I think this is the most "newbiest" question I have every asked.
What microphone cable should I use with the Shure SM57? I'm getting confused with these female and male XLR cables, etc. etc. I'm like lost D: And if you need to know what my audio interface is here it is:

OKAY, well, I'm a mega noob when it comes to this, and I've had 0 experience with the studio environment.

I want to set up a basic studio in my room for recording vocals(for hip hop , if that matters).

So, please go easy on me and recommend me some good equipment and around how much I would be spending?

I hope that this forum can clear up a few questions I have before I drop a few hundred bucks on some stuff I don't need, but based on other threads, I think you guys can help.

Recently, I have been getting into digital mixing/recording, but I want to step up my game to get "studio" quality sound.

What effects or plugins would you use to make a vocal track sounds like a professional recording?

I don't know how to set the EQ, or the compressor, reverb is kind of confusing to me as well.

Same thing with recording guitars (Direct).

I am not using a computer to do/learn voice recording.
I have an AT 2020 Mic and shock mount. Sterling PF1 pop filter. A Mackie 402-vlz3 mixer and a Marantz PMD661 recorder.

I can edit the result in soundbooth cs4, but I am trying to get the initial setup as good as possible.

Hey guys,
I play guitar and I want to record a cover album with a couple of mates for the summer holidays with piano, guitar, vocals and possibly drums and bass (recording individually). I am a complete newbie so all the information I have is from a couple of people from the guitar shop.

I have a couple of questions regarding interfaces:

I have an acoustic guitar and a voice and I'd like to record them. I'm a poor student so I can't afford much. I need to know what type of mics I should be looking for. I already have a nice sound card with a mic input and preamp. I just need mics. What's the cheapest option I could get away with so that the recording doesn't sound like crap?

I wasn't quite sure where to post my questions so I will put it here and moderators, please move if necessary and I apologize in advance for my Newbiness.

I'm brand new to recording. I'm looking for an 8 channel audio interface that will give me the ability to expand later on via ADAT. I saw on the Soundcard Wizard on Recording Review that the PreSonus Firestudio and M-Audio Profile 2626 should meet my needs.

Which do you guys think will be more reliable?

Thanks,
hondacrxdude13

Hi there everyone, please persevere with what might be a very long post :)

Also, I'll preface this by saying I have done a fair bit of research into this before I came begging for help here, but the information I found was mostly conflicting, so I thought I'd ask you lovely people instead!