Setting up a home studio- equipment recommendations

collmaria

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Alright, so I am planning on setting up my own home studio but I am not sure exactly what equipment to use. I am planning on recording with my acoustic guitar, ukulele, keyboard, voice, and eventually cello. What do you guys use and recommend? I am on a budget so I can't afford anything too expensive at the moment but if you really like it, then recommend it and I will look into saving up for it. Thank you!
 
me and my friends use a mac and a snowball mic... sounds amazing ! but i guess you could really use whatever recording software you like.. i hear audacity is good too
 
As a professional in the audio world, I'd recommend ProTools LE, an M Box (USB), and a stereo mic. Perhaps an Audio Techinca. Some decent speakers will help too. (or Headphones).
All of this hooked up to a mac.

Total cost including a new iMac, less than 2k. If you already have a computer (PC, or MAC), just the Protools LE and Audio Technica Stereo mic will cost you about $600.

That's what I would do, and from there, it's up to your recording skills...
Cheers,
Skottoman
 
How many instruments would you need to record at the same time? What is your budget for it? The cost to get going starts and around $100 and goes to catastrophic numbers. The $100 option would work but it all depends on what you would like to do.

Once you get going it's a blast!
 
In terms of microphone, I use and highly recommend the RØDE NT2-A which is about $400. Info about it can be found at http://www.rodemic.com/microphone.php?product=NT2-A. And if you click the "hear me at..." link in my signature below, you can hear it used to record my Moore Bettah tenor on the song "Gentle on my Mind" and to record my KoAloha Soprano on "If I needed someone". (Also used it to record vocals on both songs.)
 
As a professional in the audio world, I'd recommend ProTools LE, an M Box (USB), and a stereo mic. Perhaps an Audio Techinca. Some decent speakers will help too. (or Headphones).
All of this hooked up to a mac.

Total cost including a new iMac, less than 2k. If you already have a computer (PC, or MAC), just the Protools LE and Audio Technica Stereo mic will cost you about $600.

That's what I would do, and from there, it's up to your recording skills...
Cheers,
Skottoman

I got an M Box 2 mini with ProTools LE a little over a year ago and here it sits. I haven't touched it because it just seems GHASTLY complicated and intimidating to me. Any suggestions on where to start?
 
I would look into Voyetra - Turtle Beach, I got mine ages ago but it came with 4 track software, it's easy to use and it was cheap.

I still get a little frustrated with my home setup, all the cables, switchboxes, etc. I'm thinking of getting a tiny Marantz recorder, and then loading the files into the computer for mixing.

A good mic is the AKG C-1000S.
 
A mixer can make life easier, but not everyone needs one. If you decide that a mixer could help, then I recommend the Alesis Multimix 8 or the Behringer Xenyx 1204 FX.

The Alesis comes in USB2 and Firewire versions with bundled Cubase LE software. There's a USB (1) version that can be found more cheaply as I think it's being phased out in favour of the USB2 and Firewire versions. Multimix 8 is a great little mixer.

The Xenyx 1204 FX is also brilliant. A lot of great stuff for the relatively low price. It's similar in spec to the Alesis, and has USB connectivity.

Both brands' offerings have a decent range of on-board FX built in.

As far as mics are concerned, if you're going into a mixer or other interface with balanced XLR input, Shure and AKG do some fine mics, but personally I think the best-kept secret around at the moment is the Behringer XM1800S which comes in a pack of 3 for about £30 (not sure about US)! I've had a go with these and compared them with the industry standard Shure dynamic mic. As far as value is concerned there is no contest - the Behringer's price is staggeringly low for what you get. Next time I need a mic I'm getting a pack of XM1800S!

If you're after something to plug straight into USB, then many here swear by the Snowball. Certainly some of the stuff recorded by UUers with that mic sounds terrific.
 
I started recording in the 1980s, and it's amazing how much things have changed since -- in a good way.

If you're new to this, I highly recommend Home Recording for Musicians by Craig Anderton. The second edition of the book is 13 years old (the first was printed in 1978 and has Sting on the cover), so its coverage of digital recording isn't up-to-date. But it does cover some very important essentials in depth and in a very accessible way, and for that it's worth having.

--Mark
 
I got an M Box 2 mini with ProTools LE a little over a year ago and here it sits. I haven't touched it because it just seems GHASTLY complicated and intimidating to me. Any suggestions on where to start?

It is Ghastly complicated. But all you need to know is about 20% of how it works, and you could make an album with it.

Start a new session, make sure your input tracks are set to the M-Box mic inputs, hit record and away you go. Editing is done by choosing simple tools at the top left.

It really is a complicated system designed to do everything from basic recording to post production for film.

That said, again... all you need to do is learn how to get a signal in it and simple editing. It will grow with you as you learn more.

Cheers,
Skottoman
 
I use a Macbook pro (I'm a graphic designer so I need the processing power), an Apogee Duet firewire interface and a range of mics, but the best bang for the buck is the CAD M179. This is a large diaphram mic with switchable patterns, omni, cardiod etc... About $150 new. I can only do 2 tracks at a time, and if I need more I rent something bigger. But the Duet is very high quality in both it's preamps and converters. Protools is the industry standard but Logic, Cubase, Performer and host of others are also available. I use Ableton Live.

I'd avoid stereo mics and try to get two of the same model, as it gives you much more flexibility and if are trying to record vocals and uke or guitar it makes things much easier. stereo mics are great for field recording, room recording, drums etc... But they're usually noisy and the uke is a fairly quiet instrument. Audio Technica makes great mics as well. Most other cheaper mics are rebranded chinese mics, some good, others not so good. Go to taperssection.com or gearslutz and prepare to be inundated.
 
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