line level input of your sound card. Do a test run and have a listen. If some instruments aren't coming through loud enough try moving the mic away from the louder instruments and closer to the softer ones. If you still can't get something loud enough you can add one of your other mics. If you do this I would turn the pan knob on one channel all the way to the left and the other to the right this way when you record the mics will be on seperate channels independent of each other.

I hope this helped and wasn't too confusing.