home studio Options

[bruticus]

so i want to start recording my own music. i have a pretty spacious room so its a perfect place to write, record, and play music. i know nothing about microphones or the other key components to setting up a home studio.yes i could have google searched all this information, but i'd rather get first hand advice/information from my fellow skachillians (i know a few of you have done this yourselves.)


so i want to be able to record guitars (electric and acoustic), drums, horns, and vox. so i imagine i need drum mics, a microphone for amplifiers, and a solid microphone (maybe a condenser mic?) for the horns and vocals. i assume i need some sort of interface like a mixer? i know absolutely nothing about those. then i'm pretty sure i need some sort of editing software (pro tools?) but i really don't want to have to pay for that if i don't have to (idk how hard it is to pirate well known, expensive software like that anymore. i've been out of the warez game for a while).


so i guess i kind of have an understanding of what i need, but i'm not too knowledgeable on the specifics. so suggestions on what to buy and other general tips would be great! thanks in advance, you guys rock! \m/

[HighonFez]

What's your budget?

[siktir]

You need a dose of shit to clean the gunk out your ears, can you hear me or not please record this. Hello.

[Boner City]

You need a dose of shit to clean the gunk out your ears, can you hear me or not please record this. Hello.

hahahahaha!

[bruticus]

What's your budget?

i don't really have a set budget. lets say medium range; not too budgety gear but not the top of the line.

[Mephisto]

This really depends on your budget. Are you trying to record demos or like, actual recordings?

I have this interface. I like it a lot and I got it for 350 which was a good deal. If you're trying to do drums well you're going to want at least 4 inputs (so you can mic kick, snare, and two overheads). You might be able to find a cheaper interface that has 4xlr inputs and preamps.

For recording software you could pirate protools, but that might be complicated. I would look into getting Reaper. It doesn't have as many features and whatnot as protools, but it's a lot lighter and can be just as good. It's what they use at Bad Racket which is where Signals Midwest recorded their album. It's only 60 dollars.

For mics you should definitely get an SM57. You can find them for like 80 online and you use them for fucking everything. Electric guitars, snare drum, horns, and anything that you don't know what else to use. Also they're ridiculously durable. I would also check out the AT2020 for a cheap condensor mic. It's also around 80 and it's probably the best condensor for the price. Those are probably the best two to start with and then if you need anything fancier you could try to borrow something from someone or rent them from guitar center or something.

That'll cost you around 600 bucks probably which is a lot, and you can probably do it for cheaper, but that's all solid stuff.

[Klonny]

I'm gonna lurk this thread so up teh tips.

[toast]

http://www.gearslutz.com/
Check out the Low End Theory part of that board, tons of info there. Also, shop around online for gear, and then go over to zzounds.com, and they'll price match, and often beat prices of competitors, they also let you split up your bill into three payments for a small $3 or $4 fee, which is also pretty awesome

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/p...ecording-system
That is the little guy that i have, and it's pretty solid, it also comes bundles with a DAW, Studio One.

[siktir]

hmm do u kno bout SoundCatcher12? (The version from norway)

[siktir]

Cheers,

Siktir

[HighonFez]

SM57's are the greatest thing. Get one. Also, this thing is my secret weapon. Works awesome for bass drum, bass, guitar and a ton of other high sound level things as well.

For cheapest, this thing is a sweet interface. Also, way cheaper on eBay. I would recommend using Audacity (freeware) and then pirating something later when you have a better idea of how these things work. You can use a 4 channel mixer (I'm sure there was one left over from your band) and then go into the USB device for the time being for more inputs. Is this the price level you're looking at?

[bruticus]

well i convinced my dad to help fund, because he's a drummer himself and would like to get in on recording, so i'm gonna wanna do drums right. eric mentioned 4 mics for drums? 1 for snare, 1 kick, and 2 overheads? probably won't do much live recording so i only need more than 4 inputs i assume? for guitar amps, sm57s are good and a bass drum mic can double as a bass guitar mic? then i nice vocal mic. i guess software would be the last puzzle piece.


in summary:

4 mics for drums, 2 of which can double up for guitar/bass amps.

1 vocal mic.

some sort of interface that has around 4 inputs.

software.

[iammatt]

I want to say you're gonna need different mics for the amps for guitar/bass, but i could be wrong, anyways, on the topic of drum mics last time i was at guitar center they had some on sale or something and it was a 4 pc set for $110

[Mephisto]

Nah the 57 is pretty much the standard guitar cab mic. Also it depends on the mic, but I generally use the same mic for kick drums and bass cabs. That being said you don't really need to mic bass cabs, most people just do bass direct input and then color it with a plugin like sansamp.

[bmastak]

Anybody know any places to get software (such as Reaper) without torrenting? I can't do it on my schools internets.

[Skalin]

Nah the 57 is pretty much the standard guitar cab mic. Also it depends on the mic, but I generally use the same mic for kick drums and bass cabs. That being said you don't really need to mic bass cabs, most people just do bass direct input and then color it with a plugin like sansamp.

This is doing it wrong. Unless you're willing to shell out tons of money for plugins and willing to do post production work, just get the correct cab sound while tracking otherwise just get a DI bass track.

Extremely important rule of thumb; always get your inputs to sound as close as you want them to and eliminate any problems you can see even if it may take you longer in the tracking process. Longer in the tracking process means less you'll have to do in post-production which is more of a pain to correct mistakes that could have been corrected in tracking.

In regards to 57s, you can never have too many 57s.

Also, how many mics are you going to be using at one time? Are you going to be doing a lot of live tracking or are you going to be overdubbing? If you're going to be doing live tracking then you will need an interface, at least a mixer, that can handle 6-8 mic inputs. (4 for drums, 1-2 for guitar/s, 1-2 for bass).


I would look into Reaper because, in spite of the misconceptions, it does just what protools does; it multitracks and edits audio. The beauty of Reaper is that it is less memory heavy, it doesn't take over your system, and doesn't rape your wallet. If you know what you're doing in a digital workstation program such as protools, cubase, sony acid, reaper, etc, you know what you're doing in the next program. It's justs finding out where each of the shortcuts and functions are in the program.

Where I wouldn't go cheap: Interfaces/AD/DA- analog to digital converters (main perpetrator of latency), Cables (buy good quality cables, do your homework; if you are savy with a soldering iron you can make your own), Making sure the band is prepared before the session. Fresh strings and heads on the drums.

[Skalin]

Anybody know any places to get software (such as Reaper) without torrenting? I can't do it on my schools internets.

You can download reaper from their site for free i believe. I dunno if they have any limitations of functions until you purchase or not. I purchased my copy because I support the guys behind the company and since it was only $60.

http://www.reaper.fm/

[Skalin]

thought this was a good video

[Mephisto]

This is doing it wrong. Unless you're willing to shell out tons of money for plugins and willing to do post production work, just get the correct cab sound while tracking otherwise just get a DI bass track.

Extremely important rule of thumb; always get your inputs to sound as close as you want them to and eliminate any problems you can see even if it may take you longer in the tracking process. Longer in the tracking process means less you'll have to do in post-production which is more of a pain to correct mistakes that could have been corrected in tracking.

Plugins are pretty easy to pirate/get free trials of. I actually hate doing bass DI (421 on a bass cab is so great), but it's definitely the cheap option. DI sound depends on what you're going for. That sweet Latterman-y pop punk sound is pretty easy to get without any kind of amp sim. Same with real smooth sounds. If you're trying to do something a little meaner though plug ins can help a lot.

Its definitely true that you should try and get the best sounds you can going in. The lest work you have to do after the fact, the better it's probably going to sound when you're done. Sometimes it's just cheaper to do stuff in post. Never try to correct performances though, make sure they play it right. Goddamn does editing suck.

Also check out this plugin. http://www.soundtoys.com/product/Decapitator You can get a 30 day free trial so save it for whenever you're going to be mixing. It's simulates tape saturation. It basically adds really nice, subtle (or not) distortion. You can use it on everything.