Hey all,
I am a vocalist from a Reggae/Hip-Hop band looking to put together a portable studio, for use during long trips in the Tour Van, that would be used with a Drum Machine and 2 mc's. These recordings would be used for generating ideas to be re-recorded in a real studio later, and/or some underground releases, with rough sound quality being part of the charm. I have been performing for 8 years, and have been in many studios, but have limited experience "doing it myself" so to speak, so be kind if I sound like an idiot!
What I am thinking of is using a Roland 303, 307, or 505 (depending on what prices I get on Ebay!) Groovebox for drums, bass, etc. Then send that track to a Digital 4 Track Recorder, with 1 track for the assembled beat, and the other 3 tracks for vocals. For Vocals, I just want to use one of our existing Shure SM58s, without needing a pre-amp. I do not forsee needing to record any additional instruments. Does this sound feasible?
I want to keep cost down, and need portabilty, as I envision this whole setup fitting inside a briefcase/FlightCase.
So, having said all that, any recommendations? So far I have been looking at the Zoom MRS-4B, which I like for the price, and a few different Korg and Boss models. Any feedback would be much apprecieated.
Thanks,
MJ
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Thank you for the reply... I have thought of going the laptop
Thank you for the reply...
I have thought of going the laptop route, which I am sure would be far superior. The only problem with that is that I already have a laptop, but I do not think it has quite the muscle to handle recording. When i bought it, I did not think I would be using it for that, and I can't really justify having two of them right now. Perhaps I can sell and upgrade to a better laptop, but that may take a while. Either way, thanks for the reply!
mj
man if you're just talking pre-production/writing/idea composing
man if you're just talking pre-production/writing/idea composing,, i'd just get a laptop with "reason" and "logic/cubase/nuendo/protools/whatever." here's why,
i used to produce Drum and Bass (produced the same way as hip-hop/rap). my crew had a handful of releases where ALL the sound was produced in Reason. we just "re-wired" to logic later for a better sounding mix. then mastered it and it was on vinyl a few months later.
all you need is those 2 programs, a laptop that can handle it, a midi controller(to play your virtual instruments), a mic (i suggest an SM58 or similar), and a soundcard that has audio and midi.
this sounds like a lot, but it can seriously all fit into a briefcase. (just look at the sam-ash employees in the recording dept. during slow hours).
in fact, you can then simply burn your files to cd or put onto an external hard-drive and open them up in the "real studio" computer and fully transform your ideas into full productions.
hope that helps!