Recording Queries..

[porkchop182]

Ok so I'm pretty new to all this, about 6 months back I (regrettably) bought a condenser microphone which plugged straight into my usb port. It worked well for my acoustic guitar surprisingly (because I was planning on buying a separate mic to record that) but vocally it was pathetic (you might laugh here and say that it is me but I get better quality sounding vocals out of my webcam I use for youtube videos). In the end I gave up, the vocals were muffled and sounded like I was 5 years old.


Ok so here I am, I've looked around for some decent microphones for vocals and after looking on the internet and asking local music stores and my guitar tutor the Shure SM57 is a very popular choice so I'm decided to get that.


So here's my question:
What is the best way to put what I record onto my computer?
Do I need to purchase a Audio Interface thing?
And if so, what would you recommend (nothing over $500)?

[Seafroggys]

So here's my question:

Wow, that's a lot of questions in a single question.

What is the best way to put what I record onto my computer?

Good preamps, good analog/digital converters, good interface.

Do I need to purchase a Audio Interface thing?

Even the cheapest ones will help a ton.

And if so, what would you recommend (nothing over $500)?

Hmmm, anything by Presonus would be a safe choice. I'm not so well versed in other brands. Try looking at the Firebox.

[Aaron]

If all you want is 2 channels, MBox Mini.

[Chop Suey!]

a very cheap and not that bad option would be to go with behringer. their xenyx mixing boards have a usb hookup that plugs it straight into your computer and sounds pretty damn good without much tweaking. plus you get a lot of digital effects so you dont really need to spend much on an expensive DAW (although it still helps to do so)

[Aus_rock_god]

^this

Or, if your using a 57, you can buy an XLR-phono lead, and a 1/4" - 1/8" adapter and just plug it straight into your soundcard.

I just have a little 2 channel behringer desk for home ****, with one channel panned left and the other right. I plug my computer into the stereo tape out, and use Audition to record the left and right channels into seperate tracks.

Good for doing resonably good quality demos at home, especcially if you double mic sh!t.

[ares]

Did you use a pop filter with the old mic? Not using one would dramatically affect the response of most condenser mics if you are directly vocalizing into the mic capsule closer than a foot or two. That would explain the difference between the acoustic guitar and vocals (as the guitar doesn't produce any plosives).