Home recording guide

[Dancin' Man]

I have a crappy soundcard.

[jcbsc]

Okay I don't this is covered in the lessons.. sorry if it is. Anyways...

I got a 4-track but it's not enough to record everyone in my band, and I can't afford a mixer right now. So I was thinking if we could record us as if we were... err, "live." It's probably gonna sound like crap but we're just gonna use that was kind of a rough-draft thing to see how everything sounds together.

My question, where would you place the mic?

Sorry haha just bumping my question.

[KKinsane]

ok i have a question 4 ya. (im 15 also, 16 in a month, you seriously know what your talking about, nice job so far dude :thumb: ps downloading **** is only illegal if they catch u lol)

my friend is coming over soon, were going to record a few songs. we have 2 guitars both with marshall mg30gfx amps, i have a boss me 50 effects box, we have one spare guitar amp and a mic for vocals (lame i know) and a 4 track tape player (no inputs just crappy mic) how can we make sure the sound is balanced between amps and vocals and not sound completely ****?

i know it wont be any where near as good as a mixed track but it will do for now, we need to hear how we sound.

[mosher902]

where in australia you from i am australian but life in london, ok i really wanna just record some stuff but well i need the cheapest of the cheapest.
what is the best for just vocals, bass and guitar?

u rule!!

rockin drummer, i'll get back to you soon on that one

Forever branded, Yeah I have some MP3's, but I've only just set up my MP3.com.au acount, and apparently they need 3-4 days to check the MP3's, so i'll post some, but it might take a while. Definitly within the next week. What style of music do you like? coz i'll post some that might take your fancy!

[DarkDark]

what version of cubasis should i download i dont know anything about the program, cheers for all the posts there ace! i really had no idea before it helped a great deal thanks man!

[theabstract]

what version of cubasis should i download i dont know anything about the program, cheers for all the posts there ace! i really had no idea before it helped a great deal thanks man!

i've got cubasis vst its good...i dunno about others

[addicted2guitar]

I have the soundblaster audigy 2 internal sound card. How can I record Line In and Mic at the same time using Acid 3.0?

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

U can't U have to select which one on your volume thingy.


I got a question. Will it sound bad if I plug in my already recorded stuff on my 4 track tape recorder and transfer it to a computer?

[theabstract]

does it sound good on the tape?
if it does...then it will when you transfer it

[mosher902]

hi i am gonna start making a small recording studio (nothing big just for me an my friend) i'm 12 now and am turning 13 in 30 days.

i have a fender precision bass
and my friend has a fender strat.

i am gonna get 2 boom stands eventualy.
ok well i am getting a alienware area 51m laptop (lucky me) i plan to use this as my computer for recording. but what i am asking is


1. what is the first thing i should buy to start it

2. when i look on ebay for mics they all say jack in but the soundcard which i have ordered with the laptop is a soundblaster audigy 2 NX and a internal sound blaster 2, all have only a mic in, aux in, Digital in, spdif and something called Line level out.

how do i plug that in i am sooo confused i think jack in is just for shows not recording?

please inligten me

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

and I got another question. If I plug my guitar into my mixer, and then in my amp, and put a cord that connects to the headphone slot on the amp into the soundcard thing, would it sound better than just putting it strait from the mixer to the soundcard?

[theabstract]

no...you should plug the output of your amp into the mixer then into the comp

[theabstract]

hi i am gonna start making a small recording studio (nothing big just for me an my friend) i'm 12 now and am turning 13 in 30 days.

i have a fender precision bass
and my friend has a fender strat.

i am gonna get 2 boom stands eventualy.
ok well i am getting a alienware area 51m laptop (lucky me) i plan to use this as my computer for recording. but what i am asking is


1. what is the first thing i should buy to start it

2. when i look on ebay for mics they all say jack in but the soundcard which i have ordered with the laptop is a soundblaster audigy 2 NX and a internal sound blaster 2, all have only a mic in, aux in, Digital in, spdif and something called Line level out.

how do i plug that in i am sooo confused i think jack in is just for shows not recording?

please inligten me

you need something to plug into your soundcard that you can plug mics into...like a mixer or a preamp :)

[mosher902]

thanks as i said am strapped for cash at the moment i live around the corner from barnes recording studio i could try stealing some mics. and a mixer the backdoors always open **** i'm gonna turn into Steve Jones!

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

no...you should plug the output of your amp into the mixer then into the comp
Would that sound better than putting it from the guitar to the mixer to the comp?

[theabstract]

lol! ^^^ just sell your parents or something

[theabstract]

Would that sound better than putting it from the guitar to the mixer to the comp?

alot better

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

do U know any other good recording programs that I can get for free of download.com? i can't seem to find a full version of adobe or cool edit pro off kazaa...if I paid for adobe audition, would I be able to hear the previous tracks I recorded while I record the next track?

[Retrovertigo]

i can't seem to find a full version of adobe or cool edit pro off kazaa..

limewire, and cool edit pro is much better, and is easy to use with 10 minutes of experimenting.

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

Ok thanks I got audition and I should be set until the 1/8 adaptor comes in the mail. Thanks theabstract!You're my hero

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

Crap, I got another problem. I recorded the first track which was guitar. Then I recorded the second track while the first track was playing, and the vocals started to speed up, and it got all out of line, How do I fix it?

[HNLzero]

hey i direct in my guitar with a rp200a and the sound always buzzes if i play too loud or something. How can be able to play as loud and free as I want without worrying about anything?

the buzz is a little bit similar to ...and justice for all sometimes

[mosher902]

is the Samson Mixpad 9 Compact Mixer a good mixer or is it a pile of ****?

[theabstract]

hey i direct in my guitar with a rp200a and the sound always buzzes if i play too loud or something. How can be able to play as loud and free as I want without worrying about anything?

the buzz is a little bit similar to ...and justice for all sometimes

turn down your rp200a

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

so can U help me with my adobe audition prob....friend?

[theabstract]

Crap, I got another problem. I recorded the first track which was guitar. Then I recorded the second track while the first track was playing, and the vocals started to speed up, and it got all out of line, How do I fix it?

:eek: how strange! i dunno, never seen this happen.

[jcbsc]

Which level do you adjust so the mic in the headphones isn't so loud. Because than I can't hear the first track and I end up recording out of time :\

[theabstract]

^^^in put gain most likely

[herobehindthemsk]

ok i understand that you need headphones....but what do you play in them...the instrumental parts to the song...and aslo what's the best inst. part to record first..prob guitar...sorry about the stupid questions

[theabstract]

ok...you play the parts that have already been recorded in the headphones.
Probebly best to record drums first

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

ok I guess I'll just put the metranome up while I'm recording and try to keep in my head what the instrumental's are doing. The stuff I recorded today sounds AWESOME!!thanx a bunch for you help the abstract! :D

[trev913]

I'm back. Having another question...

I have a 1/4" -> 1/8" adapter. I used it when I wanted to record direct in stuff. I tried it the other day with my acoustic-electric and it came out totally horrible. I'm just wondering, could it be the adapter, or the fact that I'm going direct in? I've tried the same thing with my bass, but it came out the way one would expect, absolutely dreadful sounding.

So, when I do get my hands on a mic, should I still run my mic's 1/4" cable through this adapter and into the line in? If not, what other alternatives do I have, since I'm not planning on buying a mixer (as I'll only have one instrument playing at a time - for the moment...)?

[LeDbOx]

ok i got a big problem. im recording a 5 person band in a room thats like 7x12 feet and over head there is a vent that goes across the ceiling and rattles when our amps are turned up. how can i reduced or eliminate the rattle?(with out screwing up the duct work)

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

I'm back. Having another question...

I have a 1/4" -> 1/8" adapter. I used it when I wanted to record direct in stuff. I tried it the other day with my acoustic-electric and it came out totally horrible. I'm just wondering, could it be the adapter, or the fact that I'm going direct in? I've tried the same thing with my bass, but it came out the way one would expect, absolutely dreadful sounding.

So, when I do get my hands on a mic, should I still run my mic's 1/4" cable through this adapter and into the line in? If not, what other alternatives do I have, since I'm not planning on buying a mixer (as I'll only have one instrument playing at a time - for the moment...)?
Make sure the adapter is plugged in all the way. Mine was only like 3/4 of the way in and it sounded really bad. That might be ur problem.

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

ok i got a big problem. im recording a 5 person band in a room thats like 7x12 feet and over head there is a vent that goes across the ceiling and rattles when our amps are turned up. how can i reduced or eliminate the rattle?(with out screwing up the duct work)
take off the vent. Shouldn't be too hard cuz it's already duct taped on anyways right:thumb:?. Maybe buy a new one for like ten bucks at home depot, or U can do what I did at my old house and just cover it with a peice of mesh clothing or T shirt.

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

or turn the amps down:thumb:

[LeDbOx]

its not that kind of vent, its the kind that comes directly from the heater and runs from one side of the room to the other and is attached from the ceiling. i guess i could try to turn the amps down but its just not the same sound..... anyone with ideas on how to stop it from vibrating would be appreciated.

[theabstract]

^^^use tape or something, just do anything to stop it i guess

[HNLzero]

how can i make the other tracks play when i record on cakewalk guitar studio?

[HNLzero]

harsh realities of the unpopular forum

[theabstract]

harsh realities of the unpopular forum

harsh realities of being an idiot

[HNLzero]

im sorry i offended you
could you help me out o wise one?

[theabstract]

im sorry i offended you
could you help me out o wise one?

u didnt offend me, just thought i'd tell you why no-one has replied

[HNLzero]

so do you know the answer to my question?

[theabstract]

it could be many things, is there sound comming up in the mixer? are the mixer tracks turned up? have u assigned the tracks to the corect output and soundcard?

[HNLzero]

nono
when I record it plays through the speakers
when i'm recording I just want my other tracks to play while I record

i do direct into the back mic jack

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

press record. Press play on the other tracks :thumb:

[HNLzero]

um
when i armed the track, and its recording the play button is depressed but all i hear is the metronome and me playing realtime
but when i press end record it has just sec or two or the other tracks playing

[UnwantedAnt]

Hey guys im having a delima... Ok i went to guitar center sometime in march and bought a whole lot of **** so i could record a demo for my band. Were on a low budget so we bought vocal mics to mic everything. (drums, bass, guitar, ect) I also bought a mixer. A behringer pmx2000. I also have sonic foundry sound forge 7.0. (kazza) So we rented a hall and its big enough for us to space out etc. I setup everything and start to play/record and when we finish a song and listen to it, everything is super unbalanced. Yea it was probably from the mics and we didnt really kno how to mic anything.

Ok so we read up on recording and we kno how to mic drums and all that stuff corectly this time. But we still have crap mics. But well get around it. Also, I went to guitar center the other day and bought a mobliepre usb. The guy said its like a soundcard. But i cant get it to work at all. Its being retarted. It also came with some software that i cant get to work either. Live Delta and Reason Adapted.

Any help?

[Retrovertigo]

explain more on the soundcard, will it simply do nothing? you have to reset the computer, or go into the control panel and recognize the card. sorry, i only know about pcs, not macs.

[UnwantedAnt]

where you talking to him? or me? I have a pc and it doesnt do anything. The computer recognizes it but thats it. It wont do nething.

[MtlGtrRckr]

i have a problem 2. i have cool edit pro 2 n i just hooked every thing up to record. im using a mic that sits infront of my amp. i can hear the mic pick up everything awesome in the headphones/speakers. But the problem is when i hit record in the prog, nothin is actually recorded. just the dead sound of the speakers or w/e. does anybody know where my configurations r ****ed up or what to do? this is really pissing me off!!!

any help would b sweet. thanx

[HNLzero]

i can record perfectly
i just want the other fcuking tracks to play when i do record

[sk8er31191]

what exactly is the mixer. i think i no its just my friend might have one and i want want 1 to.

[Spliggity Splot(I got banned)]

the mixer is what gives you more outputs, and you can change the hi end and lo end and stuff and sometimes the pitch.

[theabstract]

i have a problem 2. i have cool edit pro 2 n i just hooked every thing up to record. im using a mic that sits infront of my amp. i can hear the mic pick up everything awesome in the headphones/speakers. But the problem is when i hit record in the prog, nothin is actually recorded. just the dead sound of the speakers or w/e. does anybody know where my configurations r ****ed up or what to do? this is really pissing me off!!!

any help would b sweet. thanx

i'd say you need to go into windows recording mixer (in options in cool edit) and click the line in check box

[Vitriolic Rage]

Anyone know any good sites that have good Cubase VST tutorials?

[theabstract]

^^^ There should be one in the help menu....pffft cubase vst.....i got cubase sx now lol

[Johnnyhou]

I just read the entire thread, lots of good tips from a good dude. I have set up a few practice studios in my time and like abstract says, the best way to prevent noise from penetrating the walls and annoying the neighbors is to put up another solid wall with some space between it and the first one. I also think it is good to put egg crates on the ceiling. I did this and there was absolutely no reverberation in the room.
I just recently got fruity loops professional edition and cakewalk, haven't quite figured out how to record my instrument to a channel using those programs while listening to beats that have been set up on the slicer. Just haven't quite figured out how to use the software yet.

[theabstract]

just read the help menu and persavere...ull get it

[Johnnyhou]

Well dude, I was able to record using cakewalk, but have not seen that function supported at all in the fruity loops producer edition. That edition has some cool patches, real drumkit and some others that are real nice. I did figure out that I can render the fruity loops files to a .wav file and then import them to cakewalk where I can record the live instruments, but I did hear a hiss in the background.
I read somewhere that the hiss is actually there because of the close proximity of the soundcard to the processor and it is picking up the noise from there. External soundcards that connect via usb or some other way is supposedly the way to suppress this hiss. I'll be looking into this and checking prices at my favorite PC hardware outlet.

[Vitriolic Rage]

Which is the best program to get, I have Pro-Tools Free which isn't great, as it half the stuff from the real thing missing, my Cubase I got from Soulseek doesn't work properly, and I have Krystal Wave Audio wich is OK, but it's a bit basic.
I was thinking of either getting Logic or Vegas, which is best?

[The Spliggity Splot]

Which is the best program to get, I have Pro-Tools Free which isn't great, as it half the stuff from the real thing missing, my Cubase I got from Soulseek doesn't work properly, and I have Krystal Wave Audio wich is OK, but it's a bit basic.
I was thinking of either getting Logic or Vegas, which is best?
Do that audicity thing that kkkokain will tell you. Also, look for adobe audition under soulseek, download the program, then download the keygen.

[IL_SPUT_CALMAGGIO]

Hey, I read through all the posts and didn't notice anyone with my question, so here goes. Me and my band are planning to record soon, a real DIY job, but anyway, planning to go from mic to PA, from PA to sound card, and we're gonna use Adobe Audition on the PC. My question is, is it possible to record multiple tracks during one take this way? I basically wanna have it set up as close to studio recording as possible, mic up the whole drum kit with 5 mics, so I can have each drum come out on its own track for processing. (or as close to that as possible) If this is possible, how do I set up Audition so that each mic signal will come out on its own track?

Thanks in advance, (cool thread by the way)

[kalpa]

Ok guys this is the situation any help wil be appreciated:

Our band has 5 members:

1. Rythym Guitarist (me)
2. Singer
3. Lead Guitarist
4. Bass Guitarist
5. Drummer

1. Rythym Guitar setup is as follows
Guitar -> Distortion Pedal -> Equalizer pedal -> Marshall Combo Amp (with Line out jack)

2. Lead GUitarist Setup
Guitar -> Fender Amp (with Line out jack)

3. Singer Setup
Microphone -> Small Amp (NO Line Out jack)

4. Bass Guitarist setup
Bass Guitar ->Amp (with Line Out Jack)

5. Drummer Setup
Drums -> 1 Condeser Electret Microphone ->No Amp Used (mic for future use)

THis is what we want to do:

We Need a Mixer System or whatever to eb able to record onto the computer. And From the Mixer we want to hook up PA Speakers for like gigs and stuff. Now I know for the PA thing to work we need a POWERED MIXER, not a passive one. but they are way to expensive.

So scrap the gig PA idea for now and just think of how we would record, BUt have the possibility of adding a PA Speaker system later.

What stuff do we need to buy.
I already have a computer with a old sounblaster card (will i need a new audigy like it syas in the guide)

What Mixer? How many Channels? What will go where?
Do the drums need more microphones?
Can we still somehow use our amplifiers as foldback?

When we jam the singer uses my old stereo, we convert the microphone jack to a small jack and plug into the Mix Mic jack on the stereo

How will all this work? What goes where?

and pelase rememebr we are on a budget.

Help would be appriciated. Thank You.

[The Spliggity Splot]

is this a good sound card? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000DBMEU/qid=1096065416/sr=8-4/ref=pd_csp_4/102-4476801-3664114?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846
or this?http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000C4DVZ/ref=pd_sbs_e_4/102-4476801-3664114?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846

[DWJK]

Ok guys this is the situation any help wil be appreciated:

Our band has 5 members:

1. Rythym Guitarist (me)
2. Singer
3. Lead Guitarist
4. Bass Guitarist
5. Drummer

1. Rythym Guitar setup is as follows
Guitar -> Distortion Pedal -> Equalizer pedal -> Marshall Combo Amp (with Line out jack)

2. Lead GUitarist Setup
Guitar -> Fender Amp (with Line out jack)

3. Singer Setup
Microphone -> Small Amp (NO Line Out jack)

4. Bass Guitarist setup
Bass Guitar ->Amp (with Line Out Jack)

5. Drummer Setup
Drums -> 1 Condeser Electret Microphone ->No Amp Used (mic for future use)

THis is what we want to do:

We Need a Mixer System or whatever to eb able to record onto the computer. And From the Mixer we want to hook up PA Speakers for like gigs and stuff. Now I know for the PA thing to work we need a POWERED MIXER, not a passive one. but they are way to expensive.

So scrap the gig PA idea for now and just think of how we would record, BUt have the possibility of adding a PA Speaker system later.

What stuff do we need to buy.
I already have a computer with a old sounblaster card (will i need a new audigy like it syas in the guide)

What Mixer? How many Channels? What will go where?
Do the drums need more microphones?
Can we still somehow use our amplifiers as foldback?

When we jam the singer uses my old stereo, we convert the microphone jack to a small jack and plug into the Mix Mic jack on the stereo

How will all this work? What goes where?

and pelase rememebr we are on a budget.

Help would be appriciated. Thank You.

Alright, you're best off using a mixer (I.E: http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHUB2222FXP ; any 8-channel mixer will do) into a digital recorder (I.E: http://www.zzounds.com/item--FOSMR8).

The mixer has two outputs (Left/Right) which you plug into the MR8 (The digital recorder I suggested).

When a song is recorded, it's stored on a 128mb flash card, (You can by bigger ones), and then may be transfered onto your computer via USB cable.

For the guitars, you're better off micing the amps, because to be able to go direct, you need a decent preamp if you want anything near a good sound and also a DI box (explained later).

So your signal path for the guitars will look something like this

Guitar > Effects/Whatever > Amp > Mic > Mixer > MR8

Signal path for your bass will be similar, just with a DI box. If you dont already know, in a nutshell, a DI box makes your audio signal out of your bass into one that is much cleaner and audiable. A decent one will run you $40 USD, I suggest the Whirlwind (http://www.zzounds.com/item--WHRIMP2).

Bass > DI > Mixer > MR8

Next, the drums. This is a pretty hard decision, considering that alot of drum mic's can run you a bit of cash. It really all depends on how big the drummers kit is. But assuming that he's using a 4 peice kit (Kick, Snare, Tom 1, Tom 2), you'd have an individual mic for each drum. As for cymbals, two overhead condenser mics does the trick. You said you already have one, but it's a big no-no to mix different overhead mics (But if you're really strapped, you can get away with just one mic. Alot of budget drum mic kits can get you good results.

This one (http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUPGDMK6XLR) has just about everything you need for the setup I mention above, but the mics you're getting arent too great. Regardless, it'd be a good buy for you situation.

In contrast, this one (http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUDMK5752) is a very good set of mics. The SM57 is a world-renowned microphone which is used for everything from a snare drum to Anthony Kiedis' vocals on Californication (Really). Only down side is, you dont get any overheads, but if you're willing to use the one you got for an overhead and drop the extra cash on this kit, go for it.

(I only listed two drum mic kits, but there are a ton more if you look for them)

So your signal chain for the drums would be,

Drum Mic (Snare/Kick/Etc..) > Mixer > MR8

Last but not least, the vocals. Tough choice. If you're doing a home-studio thing, then you'd have to consider dropping some cash on a decent condenser mic for the vocals, or you can just stick with a trusty SM57 or a SM58 (The 58's the exact same thing as a 57, except with a diaphram over the from of the mic and I belive a windscreen built into it). I'm going to assume you're planning on using this set-up for live gigs, so I'd suggest just trying out an SM58 ($99 USD; http://www.zzounds.com/item--SHUSM58) for a while and see how it works out.

Your vocal chain would be

Singer > Mic > Mixer > MR8

Now according to the mics I've listed above, I've said a total of 9 (Snare, Kick, Tom1, Tom2, Overhead1, Overhead2, LeadGuitar, RhythmGuitar, Vocals).
While, the mixer I listed only has 8 inputs. You have two options here. One would be to lay down some extra cash on a mixer with a few more inputs (Might not be such a bad idea considering that you could expand your mic-setup later on in the game). Or, just use one overhead mic (as I suggested earlier). The choice is yours, but if I were you, I'd stick with one overhead for now (Cheaper, less noise/phase problems, less stands, etc..).

Before I end this here, I should mention that the mixer has a 3 band equalizer. This is going to be -very- helpful in making the sound out of your mics sound better to the crowd. I've gotten killer results with the above setup, and with a little practice (and money) so can you.

Hope this helps. :)

[theabstract]

good, i was hoping someone else would write that...coz i didnt wanna...man i'm getting lazy, good work by the way, i agree with everythin in there.

[opiate4themasses]

My setup is Guitar>Distortion Pedal>computer. My question is, I've been hearing alot about micing the amp or going thru a mixer or something, but I dont see the need to. To me nothing really sounds bad when I record this way.

[shortass]

thanx man! This was really useful

[Blanka Flip]

Hey guys. I'm looking for a decent soundcard for as cheap as i can possibly get it. I found this on ebay, and was wandering what kind of quality you get from it. Here is the specs provided:


5.1 ....SIX CHANNEL SOUND
PCI
BRAND NEW RETAIL BOXED
WITH DRIVERS AND MIXING SOFTWARE
FOR WIN 95, 98, ME, XP,XP PRO, WIN 2K AND LINUX
UPGRADE YOUR COMPUTER TO HIGH QUALITY SOUND
GREAT FOR GAMING,MUSIC, AND DVD PLAYBACK.
PERFECT FOR SURROUND SOUND SPEAKER SETS
WILL ALSO WORK WITH NORMAL SPEAKERS
c-MEDIA CMI 8738 CHIPSET
32 BIT BUSMASTER PCI 2.1 COMPLIANT
QUALITY SOUND CARDS

How does that sound?

[Itwasthatwas]

Ok I really need some help. I use Adobe Audition to record, and use an SM57 in front of my amp straight into my soundcard. The problem is, when I record my guitar, its really, really quiet for one thing (and I have my line in turned to max on the soundblaster volume mixer thing for the soundcard), and also, I get a lot of fuzz over my music. The hiss reduction effect reduces it somewhat, but not completely. The strange thing is that I get the fuzz even if I click record with the mic off, so it can't be picking up anything. Also, I can hardly hear the notes I play, everything sounds like a huge bassy rumble. This is weird since I was recording through a Marshall Valvestate 150w amp... I recently sold that and bought a Mesa Dual Rectifier, and haven't tried recording with it yet, but I imagine the situation will be the same.

Will buying a mixer help? And what about soundcards (I'm using a soundblaster audigy 2 6.1 card)? Is there anything with the program I need to do to fix this? Or would my EQ going in just have to be crap?

[theabstract]

maybe ur soundcards old? also check that your soundcard cant be picking up interference from any other components of ur computer

[Itwasthatwas]

My soundcard is fairly new... its a Soundblaster Audigy 2 card (6.1 support)... I've heard that soundblaster products are crap for recording from other people, except that didn't you say that it was a good card earlier? Maybe that was someone else....?

Is there anything that you have to set up in Adobe Audition/Cool Edit Pro that I may have forgotten which could be causing my problems?

[_afi_]

I need a professional opinion. I am going to start recording in a couple of months and doing a lot of research on how do to it. I was wondering if it is better to set up a studio like you explained, or i was kind of leaning towards buying the Digitech GNX4, or 3 that'll pretty much do everything. please give me an opinion as to whether the GNX are good recording tools. Thanks.

[theabstract]

yeah^^^^ digital recorders are expencive, but in my opinion they are a very, very good way to start recording.

Theyre easy to use, theres no chance of getting a virus, they hold heaps of space, i think theyre great.

They have fully automated mixing which is just a bonus...

I say if youve got the cash get a few nice mics, a digital recorder and a pair of nice monitors and your set ;D

have fun man

[Itwasthatwas]

No idea about my problem then? (2nd and 4th last posts of last page, I think) I guess I'll read through the Audition manual and see what I find...

EDIT: Or, on second though, do you have MSN or AIM? If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, I could send you the file, and then you could hear for yourself whats wrong with it?

[_afi_]

thank you so much. ur article was alsome!!

[floydzeppelinfan]

Great article man. Here is my problem:

I have a perfect setup for my guitar, I have a GNX 3 going direct line in on my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum sound card, and I finally got the tone I was looking for. My issue is with the drums. I don't play drums, but my neighbor does, and he agreed to record some things with me. Can I buy something like this

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/s=mics/search/detail/base_pid/277246/

or would that be stupid? I need something with great quality, but I'm not going to spend 400 dollars on my neighbors drum mics.

P.S. this is a favor he is doing me, and he told me I have to provide the recording equipment, and he'll provide the drums. He is having some financial troubles, so I'll just buy them....

[ReDsTaRsKiD88]

Wow this is a nice guide. Good Job. I have some question though. I plan on being or atleast try to be a Digital Recording Engineer, and I am looking for a good college, and I have heard there are some good ones in colorado my friend has an uncle and aunt that lives down there so I plan on going down there with him he plains on being a musician just like the rest of his family in fact his uncle is Roger Miller from mission a burma and his dad was in a band called Destroy All Monsters so I was just wondering if you knew of any good colleges down there we are going to Boulder, Colorado.

Also one more question I have heard so much about macs and recording. Know anything about macs? If so could you tell me what a good mac would be to get when and if I do it will be a laptop.

Thanks

[slimsunny34]

I have a question for TheAbstract (or anyone else who feels they can answer it). My friend and I have a band, he plays the bass, I play the guitar and sing. We're both in college right now and we've wrote a few songs and want to record an EP soon. I want to see what the music sounds like all together by making a CD. Let me just say right now WE ARE NOT PLANNING ON SELLING THIS CD. That said it doesn't have to sound studio quality or anything close to it. Now that you have the background, off to the questions.

First of all I have a laptop, and reading some of this thread (don't have enough time to read it all so sorry if you've already answered a question like this) it seems the computer needs a line in jack, which my laptop lacks, it only has the headphone and mic jacks. Would I be correct in assuming I cannot record on the laptop? If not we could record on my friend's pc. I believe it has a soundblaster sound card in it. We definately don't have enough money to buy any special mixers or mics. We have a vocal microphone and can get any recording software needed. If a new sound card is needed, what would be a cheap one that would work for these purposes? Also, will a vocal microphone work to record with? (it has both the big jack for plugging into amps and the headphone size smaller jack) If not, what microphone should I get? We are planning on recording each instrument and vocals seperately, that in mind, which program would be good for recording and mixing this? Also, which program could be used to insert drums into the mix?

Once again, this is not intended to be sold or sent to record labels, it's for me to listen to and see how it sounds, when we want to record the cd we will be using a friends recording studio.

Thank you very much in advance!

[Splig]

what's the best mixing program?

[Splig]

I have a question for TheAbstract (or anyone else who feels they can answer it). My friend and I have a band, he plays the bass, I play the guitar and sing. We're both in college right now and we've wrote a few songs and want to record an EP soon. I want to see what the music sounds like all together by making a CD. Let me just say right now WE ARE NOT PLANNING ON SELLING THIS CD. That said it doesn't have to sound studio quality or anything close to it. Now that you have the background, off to the questions.

First of all I have a laptop, and reading some of this thread (don't have enough time to read it all so sorry if you've already answered a question like this) it seems the computer needs a line in jack, which my laptop lacks, it only has the headphone and mic jacks. Would I be correct in assuming I cannot record on the laptop? If not we could record on my friend's pc. I believe it has a soundblaster sound card in it. We definately don't have enough money to buy any special mixers or mics. We have a vocal microphone and can get any recording software needed. If a new sound card is needed, what would be a cheap one that would work for these purposes? Also, will a vocal microphone work to record with? (it has both the big jack for plugging into amps and the headphone size smaller jack) If not, what microphone should I get? We are planning on recording each instrument and vocals seperately, that in mind, which program would be good for recording and mixing this? Also, which program could be used to insert drums into the mix?

Once again, this is not intended to be sold or sent to record labels, it's for me to listen to and see how it sounds, when we want to record the cd we will be using a friends recording studio.

Thank you very much in advance!
Get an external sound card from amazon.com

[_afi_]

I have a question for TheAbstract (or anyone else who feels they can answer it). My friend and I have a band, he plays the bass, I play the guitar and sing. We're both in college right now and we've wrote a few songs and want to record an EP soon. I want to see what the music sounds like all together by making a CD. Let me just say right now WE ARE NOT PLANNING ON SELLING THIS CD. That said it doesn't have to sound studio quality or anything close to it. Now that you have the background, off to the questions.

First of all I have a laptop, and reading some of this thread (don't have enough time to read it all so sorry if you've already answered a question like this) it seems the computer needs a line in jack, which my laptop lacks, it only has the headphone and mic jacks. Would I be correct in assuming I cannot record on the laptop? If not we could record on my friend's pc. I believe it has a soundblaster sound card in it. We definately don't have enough money to buy any special mixers or mics. We have a vocal microphone and can get any recording software needed. If a new sound card is needed, what would be a cheap one that would work for these purposes? Also, will a vocal microphone work to record with? (it has both the big jack for plugging into amps and the headphone size smaller jack) If not, what microphone should I get? We are planning on recording each instrument and vocals seperately, that in mind, which program would be good for recording and mixing this? Also, which program could be used to insert drums into the mix?

Once again, this is not intended to be sold or sent to record labels, it's for me to listen to and see how it sounds, when we want to record the cd we will be using a friends recording studio.

Thank you very much in advance!


you need to buy a jack transformer thingy from radio shack or somewhere. you'll need a 1/8 to a 1/4, or the other way around...im not too sure. i bought a transformer a couple of weeks ago and plugged in my guitar, and mic directly into my laptop and started recording using a software demo. But the problem is, when you plug it directly into the laptop, there will be a delay from the time when you strike the strings, to the time the computer picks it up because the computer cannot process the information that quickly. To avoid the delay, you will need a soundcard, but unfortunatelly, there are no soundcards for laptops. So your best bet is to use your friends comptuer unless you dont mind the dalay. I've tried recording with the delay because i also have a laptop and find the dalay to be VERY annoying.

[DWJK]

what's the best mixing program?

[In my opinion,] Pro Tools.

[Flik]

just a wee sound card related question :)

an external I/o box? Thats a box you can plug leads such as guitar leads into right? If not please let me know.

Also

Im lookin for a soundcard with 3 (at least) mic inputs. My budgets sorta low so that soundcard you mentioned way back at the beginning is sorta out my league. Cheers if you can help.. hope i wasnt a little to vague :S

[Trent Hatfield Manson]

A question
I've just started setting up a small home recording studio, i'm using:
My computer w/a standard soundcard(mic in, line in, output), adobe audition
Alto L-16 16 channel mixer w/Grahphic Equalizer and Effects
2 x 100w ashton unpowered speakers and a ashton PM4159 4 channel powered mixer
Fostex X-12 Multi-tracker and I can rent any mics i need cheap (Drum Mic Kits and S57s/58s)

My band has a few ****ty amps but we will run through the mixer now as it will be SO much easier so i wont bother posting that. I also use a KORG AX100G multi-effects pedal.

My question is how is the best way to be setting this up? I only just bought my mixer about 2 days ago and it's the first one i've ever really used, i have a vague idea but i'm not really sure. I'm getting a MIDI interface cable in a few days as well. What i would like to know is how do i get my mixer hooked up to my speakers so my band can hear what we are playing and hook it up to my computer/multi-tracker to record at the same time? My idea is go directly into my line in then out where my speaker output is on the sound card only i don't know which output to use on my mixer! lol. If anyone has any tips on using a mixer it would be greatly appreciated as i really only know how to make it sound the way i want just by changing my highs and lows until i get it to sound close to what i want.

Any help would be great thanks

[Flik]

just a wee sound card related question :)

an external I/o box? Thats a box you can plug leads such as guitar leads into right? If not please let me know.

Also

Im lookin for a soundcard with 3 (at least) mic inputs. My budgets sorta low so that soundcard you mentioned way back at the beginning is sorta out my league. Cheers if you can help.. hope i wasnt a little to vague :S

Too add to that - Would it be best to get a mixer and link that into a soundcard with one input? Seeing as a good mixer has a few inputs (and more features) and you get a resonably decent one for under 100 quid? help me out please :)

Oh! Also - Monitor HEADPHONES ??? are they just good as speakers.. I mean they're a WHOLE lot cheaper.

[Knifeboy]

This is kind of for guitarists..
Would it be possible to run a mic through a PodXT, and then get good sound quality recording through its usb thingie?

[Knifeboy]

Oh and a cable question... Does anyone know a site where you can see information on how you solder two different cables together, so I don't have to buy an adaptor?

[opiate4themasses]

I record on my computer using Audacity, and had a quick question about mics. The one we use right now for vocals is a 10 dollar phillips universal mic. It doesnt really pic up sound that well, it comes out extremley crappy. My question is pretty much whats the cheapest mic that can get near studio quality vocals (not neccesarily guitar or drum stuff). Another question is what are dynamic and condenser mics, and what would be the pros of each, and is a specific one of those supposed to be used for vocals.

[Luxor]

I'm having a bit of truble with recording programs. I've downloaded cakewalk, but I cant seem to figure out how to work it. I can record and all, but I can't figure out how to "mix" them. I want to layer two recordings but I can't figure out how. Whats the easiest program to use out there which will let me do that?

[Jezen]

Um from my understanding, you need monitors just to hear how your music sounds from a nuetral output. So really you don't need huge monitors, just some headphones and maybe your band could listen to what the final mix sounds like on the monitor (headphones) and if it sounds good, then it will sound WAY better on a normal stereo.

[kthurman]

Thanks for all the information. That's really helpful!! Very nice of you to lay all that out for us! :thumb:

[CantBuyAThrill]

hey, theabstract, some great stuff you got in this lesson. at the end of the last one you said youd put i printable version but i looked around the site for it (and yes, i did use the search function for all the people who were about to ask,) but i couldnt find it. so if it were possible could please you put one up? thanks.

[distant_vision]

Thnx for the guide, very informative

[MacLoud23]

Hope that fits in here:
We want to record a song for a Sampler at home. We use Cubase (don´t know which version).
We use a Line 6 Pod XT for recording guitar.
the problem is: while it sound quite good at clean and low distortion sounds, the high pitch effects used for metal or nu rock don´t sound quite realistic plugging line-direct into the pc. used with an amp - i use an H&K Warp 7 - it sounds nice, but line-direct it´s quite weak - without pressure and with too much -let´s call it - hissing.

as the sound sample site of the official line 6 site (listen to it:http://www.line6.com/podxt/listen.html) also offers only quite weak high pitched sounds, it seems to me that it is impossible to emulate a good (modern) metal sound with the POD XT.

what is your opinion and advice? or could you create more practical sounds for that (metal-)purpose? if yes, how?

thx.

[vizo]

LESSON 1

SoundCard
The souncard you choose really depends on how many different sources your going to record at the one time. Soundblaster make really great cards for home recording. If your only recording one thing at a time, then you can use the sound card that comes with the PC. If your a 3-4-5 piece band then I would sugest the Sound Blaster Audigi 2 platnum external card. They Have 5 inputs and are great for bands!


I disagree here. I dont think the SoundBlasters are decent for recording at all. Slightly better would be E-mu cards which are manufactured by Creative Labs I believe. I owned a low end model of the E-mu line and found that they gave a better performance over the Audigy's ect..

[theabstract]

audigy= 48/96, line ins, mic ins, 5.1 outs, midi in/out...spdf in and out and digital optical in and out...what the hell else could you want for 500 australian dollars?

[theabstract]

oh i assumed you know what all the little flashy lights and buttons do...and that your not retarded

[theabstract]

oh yeah and since your an expert, re-write the whole thing for me man, i didnt put in any effort or anything dude

[session9]

I do a bit of messing around at home with music when I'm not with my band, so I know a wee bit about getting it done on the cheap. I'd suggest:

A fast PC - this is a must.

A copy of Buzz (http://www.buzzmachines.com), which is a FREE software studio that has hundreds of FREE plugins of it's own, instruments and effects - and it can also utilise VST plugins a la Cubase. Buzz can record out to studio-quality digital sound as well as direct to an .mp3 or a .ogg file. Be warned though, this one takes a lot of learning, and the interface isn't to all tastes, but it is free and is one of the most powerful music production applications around (I'd say the most powerful, but I've been using it for years so I'm biased). If you do get it, get one of the big packs that are FREE and come with nearly every available plugin and extension included, including "Overloader" which extends the abilities of the normal Buzz package and is, once again, FREE.

Check out the natural studio site at http://www.naturalstudio.co.uk - they have a few good FREE soundfonts, including an absolutely blinding (and huge) Pearl Export drumkit soundfont with at least 12 velocity levels for each drum, and up to 20 for some of them (for the newbie, that means it has many different samples of each drum hit at different levels of power so that you can make a sequenced drum track sound more natural). The guys there have also done some pianos and a bass guitar. I don't tend to use their bass guitar much, as I use:

refx Slayer VSTi - now this costs money. Not much, but some. However, it can achieve quite an accurate representation of a guitar or bass, with a bit of tweaking. There are loads of options to mess about with, including different string models, adjustable pickups and body type, chainable fx "pedals" to set up your own virtual pedal board, and a few of the major amp types are simulated. Feedback-based effects can be utilised quite realistically, once you know a bit more about what you're doing. If you've got a real bass and/or a guitar, and don't have the money for a decent amp or lots of pedals, you can run your instrument direct through Slayer and take advantage of the amp simulator and virtual fx pedals as well, without using the simulated guitar modelling (which, while very good, is never going to replace the real thing, though it's perfectly okay for an unadvenurous bassline or two, which is what I tend to use it for).

Another tip for cheapskate musicians - the free sfz soundfont player VST plugin (available at http://www.rgcaudio.com/sfz.htm) plays pretty much any size of soundfont (well I've not had any trouble with soundfonts that are hundreds of MB in size and I'm not exactly running it on a supercomputer), and it has such features as adjustable reverb and (as far as I recall) you can configure it to allow a range of randomness, in order to "humanise" the timing and velocity of each note and make it that more natural sounding. It can also run the soundfonts direct from disk rather than having to store the whole thing in memory if it's large.

I could go on like this hours, but that's enough to keep you busy for months/years. And with most of the stuff I just listed, there's no need to rip off a poor programmer - they're giving their stuff away for nothing. Enjoy...

[thelemon32]

hey...i downloaded that buzz machine program...i'm going through the help things to learn how to use it...i'm still confused though. if i had a mixer and a producer program like buzz machine, what does that allow me to do? can i combine my own recording with sequences i make on the computer?

[session9]

Buzz can be used to do almost anything, but I tend to stick to making backing tracks full of sequenced instruments, which I render to a wave file. Then I load that wave file into a multitrack editor/recorder - like Audacity, which is FREE (go to http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ for further details) - and that's when I record/edit guitar parts and vocals.

You could plug in a guitar, send it through the Slayer VST plugin and record a guitar part direct to hard disk inside buzz, but I have a old, crappy soundcard with a high latency so there's too much of a lag for that to work well for me. It might work for you though, I don't know what hardware you're using. Any decent sound card less than 4 years old would probably suffice, depending on the drivers you use.

I've aimed my software picks at those who are trying to make music with a mixture of faked instruments and real ones because they don't have the cash to record or the ability to play everything themselves. If you want to record a whole band playing, my picks are probably not going to be ideal, but you might get some joy out of them.

[OCDPnkMike]

hi, im a drummer, and my band and i are recording, but i was wondering what kick mic is better for recording and live,the Beta 52 or the Audix D-6?

[evil ernie]

Hi,

Nice thread dude, very helpfull. I do a little bit of home recording myself and I would like to ask you some questions.
But first, here's my usual setup.
I record guitars through my amp (Peavy Triple XXX) with a 15$ mic about 2 cm from the upper left speaker. The mic is plugged in a 4 track Tascam tape recorder which is connected to my notebook from the headphones output (1/4) of the mixer to the mic input (1/8) of the PC.
For bass I use the same setup, except that the amp is a bass amp, obviously.
For drums I use Fruity Loops, and I got a pretty decent samples kit (would like to have more toms and cymbals though).
For vocals I use my brother's SM-58 through the tape recorder to my soundcard mic input.
I use Cool Edit Pro 2 to mix and master the whole thing.

Here are some things I've recorded I think sound pretty good.

http://fileserv1.soundclick.com/fastk9/HiE/evilernie+seasonsintheabyssfullnovox.mp3
http://fileserv5.soundclick.com/fastk9/HiG/evilernie+nightcrawler.mp3 (no bass there)
http://fileserv6.soundclick.com/fastk9/HiD/evilernie+angryagainnovox.mp3

On the last file I used a different amp micking technique, as I used two mics, one for the upper left speaker and one for the lower left speaker, lined to 2 different inputs of the tape recorder, balanced and sent to my PC input.
I think the guitar sound on this last one is pretty wicked. Oh and the bass is a little of tune, sorry about that.

I would like to know :

Do I do something wrong?
Could I improve my overall sound quality?
How to make everything sound closer?

I also have a little issue with Cool Edit's noise reduction feature.
It cuts off the noise pretty nicely, but sometimes it creates a little space noise....if you don't know what I am talking about I'll try to give you a sample of that sound.

Thanks :chug:

[Johnnyhou]

Hey guys, been awhile but I'm glad I popped back in. Nice to find out about soundclick.com. in the previous post. The critic in me would say that there was a guitar part in the beginning of the first song that was a little too loud, nad the bass drum was too quiet, but sounded pretty good. The timing in the drumtrack is too mechanical, but I dunno of any programs that allow you to shift events ever so slightly to remove that effect tho. I have been having fun in the yahoo messenger chatrooms (guitarplayers rooms,) it's fun to play for a crowd and listen to others.
Been writing backtracks using fruityloops and cakewalk to play along to and just been having a blast. I guess it's about time to record something original!

[The Spliggity Splot]

what's a good external sound card?

[crunchmeister]

Hi there. I'm new here and this is my first post.

I didn't read thru this entire thread, only the first couple of pages, and I think all the 'guides' posted were great.

I don't know if this guide has been posted or not, but I thought I would psot it, since it contains in-depth information on just about every aspect of digital recording you could ever want to know.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

[IRunForFun]

My friend just recently got some recording hardware called M-Box and it hooks up to his computer. It's around $450 if I recall and he is really impressed with it.

[Vitriolic Rage]

Do you know, if these companies like Steinberg only charged like £50 for Cubase instead of £500 or whatever, they'd actually be making more money, seen as more people would buy it.
Right now, I use Kristal Wave Audio to record, the I use Protools Free to mix and master, like guitars, I usually record the riff twice, and pan one left and one right, sounds so much better than when I used to have one guitar track in mono, urgh, awful:(

By the way, does anyone know where I can find this certain drum sample; a distorted kick drum, quite like Berzerker kick drums, I've looked all over, and the only sites I can find are like "Join up for only $10":(

[moaner]

Do you know, if these companies like Steinberg only charged like £50 for Cubase instead of £500 or whatever, they'd actually be making more money, seen as more people would buy it.
Right now, I use Kristal Wave Audio to record, the I use Protools Free to mix and master, like guitars, I usually record the riff twice, and pan one left and one right, sounds so much better than when I used to have one guitar track in mono, urgh, awful:(

By the way, does anyone know where I can find this certain drum sample; a distorted kick drum, quite like Berzerker kick drums, I've looked all over, and the only sites I can find are like "Join up for only $10":(

the software costs so much to develop, thats the thing

[The Spliggity Splot]

I've seen traction being advertized all over the place. Anyone have it?

[Arsonlead15]

I'm recording with my band at my school, because I found out we have a recording studio there, and I can record for free (This is a high school, I feel lucky- We have ProTools).

Anyway, I don't know if you've mentioned it, but fading can play a big part. By using the faders, you can give the recording sort of a live feel. We do different placements on the drums, so the hi hat sound like its coming from a different place than the floor tom. It's really cool, and adds a whole other dimension to the recording. So yeah, just thought I'd mention that.

[The Spliggity Splot]

cool

[larry_emder]

evil ernie, that recording quality is pretty good, got any tips..........you cant seriously be recording with a $15 mic.........coz thats a nice guitar sound

and how long did it take to make the drum sound, its so complex
well done anyways :)

[MetalCricketMode]

Do any audio editing programs calculate the bpm of what you have recorded? Cause sometimes its hard to match up the rhythm on fruityloops with what I record.

[ADU Guitarist]

this has been a huge help thanks for all the ideas guys

[drumguy89]

I was wondering what you thought of the Roland VS-2000 cd recording workstation. I am a newbie to recording and only have a basic knowledge of what needs to be done. I need something powerful and free standing, because our computer is a pos. I really think that the 2000 is a good piece of equipment and have had nothing but good experiences with Roland. What do you think or recommend otherwise?

EDIT - I am interested in recording our band when we jam and write stuff, possibly a demo if ever necessary. Not really recording other people or albums. :)

*Anyone with recording expertise HELP :lol:*

[The Spliggity Splot]

if you just want to record demos, unless you're fricken rich and have 2000 bucks just randomly out there to spend, I wouldn't do it. It didn't get so great reviews, and I think for demos, you only need a computer sound card. That's what my band's doin.

[evil ernie]

evil ernie, that recording quality is pretty good, got any tips..........you cant seriously be recording with a $15 mic.........coz thats a nice guitar sound

and how long did it take to make the drum sound, its so complex
well done anyways :)

I assure you I used a 15$ Radio Shack microphone.

The drum on the Slayer track took me about 10 hours, so many fills in there...

Thanks for the comments.

[KKKKKocaine]

I assure you I used a 15$ Radio Shack microphone.

The drum on the Slayer track took me about 10 hours, so many fills in there...

Thanks for the comments.

Yeah it's amazing what you can do with the right experience even when using budget equipment.
Alot of people buy the industry standards, SM58's e.t.c., mic things up and then wonder why it doesn't sound that great, Often it's from lack of experience.
With cheaper equipment, you really have to be innovative to get the sound you want, and when you finally combine that with expensive mics, You get something utterly amazing.
Nice recording.

[The Spliggity Splot]

Creative labs USB soundblaster audigy2 external soundcard system... yes? No?

[crunchmeister]

When you know what you're doing, you can get great sound with really inexpensive equipment. Check out the stuff I recorded at the URL below. Everything done before April 10 2004 was done using a plastic Radio Shack 33-3009 microphone that cost me about $20 a few years ago.

http://www.sadbuttrue-band.com/media/songs.asp

I now have a Sennheiser e609 and a Shure SM58 for my mics, and my sound is even better, since I got so used to working with a cheap mic. Now, good sound comes easily.

[The Spliggity Splot]

Creative labs USB soundblaster audigy2 external soundcard system... yes? No?
???

[crunchmeister]

Creative labs USB soundblaster audigy2 external soundcard system... yes? No?

It's ok, but you can do better. I'm assuming you want external because you have a laptop? If so, then the onboard card is usually adequate for playback. What you need is a good capture system. I would suggest the M-Audio Mobile USB Preamp. It's a 2 channel input system, powered by USB, with individual mic preamps on each channel. REcords at 16 bit 44.1 kHz, which is adequate for home recording.

[moaner]

tell me you guys, is a standard 600OHM mic ok to use into a mic input on a PC? Are XLR - small jack leads or adaptors common?

[crunchmeister]

To use a regular XLR jack directly into your sound card, you'll need 2 things.

First, you'll need a line transformer to go from low to high impedence (which also converts 3 prong XLR into a 1/4 inch jack), and a 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch to get into the mic input on your sound card.

[Slippingguitar]

Fruity loops is really customisable, u just gotta spend time. I think u might be using The preset beats? Read the manual, once u know how to use it youll neverturn back!
Acid Pro is another sampling program.
ok speaking of fruity loops...I havent ANY MONEY!!! I am as poor as **** and maybe with your help i can be saved. I use a uber crappy Vibe G-10 Guitar Amp and A Samick Malibu guitar. So what i use for all my uber crappy recording...I plug my guitar in the amp...Then use a chord to plug my headphone hole from the amp into my computer and record using the sound recorder program...Is there any way with Fruity loops to not sound so crappy? Any sugesstions on screwing with guitars on Fruity loops? Ive got 3.0

[witch doctor]

theabstract, I would love to see some recording information on pianos!

[Moniker]

I made a thread with this, but it can go here too:


It's purpose is to show that even with mediocre gear, with a little time and technology, you can record quality stuff. All I used on these was my Presonus TubePre preamp ($100) and my mic (some cheap Shure 12a)


-------------
I was talking to my engineer friend, and I told him I need a new sound card. He told me that my Sound Blaster Live should be fine for recording some small demos at home. If I wanted to record more serious, then I should get one.

He then asked me why I thought I needed one. I told him I thought I needed one that had a lower noise level. He said, "The SB Live has a noise level of around 60 DB. That's fine for you". True enough, I thought, but why was I getting such noisy recordings when I used my acoustic guitar? My preamp!

You see, my preamp has a tube in it. When the gain and volume are put to high levels, a hissing is apparent. He told me to find a nice Noise Reduction program and that should solve my problems. I told him Cool Edit has one, but it ruins the tone.

The reason it ruins the tone, he said, is because it EQs the frequency that most noise is coming from. It lowers the volume, and thus causes you to lose the whole frequency. True enough.

He told me a good noise reducer will grab a sample of the noise, and mathematically remove that sample from the whole mix. It made sense, I guess. If you have a hiss in a recording, then you copy that, and remove it through the whole recording, you shouldn't really have anything to worry about.

I searched around and found a nice Noise Reduction plug-in for my software. "Sonic Foundry Noise Reduction 2.0". After installing it and looking for some other info on it, I decided to try it. Here is the result:


http://eric.serverselect.net/noise-reduction.mp3

Works great, huh? It didn't change the tone at all. But I thought "maybe It didn't change the tone on my voice, but it would on an instrument." So I recorded a little acoustic guitar diddle to test it out. Here is the result:

http://eric.serverselect.net/acoustic-guitars.mp3

Pretty good, eh? I like how that sounds. I can really crank the preamp now.

The purpose of this thread:

If you're interested in this plugin and/or recording, I can send you the plugin and all other things needed to run it. This is a great plugin and I highly suggest it. ;)

[theabstract]

theabstract, I would love to see some recording information on pianos!

yeah i'll do that soon, i'm just kinda busy right now

[sleepy1212]

http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277601

meh, I* made a thread and I guess I could have just posted here.



*= lame

[HAZCHEM]

Hey is the printable version still floating around, can i get one of those?

[theabstract]

just email me and i'll send it to ya, fenderman3@hotmail.com

[Nightvision]

hey - a question that I guess belongs here...

I have an old JVC cassette deck from a pretty decent, if somewhat aging stack unit. Now, this deck has two mic inputs - stereo L+R - does anyone know whether I'd have to record both at once, or whether I'd be able to record one guitar first in the L channel, and the second in the R channel afterwards? Cheers.

[theabstract]

i dont think youd be able to record one after the other

[Nightvision]

ok - I have another problem - I tested the recording, and the mic worked fine, although when I put a lead from the emulated line out/headphone socket into the same socket as i did the mic, I get a horribly distorted sound, even with my amp on clean and the recording level right down. You can *just* make out the chord changes, but only just - any possible reason for this?

[innovation]

I made a thread with this, but it can go here too:


It's purpose is to show that even with mediocre gear, with a little time and technology, you can record quality stuff. All I used on these was my Presonus TubePre preamp ($100) and my mic (some cheap Shure 12a)


-------------
I was talking to my engineer friend, and I told him I need a new sound card. He told me that my Sound Blaster Live should be fine for recording some small demos at home. If I wanted to record more serious, then I should get one.

He then asked me why I thought I needed one. I told him I thought I needed one that had a lower noise level. He said, "The SB Live has a noise level of around 60 DB. That's fine for you". True enough, I thought, but why was I getting such noisy recordings when I used my acoustic guitar? My preamp!

You see, my preamp has a tube in it. When the gain and volume are put to high levels, a hissing is apparent. He told me to find a nice Noise Reduction program and that should solve my problems. I told him Cool Edit has one, but it ruins the tone.

The reason it ruins the tone, he said, is because it EQs the frequency that most noise is coming from. It lowers the volume, and thus causes you to lose the whole frequency. True enough.

He told me a good noise reducer will grab a sample of the noise, and mathematically remove that sample from the whole mix. It made sense, I guess. If you have a hiss in a recording, then you copy that, and remove it through the whole recording, you shouldn't really have anything to worry about.

I searched around and found a nice Noise Reduction plug-in for my software. "Sonic Foundry Noise Reduction 2.0". After installing it and looking for some other info on it, I decided to try it. Here is the result:


http://eric.serverselect.net/noise-reduction.mp3

Works great, huh? It didn't change the tone at all. But I thought "maybe It didn't change the tone on my voice, but it would on an instrument." So I recorded a little acoustic guitar diddle to test it out. Here is the result:

http://eric.serverselect.net/acoustic-guitars.mp3

Pretty good, eh? I like how that sounds. I can really crank the preamp now.

The purpose of this thread:

If you're interested in this plugin and/or recording, I can send you the plugin and all other things needed to run it. This is a great plugin and I highly suggest it. ;)

i got tha plug-in son, now i just need the serial number, or else it creates lil anoying blips in my recording to purposely get u to register..bastards
so thanx in advance, send em extra neccesities over, my email's freedumb68@netscape.net

[Winter-seed...AKA b&h]

Sorry if this has already been answered but i didnt see it in here.
Would you be able to notice on a recording after its mixed down if you recorded the guitars with a v-amp rather than micing.

Thanks in advance

[moaner]

Sorry if this has already been answered but i didnt see it in here.
Would you be able to notice on a recording after its mixed down if you recorded the guitars with a v-amp rather than micing.

Thanks in advance

you or I might. Average joe probably wouldn'.

Recording your mesa boogie full valve triple recto with a £200 mic will sound better than a v-amp. but, really, it sounds more than good enough for home recording, demos and maybe even small band EPs. I woulnd't advise doing it on a nationwide album, but for the most part it will sound more than good enough. The cab modelling on the v-amp is meant to be top notch.

[Winter-seed...AKA b&h]

ahhh crap i just got the v-amp 2 and i got home an now i got no clue how to use it or set it up and the manual isnt much help. hahaha man i suck
Is there anything online that could help me in the simplest way because i am a dumbass.

[Winter-seed...AKA b&h]

ahh dont worry iv got it....one my my cables was broken

[theabstract]

hehe, v -amp 2...did you know the bass v -amp sounds better than that for guitar?

[Winter-seed...AKA b&h]

****, i didnt know.
I havnt found anything i dont really like about it yet except some of the effects so i dont really mind.

What are some of the better things about the bass v-amp anyways?

[zim-zum]

To the threadstarter first of all props, this is a great guide.
just one question, if im micing my amp do I still plug into the line in or the mic in?

I tried recording once and i got this really dirty muddy sound when i recorded, but the other hole didnt record at all, the only problem is, I dont remember which one actually worked.
Any solutions to the muddy sound? maybe my soundcard because my pc is pretty terrible ,getting a new one this week. (very bad mic used too btw).

Thanks in advance, keep up the good work.

[quantumkaos]

Tis a bit of an odd question, I am a vocalist, however I couldn't play the guitar if my life depended on it. Are there any programs out there that can generate quality guitar riffs without actually needing a guitar to be played? I have tried out a few programs but they are just MIDI quality and i can never get a feel for my music stuck up in my head. Any suggestions?
thanks

[moaner]

Tis a bit of an odd question, I am a vocalist, however I couldn't play the guitar if my life depended on it. Are there any programs out there that can generate quality guitar riffs without actually needing a guitar to be played? I have tried out a few programs but they are just MIDI quality and i can never get a feel for my music stuck up in my head. Any suggestions?
thanks

NO!!'d.

Try some people on mx, most will happily plug in their pods and make you a riff for rep and goodwill.

[Vitriolic Rage]

Tis a bit of an odd question, I am a vocalist, however I couldn't play the guitar if my life depended on it. Are there any programs out there that can generate quality guitar riffs without actually needing a guitar to be played? I have tried out a few programs but they are just MIDI quality and i can never get a feel for my music stuck up in my head. Any suggestions?
thanks
Masterkey, I think.

[NotForSale.co.za]

I just got an SM57 for christmas, so know im gonna use 3 mics on the drums - the SM57 on snare, my Rode NT1-A as an overhead mic in the centre ( I'll record in mono) and a random dynamic mic for the kick drum. I have another random dynamic mic which i could use, but i dont want to get any phase cancellations and all that kind of stuff. Is this a good way in recording the kit? does anybody have any other ways of doing it with a similar mic selection?

[Sandtrap]

i just got cakewalk and am looking for some guidence.

so far I have:
gotten it installed, and thats about it, and Im about to buy a 1/8 adapter.

but a werd window pops up everytime I start the program its says:
u havent selected any MIDI outputs please select one now

and when I click on select MIDI outputs theres nothing I can choose from, this might be more of a computer problem but if anyone knows the answer please help me out!!

Thanks!!

[surfkauai]

My question is...how do you record directly from a POD to the computer via USB. If at all possibly, i'd prefer to just do it through Cool Edit Pro 2.0, i dont want to spend any more money on computer programs.

[surfkauai]

i just got cakewalk and am looking for some guidence.

so far I have:
gotten it installed, and thats about it, and Im about to buy a 1/8 adapter.

but a werd window pops up everytime I start the program its says:
u havent selected any MIDI outputs please select one now

and when I click on select MIDI outputs theres nothing I can choose from, this might be more of a computer problem but if anyone knows the answer please help me out!!

Thanks!!

You need a new soundcard for you're comp. I'm guessing you're using a laptop?

[Noxious_Sting]

TheAbstract-
Your 15? I am a producer myself . When I was your age I didnt know half of that ****, Good work.

P.S I am selling my current studio becuase im moving I will start a thread in a few weeks about it if anyone interested? (Australia: Sydney, a 4 roomed pro studio)

[theabstract]

^^^ cool man, i'm 16 now hehe. I'd definitly be interested, i'd also love to talk to you about my future plans...do you have msn?

[NotForSale.co.za]

Sandtrap, i dont use Cakewalk myself, but i have tried to before, and im sure there is an option when that window pops up which says something like "Continue with no midi outputs". Select that option if you can, and the program will still run as far as i am aware.

[Vitriolic Rage]

^^^ cool man, i'm 16 now hehe. I'd definitly be interested, i'd also love to talk to you about my future plans...do you have msn?
I'm thinking of setting up my own little recording studio in a few years.
Somehow...

[Vitriolic Rage]

My question is...how do you record directly from a POD to the computer via USB. If at all possibly, i'd prefer to just do it through Cool Edit Pro 2.0, i dont want to spend any more money on computer programs.
Don't spend any more money on them, I can assure you most of the people on here don't.
Some you don't even need to pay to use legally, Audacity is a great, free program.

[Nightvision]

ok - I have another problem - I tested the recording, and the mic worked fine, although when I put a lead from the emulated line out/headphone socket into the same socket as i did the mic, I get a horribly distorted sound, even with my amp on clean and the recording level right down. You can *just* make out the chord changes, but only just - any possible reason for this?

quoted for desperation

[Sandtrap]

Sandtrap, i dont use Cakewalk myself, but i have tried to before, and im sure there is an option when that window pops up which says something like "Continue with no midi outputs". Select that option if you can, and the program will still run as far as i am aware.

yeah it will still run but I cant hear anything, which kinda sucks when Im trying to mix and edit a recording. Im using a full PC, not a laptop so Im pretty sure I have a soundcard and everything...

[Sandtrap]

You need a new soundcard for you're comp. I'm guessing you're using a laptop?

nope

[Sandtrap]

also if anyone could help me selecting the right adapter I need for recording guitar directly to the computer.

Im told I need a 1/8 to 1/4 adapter, or something like that.

P.s. I have a dell.

[moaner]

quoted for desperation

plug the (emulated) line out into (you guessed it) the line in.

[Sinai Beach]

I have just completed my studio room!!! its pretty awsome, ill post pics in a little bit. All i need now is some more mics other than that its complete!!! ooo yea im almost 16.

[Shevenal]

Yo...

I have a 4-track recorder (this one (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/240851/)) and my band recorded a few songs on it last practice.

I read a few guides online and they said to connect the player (i used the 4-track) to your soundcard's line-in and record. So I used the 4-tracks headphone-out and connected it to the line-in using a 1/8-1/8 cable.

Here's the problem... when using Cool Edit Pro to record the line-in, it only plays out of the left speaker. But when I use sound recorder (the simple prog that comes with windows) it uses both speakers. I would just use sound recorder but it has a 60 second time limit and such.

Any way to fix this problem so that the recorded sound comes out of both speakers?

EDIT: problem fixed :)

[FatherKeeL]

i use cubase to record.

you can hear the metronome (mic picked it up through the headphones...)

is there anyway to subtract that part of the signal (i know there is - i just dont know how...)

(its a complicated bit, and im to lazy to record it again... :-/)

[ECTWest]

Hi. I don't know if this was answered, as I read the lessons then skimmed the rest, but since you mentioned digital recorders, could you possibly suggest a few good ones? We're refinishing a room in my house and we agreed that it can be a home studio for my band, and I think that the digital recorder would be a better option for it. Any suggestions?

Sorry if you've already answered this.. but it can't hurt to have it again I suppose :-)

Ect

[ECTWest]

Oh, also I just wanted to clarify. (5 person band by the way-- 2 vocalists, 2 guitars-- one of the vocalists being rhythm guitarist, bass, drums)

If you use a digitial studio, such as the Boss BR-1180, that is basically taking the place of the computer, soundcard, mixer, and recording software right? You still need all the mics, and room, the monitors, and headphones, but the digital recorder will basically do the job of the recording programs and computer? I just wanted to see if I was understanding this correctly.

Thanks

[Sandtrap]

I got the output on cakewalk all set and figured out...and just need one bit of final advice.

what type of adapter should I get to record my guitar? I will either need a link or a desription in very great depth-just wanna make sure I understand.

this would be great!!

Ive also been told that if I wanna record guitar Im going to need a pre-amp...what the hell is that and please post a link of one I would need too....

[FatherKeeL]

@sandtrap...

get a sm57 and mic your amp ... )plus a (XLR to small jack cable)

(i think thats all the deapth you need, pretty simple really...)

[Sandtrap]

@sandtrap...

get a sm57 and mic your amp ... )plus a (XLR to small jack cable)

(i think thats all the deapth you need, pretty simple really...)

I just got a 1/4 to 1.8 cable and it works really good. Im recording songs and the only slight problem I have is that the giutar is a little too gainy...which I think I can easily solve.

Thanks all of you who helped me!! Thanks again!!

[KingEdward5150]

so for example early van halen probly had his amp mic'd up pretty close but,,,,,,,

for the solo's in Journey...specifically 'ask the lonely' it sounds like the mic is a bit farther, would someone kind of listen and see if they agree? im trying to get that 'journey' sound.....

[Flik]

Hey, I got a problem with the EQ, which can't typically can't be removed by the hiss removable features you can find floating around :(

Basically, I'm recording a guitar amp, and I'm setting up the eq by boosting the high and lows, and dropping the mids.. it gives that typical heavy bassy rock sound you might hear in those heavier rock bands. Anyway, as a result (I'm pretty sure it's the EQ), when I play the track you can really hear a vibrant 'sssssssssssss' in the background, a bit like a sizzle.

I was just wondering if there was ANY way at all of getting rid of it? By the way I use adobe audition 1.5

Someone suggested I changed software?..

[aguywithaguitar]

the sssssssssss is probably the result of the high frequencies in your mix. just reduce the highs in adobe audition.
ECTWest: yes

[aguywithaguitar]

Yo...

I have a 4-track recorder (this one (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/240851/)) and my band recorded a few songs on it last practice.

I read a few guides online and they said to connect the player (i used the 4-track) to your soundcard's line-in and record. So I used the 4-tracks headphone-out and connected it to the line-in using a 1/8-1/8 cable.

Here's the problem... when using Cool Edit Pro to record the line-in, it only plays out of the left speaker. But when I use sound recorder (the simple prog that comes with windows) it uses both speakers. I would just use sound recorder but it has a 60 second time limit and such.

Any way to fix this problem so that the recorded sound comes out of both speakers?

EDIT: problem fixed :)
i don't know if this will work, but in the multitrack view, click the grey box that says 'Rec 1'. a window should pop up saying Record Devices. If stereo is selected, click left channel. If Left channel is selected, click stereo. Then click the box 'Same for all Tracks'. Press ok and re-record whatever you were recording.

[moaner]

the sss is just amp hiss, from using a cheap amp and sitting in fornt of your PC. It can't be fixed just like that. Your best bet are a noise gate and staying away from your PC when recording (leave 10s of silence at the start of every track, to give you time to get away from your PC, you can always delete it afterwards)

[NotForSale.co.za]

you can apparently buy something called a "ground-lift-plug", which stops the amp from hsssing. you just plu your amp's power cable into the Ground lift plug, and the nplug that into your household power supply (e.g wall socket).

[NotForSale.co.za]

i need a bit of advice for recording a drum kit. I only have 3 mics at the moment - 1 SM57 for the snare, 1 Rode NT1-A condensor as an overhead, and 1 dynamic mic for the bass drum. I have enough cash for another mic, but im not sure which one is the most important - either another condensor for an overhead, so i can record my drums in stereo, or a bass drum mic, so that i dont get such a cardboardy sounding bass drum, (although apparently i can eliminate the cardboard sound by boosting the high's and low's). Please help!

[jmlb13]

you can apparently buy something called a "ground-lift-plug", which stops the amp from hsssing. you just plu your amp's power cable into the Ground lift plug, and the nplug that into your household power supply (e.g wall socket).


As the son of an electrician i urge you strongly not to do this
several musicians in the seventies and eighties are now dead from using these devices. Lifting the ground efectivly does reduce hum but not hiss. Just picture a 120V electric arc comming out of your pickups. i know it would look cool but you would die very little question there. Also donot confuse this with ground lifters on xlr cables. THis is perfectly safe. If you would like a more in depth description of hum reduction and electrical tricks i would be glad to post one just request and i will however it will be long. But please for your saftey donot lift the ground or remove the ground plug from your amp.

[jmlb13]

one more thing there is a safe transformer that can be aquired i know from full compass magazine and i will ID it for you that via a transformer safley reduces hum in the ground
transformer is called hum-x it is available from full compass fo $90

[jmlb13]

i need a bit of advice for recording a drum kit. I only have 3 mics at the moment - 1 SM57 for the snare, 1 Rode NT1-A condensor as an overhead, and 1 dynamic mic for the bass drum. I have enough cash for another mic, but im not sure which one is the most important - either another condensor for an overhead, so i can record my drums in stereo, or a bass drum mic, so that i dont get such a cardboardy sounding bass drum, (although apparently i can eliminate the cardboard sound by boosting the high's and low's). Please help!

Kic mic would def be you best bet cybals in stereo is actually not all that noticable unless you work REAL hard in mixdown

[jmlb13]

quoted for desperation


Alright everybody listen
MIC level and LINE level are two diferent things this is something very few people know and most dont really care about. Mic level is much lower than line level that is why if you plug a mixer into the mic in on your computer you have to turn your master Way down to keep from clipping you can by in line converters fron line level to mic level. about $60 if i remember correctly

[neiltrett]

Alright everybody listen
MIC level and LINE level are two diferent things this is something very few people know and most dont really care about. Mic level is much lower than line level that is why if you plug a mixer into the mic in on your computer you have to turn your master Way down to keep from clipping you can by in line converters fron line level to mic level. about $60 if i remember correctly
this very good advice... :thumb:

[neiltrett]

Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback, I'm glad I can help. But dont too many of u poen up studio cos i'll run out of business (nah, just jokes!) Yeah i'll do the next lesson soon, but ive been a bit busy with this punk band!

Hey weasle, do like the chillis, coz I ****ing love the chilis. If you want a chad smith snare sound, get a small metal snare and tune it up ****ing high!

Yatty, haven't got a clue wots going on, really sorry man!
hey abstract!its really great that the pros can share their knowledge with all the indie guys out there.i have met too many producer types that just look down there noses at up and comers...keep up the good work your post is great!p.s.any advice on recording slide guitar? :thumb:

[15sbassist]

This is brilliant. Great job mate.

[NotForSale.co.za]

Okay so i got a drum mic kit now, but i only have 4 mic inputs on my mixer, so im thinking of just using the 2 overheads from the kit and the bass drum mic with my SM57 on the snare, would that be okay? Some time in the distance future i would like to get hold of another mixer, so that i can connect the two together, therefore having 8 mic inputs, and then i can make full use of my drum mic kit.

One other thing - does anyone here have any of these drum mic kits? I dont quite understand how the clips are meant to clip onto the toms, cos the mics seem very far away from the skins when i clip them on (about 5 - 6 inches). Anyone have a better way in using these tom mics?

[Noxious_Sting]

Nice work, wasnt this stickied before? It has a fair few usefull tips that probably get asked repetitively.

[Lildrummerboy168]

ok all this really helped...me and my band have been workin off this and tryin to get some money together(kinda hard) with getting all the equpiment but not like top of line what would be an average of $$$$$ needed?

[jmlb13]

ok all this really helped...me and my band have been workin off this and tryin to get some money together(kinda hard) with getting all the equpiment but not like top of line what would be an average of $$$$$ needed?

Honestly you cn get a good used pa for under 300 bucks to start with. go for about 300 watts power and couple good JBL crvin or something in that line of speakers. Look at you output power of you amps and match to your speakers as best as possible. also i suggest reading up on PA setup online. Try to understand impedance wattage and other items related to sound feilds and sound setup. you really dont need lot of serious csh to get started. Mu first band bought mixer and ran it line in to my home stereo amp. a pioneer 838 stereo head. One set of spekers for mins one set of speakers for monitors. But yall can do alot better for relatively cheap. I just got a set of altec lansing Voice of the Theatre spekers for like 600 bucks and the sound awesme although they weigh like 140 lbs a piece. point being you can get loads of sound second hand for very little bank. find some of the bands in your area nd see if they have anything their not using and want to sell. Whn your talking about this stuff to start of less can be more too. You dont want 3 1000 watt amps two subs four mains and six monitors in a small club. Youll kill the people listening. Analyze your venue base and get equipment to match. Monitors are a must to me. Decent mains plenty of amp and good board you caqn def get out for less than most people think.

[XxRoycexX]

You can get Drumkit From Hell from KaZaA?!?!?!?! I searched KaZaA for a week and couldn't find it.

For those of you that are in need of drumkit from hell and cant find it on kazaa, bit torrent ect.... Go to www.shareaza.com download thier client and search for it!! I downloaded 3 of the six discs of drumkit from hell. There drum samples are so real and pefect for metal and hard rock and its a **** big program so make sure you have at least 30g to spare. Unless you only want to download 1 disc out of the six. Your going to need a virtual drive such as alchohol 120% or daemon tools to mount the iso. files on to. (which you can obtain from shareaza). Any questions or if you want to hear the songs i have made with mixing & editing programs such as fruityloops, Wave Lab, And DKFHS, my msn is: semitone_down@hotmail.com.

Your welcome! ya cheap *** basterds! lol.... :lol: :chug: :smoke:

[cramboli]

where can i get monitors? because i was thinking of producing some bands in my school to get
my money back for al the crap ive wasted it on and i just need those and ive practicly got a full studio besides the big amps and insturments.

[cramboli]

i just got cakewalk and am looking for some guidence.

so far I have:
gotten it installed, and thats about it, and Im about to buy a 1/8 adapter.

but a werd window pops up everytime I start the program its says:
u havent selected any MIDI outputs please select one now

and when I click on select MIDI outputs theres nothing I can choose from, this might be more of a computer problem but if anyone knows the answer please help me out!!

Thanks!!
midi outputs is like if you had a keyboard or something just if you don't have a keyboard then don't worry about it and close it and keep running the program normal.

[moaner]

where can i get monitors? because i was thinking of producing some bands in my school to get
my money back for al the crap ive wasted it on and i just need those and ive practicly got a full studio besides the big amps and insturments.

a cheap pair of studio monitors start at about £50, you can spand as much as you have

most online shops and many music shops will have them

[cramboli]

groovey!

[RockJunky116]

anybody know how good a behringer C-1 large diaphragm condenser is? It's 40 bucks, and the reviews I read were OK. I don't need a high-end mic, just a practice one that I can record for fun

[moaner]

anybody know how good a behringer C-1 large diaphragm condenser is? It's 40 bucks, and the reviews I read were OK. I don't need a high-end mic, just a practice one that I can record for fun

pretty good, i hear.

[Aes820]

Remember that, with condensors you'll need a phantom power in order for them to work. And always be very gentle with them. Never 'tap' on them to see if they are on, instead click your fingers in front of them.

[himynameistweek]

i already made a thread about this but i figure i should ask here... i've heard it's really hard to get decent sound if you just plug into the 1/4" line in on the computer and that it's better to use a USB interface. how much difference does it make?

[Aes820]

If you are using a line-in. Your quality of recording is dependant on your soundcards quality and your soundcards settings.

Cheap on-board or internal soundcards arn't too great because they sometimes pickup electrical noise from your computers internal fan.
External soundcards that are a decent quality, are generally more preferred.

Recording via a USB connection is usually done digitally, like from a digital modellign or recording device. These are better quality than using a stock on-board or internal soundcard, but are comporable in quality in the proper use of a good quality sound card.

[RockJunky116]

what provides phantom power? can a computer do taht? I plan on using a 1/4->1/8 converter to hook it into my computer. will that work?

[Aes820]

No. Computers don't provide phantom power.

For that you'll need either a small mixer, or a seperate Mic preamp.

Something like this would be your cheapest option: http://www.behringer.com/MIC100/index.cfm?lang=ENG

You'll need to use a XLR microphone cable to go between the mic and the preamp, switch on the +48 volts phantom power. And then connect the output of that preamp into your computers line-in with the appropriate cables.


If you buy a dynamic mic, you wont need phantom power. But it is still a good idea to have a preamp for it anyway. You'll get a much nicer quality of recordings.

[himynameistweek]

thanks
are there any fairly inexpensive external soundcards you'd suggest?

[RockJunky116]

how about a small amp? not a preamp, just an amp. honeytone 6x6 inchish amp

[Aes820]

Tweek: I wouldn't be able to give any recomendations sorry, I'm more experienced in live sound applications than I am in recording.
I'm sure there are plenty around tho, try a Google search.

RockJunky116: No, you'll definately need mic a preamp.
Many little amps can not provide phantom power anyway.

[RockJunky116]

ok, thanks. since i'm a little short on budget, are dynamic mics good for recording? How much of a difference is there between dynamics and condensers? thanks for all your help, by the way :-D

[Aes820]

Dynamic mics are fine for recording. They are alot more durable.

The frequency responge range is alot wider with condensors, they can more accurately reproduce a wider range of sounds. Suitable for micing up a piano or a bass amp. And great for vocals too.

But a dynamic mic can also stand up to most tasks, and is fine for recording more mid range instruments like guitar, and handy for vocals too.

I'd still reccomend a preamp for it tho. :)

[RockJunky116]

lol cool, that's what we need, to record guitars. aewsomeness

[RockJunky116]

how's these look:
http://www.wwbw.com/Audio-Technica-MB1K-i137987.music

http://www.wwbw.com/Samson-R21S-Dynamic-Microphone-With-Cable-i93551.music

[moaner]

how's these look:
http://www.wwbw.com/Audio-Technica-MB1K-i137987.music

http://www.wwbw.com/Samson-R21S-Dynamic-Microphone-With-Cable-i93551.music

both would do you fine.

Look into behringer, they do good quality stuff for low prices.

[larry_emder]

OK, just to clear this up:

When using a Microphone to record into the computer (for all instruments), is it best to use the Mic in OR Line in on the soundcard input????

Read the whole thread and didnt get a clear answer to this (i dont think)

I have been using the Mic in for my recordings, and it has sounded fine, but (as stated before) you must only use low volumes, otherwise it will clip.

Also, when i try to use the line in, i do not get any signal, any ideas why this happens???

Thanks alot, great thread guys, hope you can help!

[RockJunky116]

about your line in question
that happened to me to, but when i selected aux/line in 2, it worked. i use audacity. it sounded wimpy, though, so i'm getting a mic, as stated above

edit: about your other question, personnally, I'd mic it in

[RockISdead420]

http://home.earthlink.net/~rongonz/home_rec/home.html

i dont if its been posted yet but thats where i learned a lot about computer based home recording

[RockJunky116]

hey aes and theabstract, i have another question
is there any danger to the comp's speakers if you go direct in through an amp? Somewhere in this site there was a thread started abuot using your stereo system as an amp, and said to get a pod-v or something if i remember correctly.

[Aes820]

hey aes and theabstract, i have another question
is there any danger to the comp's speakers if you go direct in through an amp? Somewhere in this site there was a thread started abuot using your stereo system as an amp, and said to get a pod-v or something if i remember correctly.
It should be okay, just keep you output levels low to avoid unwanted clipping and distortion..
But it may not sound too good.

[RockJunky116]

yea i got the dynamic mic, but why are the input levels so low? i have to turn my comp up full to hear what i recorded... wait... maybe i havta turn up my amp a little

[rafeuss]

Alright, I have a Shure SM57 mic, Behringer UB502 mixer and a Fostex 4-track. How would I go about recording. I really have no idea about home recording and I really need some help.

[RockJunky116]

I raised the input level to max, turned up my amp a reasonable amount, not too loud that my mom would go psycho, but the levels are still relatively low. any ideas?

[moaner]

Alright, I have a Shure SM57 mic, Behringer UB502 mixer and a Fostex 4-track. How would I go about recording. I really have no idea about home recording and I really need some help.

put an XLR lead between the mic and the mixer

put a minijack-minijack lead with converter on one end to normal 1/4" jack, plug the normal jack into the mixer output, and the minijack into your pc line in

Plug in the mixer, and sort out the levels

Download some recording software like audacity, choose source as line in

record!

[moaner]

I raised the input level to max, turned up my amp a reasonable amount, not too loud that my mom would go psycho, but the levels are still relatively low. any ideas?

dynamic mics aren't really designed to go straight into PCs. Get a pre-amp.

[RockJunky116]

^ no money, but now that i know the problem, I can work around it. thank you

[himynameistweek]

i'm thinking about getting a mic preamp. what do tube preamps do to your tone? I see them all the time and i really don't know how they'd affect my tone.

[RockJunky116]

I don't know. Think it raises input levels or something. no idea. anyone?

[moaner]

i'm thinking about getting a mic preamp. what do tube preamps do to your tone? I see them all the time and i really don't know how they'd affect my tone.

they are neccessary to convert a normal mic level source to a line level source, suitable for plugging into a PC, or power amp etc. Mixers have built in mic pre-amps, but you can buy them seperately to have better quality or where you're not using a mixer.

[bomber]

i downloaded audacity and im pretty stuck with it. I have no microphones or equipment so is there any cheap good quality stuff to get me going also a link to a help site for audacity wouldn't go a miss.

[moaner]

i downloaded audacity and im pretty stuck with it. I have no microphones or equipment so is there any cheap good quality stuff to get me going also a link to a help site for audacity wouldn't go a miss.

the help for audacity is on the site.

Look at behringer mixers, mics, and DI boxes.
behringer offer amazing value.

[RockJunky116]

behringer offer amazing value.
very true you cant beat them

[ineedahaircut91]

hows this for a mixer? its a behringer too http://www.wwbw.com/Behringer-Eurorack-UB1202-i83059.music?t=1

[moaner]

hows this for a mixer? its a behringer too http://www.wwbw.com/Behringer-Eurorack-UB1202-i83059.music?t=1

thats what you're after. good mixer.

[innovation]

About the UB1202:
"One thing I have noticed is that when you turn the gain up really far to capture a more quiet sound source, it does have noise. This may be an area where more expensive mixers do a better job. I work around the noise issue by making sure the signal comes in at a sufficient level that you can't hear noise. No biggie, but I'm going to lower the rating because this may be an issue at some point."
http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/Behringer/UB1202_Eurorack-01.html

Is there a way to sidestep this? perhaps a professional sound card, a compressor, a pre-amp, a condessor mic?
All i have right now is a computer headset microphone to record guitar and vocals, and adobe audition to edit, i bought a 300 watt QSC power-amp 2 years ago, could this somehow get rid of the need for phantompower?

[Aes820]

The mic inputs on the Behringer mixes should have enough gain to be able to pick up most audio sources down to about a whisper at close range or a quiet conversation at a couple of meters.
You'll obviously get some white noise if you need to crank up the input gain to pick up really quiet sources. This will happen with all mixers.
But for things like musical instruments, you'll have no problems at all.

[innovation]

thanx a lot man, thats good to know, although do u suggest i buy a more powerful system, to reach that professional quality, my plan's to buy whatever i need now and not have to upgrade until maybe 6-10 years down the road.

anyway, has anyone tested out the new FX model for the UB1202, is the only difference that its got FX options now, or has the performance been heightened?

[innovation]

i dont have much on hand experience with computer studio equipment, i read the offsite articles and learn from peoples posts, if i know an answer to a question no doubt i promise to answer it haha, so can someone tell me if there's a better mixer out there than this within almost the same price range?

i just don't wanna make a big mistake that i'll end up regrettin after

[xXAcousticTearsXx]

i would chceck www.musiciansfriend.com they have some really good deals

[7pc13]

i somewhat disagree.....instead of using a pc, i just have my mixer plugged straight into a cd recorder, and we(my band) records it all live, the old fashioned way....so if you're cheap and/or like analog, you can skip the pc

[TheBlackAcidChildren]

i somewhat disagree.....instead of using a pc, i just have my mixer plugged straight into a cd recorder, and we(my band) records it all live, the old fashioned way....so if you're cheap and/or like analog, you can skip the pc
That's one way to do things if you feel that's the way you're best recording. But if you multi-track/overdub then you'll be able to edit/add effects to each sound individually, it's easier to erase mistakes if you mess up, and it will generally sound more modern and bright (if you know what you're doing.)

[moaner]

i somewhat disagree.....instead of using a pc, i just have my mixer plugged straight into a cd recorder, and we(my band) records it all live, the old fashioned way....so if you're cheap and/or like analog, you can skip the pc

recording "live2 is not the old fashioned way. its usually quite a bad idea, for the following reasons:

You need so many mixer inputs

once its done, you can't change levels etc

you get leaking from one instrument to another

You can't add FX to just one instrument afterwards

one mistake from one person and you have to start again.

[NotForSale.co.za]

Ok i have a question regarding recording:

When we record at my house, i use a Yamaha Mg10/2 Mixer, with 4 mic inputs. When i record the drums, i use all 4 inputs for mics around the kit.

But what i am confused about is how to set up my mixer so that the drummer can listen to a mix of both the guitarist and bassist when recording drums and they can both listen to the mix as well. Everyone would each have their own set of H/phones. I have tried using the Aux, but that appears to be in Mono, so the sound only comes out of one ear, and there is only 1 Aux out on my mixer, which means that i'd have to use a splitter to split the signal into the 3 sets of headphones. i have heard of a "Head Phones amp", apparently that would help, but i dont know anything about that.

[moaner]

Ok i have a question regarding recording:

When we record at my house, i use a Yamaha Mg10/2 Mixer, with 4 mic inputs. When i record the drums, i use all 4 inputs for mics around the kit.

But what i am confused about is how to set up my mixer so that the drummer can listen to a mix of both the guitarist and bassist when recording drums and they can both listen to the mix as well. Everyone would each have their own set of H/phones. I have tried using the Aux, but that appears to be in Mono, so the sound only comes out of one ear, and there is only 1 Aux out on my mixer, which means that i'd have to use a splitter to split the signal into the 3 sets of headphones. i have heard of a "Head Phones amp", apparently that would help, but i dont know anything about that.

you need to plug the aux out into a headphone amp (at least 3 way, do a 4 way headphone amp) into which you can plug in your phones.

headphone amps usually cost a bit, for what they are.

[NotForSale.co.za]

Thanks moaner, can you recommend me any cheap but good head Phones amps?

[moaner]

Thanks moaner, can you recommend me any cheap but good head Phones amps?

the "ART HEADAMP" 4 channel headpohone amp is about as cheap as you're oging to get.

behringer announced one in NAMM for about £30, to be out 2nd quarter.

[NotForSale.co.za]

thanks again moaner, but im still a little confused. Would i connect this to the Aux out on my mixer? the Aux out seems to be in mono when i connect h/phones directly into it, but would it become stereo if i connected this to it?

[moaner]

thanks again moaner, but im still a little confused. Would i connect this to the Aux out on my mixer? the Aux out seems to be in mono when i connect h/phones directly into it, but would it become stereo if i connected this to it?

what mixer do you have?

you should have 2 aux outs, left and right. you would then use a Y splitter to merge this to one stereo output.

[gaz12369]

the behringer you speak of *link* (http://www.behringer.com/HA400/index.cfm?lang=ENG) is going to be around £15 :)

Gaz x

[moaner]

the behringer you speak of *link* (http://www.behringer.com/HA400/index.cfm?lang=ENG) is going to be around £15 :)

Gaz x

wow...

[gaz12369]

indeed, their also bringing out a line mixer and a hum destroyer in the same style, also both set to be £15 :D

[trueman]

how much do neural speakers cost roughly???

[moaner]

indeed, their also bringing out a line mixer and a hum destroyer in the same style, also both set to be £15 :D

and a full range of guitar stompboxes for £15

and a guitar DI with 3 amp models and speaker sim for £30 odd

[gaz12369]

heh yes im looking forward to june/july :D

[NotForSale.co.za]

Moaner, i have a yamaha MG10/2 mixer. It has an Aux Pre (when the aux knob is turned left) and an Aux Post(when the aux knob is turned right). But i cant obvoiusly have the pre and post Aux's used on one channel at the same time. How would that Y splitter jack help me then?

[crayfan24]

The lessons were informative, but i like to get a little more in depth of what I'm going to be doing. Are there any books you guys have read or even just looked at that you recommend?

Thanks