Beginner to Home Recording

Sleepy

Hi all. Just wondering if anyone has some recommendations for a total beginner to home recording. I'm got a few quid to spend on a new PC for my Mum's gaff and I want to build a machine that can be used by my younger brother for home recording. I know you can get interfaces to let you record guitars and decent microphones straight to the computer and from what I'm reading on-line a copy of protools seems to be necessary.

So, any advice or links to good articles for beginners? If anyone's selling some decent quality home recording gear I might be interested too

Frank Rizzo

well the programmes i use are...
acid pro 4 - good for sticking in wav files , also does some good beat matching..
reason 2.5 - a great programme, needs a bit of learning tho...but has all great racks and effects....
sound forge 6 - for sample editing

*Edit* He can download free trials from the internet, or purchase them legally *Edit*

Yv

Good info on www.homerecording.com & its forum www.homerecording.com/bbs. Bear in mind it's an American site & the forum is full of smarmy know-it-alls, but have a read through some of the Newbie threads & that should give you some info.

Sleepy

Was hoping for some hardware recommendations if anyone could recommend some beginner gear around the €300 mark?

I'd be talking about the interface between the PC and the instruments. Mainly looking for something that'll take a microphone and a couple of guitars/bases...

Lump

Protools LE with an M-box is good, Think it's around €300

John

Sleepy

From my own searching I was looking at this, but it doesn't *appear* to have a proper mic input...

http://ie.europe.creative.com/shop/product.asp?prod=772

I'm hearing a lot about Protools LE and these M-Boxes and it would seem that they'd be the way to go. Any advice regarding where I can find decent information on them? I'm either too much of an amateur to understand the official website or it's crap!

Lump

Pro-tools is the Daddy and industry standard when it comes to large studios. It was made for music recording and mastering. But is now used in the film/television industry. However I am told that, for film sound tracks, audiophile is the real daddy.

An M-box will cost you £309 - and is well worth it, only has 2 xlr's in, but buy a mixer and bob's your uncle.

John

Sleepy

xlr's?

tomMK1

xlrs are mic connection - like on cannon to cannon mic leads

tomMK1

you can record using any recording software - it doesnt *have* to be pro-tools. prol tools is handy for working bands as you can buy the full solution (as in mac, firewire outboard and software) in one go, but you can record decently on free software

Sleepy

K, well I'm looking for something I can plug at least two mics and two guitars into... any suggestions?

Frank Rizzo

Sleepy wrote:

K, well I'm looking for something I can plug at least two mics and two guitars into... any suggestions?

get a cheap mixer..... you will need it in the long run anyway -then u take the outs and ins of the mixer to the ins and outs of ur sound card.(lol).... ....and id recommend getting to know cubase....
dont bother with pro tools, untill u think ur up to speed with sound recording....only my opinion.....try and master cubase...

squibs

Try looking for hardware that comes with bundled software. It's a cost effective way to start. Try www.edirol.co.uk and creative labs used to bundle a lite version of cubase with their better cards - not sure if they still do.

Frank Rizzo

Sleepy wrote:

Hi all. Just wondering if anyone has some recommendations for a total beginner to home recording. I'm got a few quid to spend on a new PC for my Mum's gaff and I want to build a machine that can be used by my younger brother for home recording. I know you can get interfaces to let you record guitars and decent microphones straight to the computer and from what I'm reading on-line a copy of protools seems to be necessary.

So, any advice or links to good articles for beginners? If anyone's selling some decent quality home recording gear I might be interested too

I would reccomend a magazine called "computer music", i found this mag a few years ago..its got great tutorials for beginners and experts alike....it also comes with free software and samples every month......
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/main.asp

anothervictim

before picking an interface, decide how many sources (instruments) you want to record at the same time. The are a few pci and usb 2 channel ones for around 150. You could do without a mixer for now if the interface you choose has mic preamps on it. For a nice browse through the available products, go to www.dv247.com they have a very nice website to navigate through and photographs. If you see a product you might think is right, go to that manufacturers website and find out more. I've found the best prices on audio equipment are found at www.thomann.de and www.musik-service.de . have recieved a good service from these folks myself. Plus they'll answer any qeustions through email too.

As suggested, i'd recommend visiting helpful websites like homerecording.com and buying computer music magazine. The mag comes with a cd, which is where you'll find some nice easy to use multitrack software to record your sounds.

You'll get advice on what mics to use on a lot of recording forums. Shure Sm58 is a good all rounder and mainly good for snare, guitar amps. This type of mic is called a dynamic - about 80 euro.

For vocals, acoustic instruments and cymbals you might want a condenser type. Slightly more expensive, but essential if you want to capture more of the natural harmonics of acoustic instruments. A good budget one is the AKG C1000s - about 200 euro.

esquier

I`d suggest something like N-track for software, it`s cheap and works well and perhaps a Behringer V-AMP as an interface, amp sims, echo, etc.

http://www.ntrack.com/what_is.shtm

http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_behringer_vamp_prodinfo.html?sn=7346815003c688d4b464761ac5af88b4