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#1
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
Hello, I'm looking for some help/suggestions in setting up a small
studio... I'm not really trying to do a whole lot, just have a way to record guitar, keyboards and microphones I went out and bought a used computer, pentium 4, I'm going to add some RAM to it so it'll have 2-4gigs RAM. I'm also planning on getting some 5" KRK rockit monitors. Here's my question: In order to record say, guitar and keyboards.... should I purchase a mixer and then go from the mixer into the computers sound card and then record with some software like cubase or acid? Or would I be better off getting a stand alone digital recorder, recording on that and then dumping my files into the computer for editing? I've never used a computer to record before and don't know how good they are at just hitting record and recording for like10 minutes straight or something.... Also, can anyone suggest any soundcard and are external firewire soundcards just as good or better than internal ones? I have another slightly unrelated question.. does anyone know, if those little speakers I see at the stores... like the little bose speaker, if they are good enough to replace old 80's/70's combo cabinet speakers? I got an old pair of big ol cabinet speakers with like 12" woofer and a mid and a tweeter that is pretty big and bulky and was wondering if I can replace them with something smaller but that will still pack the same punch. much thanks! |
#2
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
"panfilero" wrote in message ... Hello, I'm looking for some help/suggestions in setting up a small studio rec.audio.pro would be your best resource also there are recording forums over at www.prosoundweb.com that will not be littered with the garbage you are likely to pick up in the two groups you have cross-posted this to george |
#3
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
panfilero wrote:
Here's my question: In order to record say, guitar and keyboards.... should I purchase a mixer and then go from the mixer into the computers sound card and then record with some software like cubase or acid? Or would I be better off getting a stand alone digital recorder, recording on that and then dumping my files into the computer for editing? Apart from the Alesis 24 track recorder there don't seem to be any dedicated recorders on the market right now. Like the equivalent of a four or eight track tape deck. All that I've been able to find are cheap mixer/recorder/effects combos or the expensive Sound Devices equipment (and they also have preamps). If anyone knows of a stand-alone digital equivalent of a bare-bones eight (or evern four) track deck I'd like to know what it is. I have another slightly unrelated question.. does anyone know, if those little speakers I see at the stores... like the little bose speaker, if they are good enough to replace old 80's/70's combo cabinet speakers? I got an old pair of big ol cabinet speakers with like 12" woofer and a mid and a tweeter that is pretty big and bulky and was wondering if I can replace them with something smaller but that will still pack the same punch. You'll never get the punch of a 12" woofer out of a tiny speaker, something that seems to be lost on a lot of people these days. Paul P |
#4
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
"Paul P" wrote in message ... panfilero wrote: Here's my question: In order to record say, guitar and keyboards.... should I purchase a mixer and then go from the mixer into the computers sound card and then record with some software like cubase or acid? Or would I be better off getting a stand alone digital recorder, recording on that and then dumping my files into the computer for editing? Apart from the Alesis 24 track recorder there don't seem to be any dedicated recorders on the market right now. Like the equivalent of a four or eight track tape deck. All that I've been able to find are cheap mixer/recorder/effects combos or the expensive Sound Devices equipment (and they also have preamps). If anyone knows of a stand-alone digital equivalent of a bare-bones eight (or evern four) track deck I'd like to know what it is. how "bare bones" do you ant to go there are several offerings from tascam,zoom,fostex,roland in digital multi track under 300$ real bare bones is the zoom h4 george |
#5
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
In article , Paul P wrote:
panfilero wrote: Here's my question: In order to record say, guitar and keyboards.... should I purchase a mixer and then go from the mixer into the computers sound card and then record with some software like cubase or acid? Or would I be better off getting a stand alone digital recorder, recording on that and then dumping my files into the computer for editing? Apart from the Alesis 24 track recorder there don't seem to be any dedicated recorders on the market right now. Like the equivalent of a four or eight track tape deck. All that I've been able to find are cheap mixer/recorder/effects combos or the expensive Sound Devices equipment (and they also have preamps). If anyone knows of a stand-alone digital equivalent of a bare-bones eight (or evern four) track deck I'd like to know what it is. I have another slightly unrelated question.. does anyone know, if those little speakers I see at the stores... like the little bose speaker, if they are good enough to replace old 80's/70's combo cabinet speakers? I got an old pair of big ol cabinet speakers with like 12" woofer and a mid and a tweeter that is pretty big and bulky and was wondering if I can replace them with something smaller but that will still pack the same punch. You'll never get the punch of a 12" woofer out of a tiny speaker, something that seems to be lost on a lot of people these days. I disagree. Most of the consumer boxes had overemphasis on some bass frequency. There are 6.5 and 8 inch designs today with excellant bass. Its likely the 12 inch was more efficient. greg |
#6
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
No stand alone digital recorder, the computer is a digital recorder already.
Get a good audio card with good preamps and you're done. F. |
#7
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
panfilero wrote in message ... Hello, I'm looking for some help/suggestions in setting up a small studio... I'm not really trying to do a whole lot, just have a way to record guitar, keyboards and microphones I went out and bought a used computer, pentium 4, I'm going to add some RAM to it so it'll have 2-4gigs RAM. I'm also planning on getting some 5" KRK rockit monitors. Here's my question: In order to record say, guitar and keyboards.... should I purchase a mixer and then go from the mixer into the computers sound card and then record with some software like cubase or acid? Or would I be better off getting a stand alone digital recorder, recording on that and then dumping my files into the computer for editing? I've never used a computer to record before and don't know how good they are at just hitting record and recording for like10 minutes straight or something.... Also, can anyone suggest any soundcard and are external firewire soundcards just as good or better than internal ones? I have another slightly unrelated question.. does anyone know, if those little speakers I see at the stores... like the little bose speaker, if they are good enough to replace old 80's/70's combo cabinet speakers? I got an old pair of big ol cabinet speakers with like 12" woofer and a mid and a tweeter that is pretty big and bulky and was wondering if I can replace them with something smaller but that will still pack the same punch. much thanks! You will need a preamp, a pedal, or direct box between the guitar and the sound card to make it sound right. Some guitar amps have a line out which will also suffice. Generally a mixer between the two won't be of any benifit unless you need to mix?? For recording one instrument , track at a time, skip the mixer. Find a cheap sound card, and a free software package to get yourself started. As you learn and listen, you can make better decisions on what to buy. bg |
#8
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
On Jan 9, 7:23*am, panfilero wrote:
Hello, I'm looking for some help/suggestions in setting up a small studio... I'm not really trying to do a whole lot, just have a way to record guitar, keyboards and microphones I went out and bought a used computer, pentium 4, I'm going to add some RAM to it so it'll have 2-4gigs RAM. *I'm also planning on getting some 5" KRK rockit monitors. Here's my question: *In order to record say, guitar and keyboards.... should I purchase a mixer and then go from the mixer into the computers sound card and then record with some software like cubase or acid? *Or would I be better off getting a stand alone digital recorder, recording on that and then dumping my files into the computer for editing? *I've never used a computer to record before and don't know how good they are at just hitting record and recording for like10 minutes straight or something.... Also, can anyone suggest any soundcard and are external firewire soundcards just as good or better than internal ones? I have another slightly unrelated question.. does anyone know, if those little speakers I see at the stores... like the little bose speaker, if they are good enough to replace old 80's/70's combo cabinet speakers? *I got an old pair of big ol cabinet speakers with like 12" woofer and a mid and a tweeter that is pretty big and bulky and was wondering if I can replace them with something smaller but that will still pack the same punch. much thanks! Thanks for the suggestions, I will try the other groups that were suggested too. Appreciate it. |
#9
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
"Paul P" wrote ...
Apart from the Alesis 24 track recorder there don't seem to be any dedicated recorders on the market right now. Like the equivalent of a four or eight track tape deck. All that I've been able to find are cheap mixer/recorder/effects combos or the expensive Sound Devices equipment (and they also have preamps). If anyone knows of a stand-alone digital equivalent of a bare-bones eight (or evern four) track deck I'd like to know what it is. 4-track: Edirol R-4 Works great for me for small-scale location stuff, even running independently on internaly batteries (AA cells). 40GB hard drive for practically unlimited recording time. |
#10
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
Richard Crowley wrote:
"Paul P" wrote ... Apart from the Alesis 24 track recorder there don't seem to be any dedicated recorders on the market right now. Like the equivalent of a four or eight track tape deck. All that I've been able to find are cheap mixer/recorder/effects combos or the expensive Sound Devices equipment (and they also have preamps). If anyone knows of a stand-alone digital equivalent of a bare-bones eight (or evern four) track deck I'd like to know what it is. 4-track: Edirol R-4 Works great for me for small-scale location stuff, even running independently on internaly batteries (AA cells). 40GB hard drive for practically unlimited recording time. That's a nice looking machine but it has all sorts of stuff I don't need like microphones, preamps and effects. I already have a mixer, Soundcraft EPM6, and I have microphones. Just need something (other than my computer) to record and that can then transfer tracks to my computer through USB. Paul P |
#11
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
Federico wrote:
No stand alone digital recorder, the computer is a digital recorder already. Get a good audio card with good preamps and you're done. I don't want to use my computer (or buy another one). I prefer separate boxes with real knobs and my mixer already provides preamps. Paul P |
#12
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
George's Pro Sound Company wrote:
"Paul P" wrote in message If anyone knows of a stand-alone digital equivalent of a bare-bones eight (or evern four) track deck I'd like to know what it is. how "bare bones" do you want to go there are several offerings from tascam,zoom,fostex,roland in digital multi track under 300$ real bare bones is the zoom h4 Yeah, but I don't get the impression that those are all that good with respect to robustness, noise, and recording capacity. I'd like to go to flash memory (like my Edirol R-1) if possible to eliminate all noises of fans and hard discs and such but I could probably live with a HDR if it was quiet. Paul P |
#14
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
Joe Kotroczo wrote:
I didn't see you mention a budget? And if it needs to be portable or not? If money is not an issue, you could look at stuff like the Sound Devices 788T or 744T (8-track and 4-track, respectively). They do have stuff like mic pres and so on though. There's other similar products, like the Zaxcom Deva, the Aaton Cantar, the Nagra VI, the Fostex PD-606, and so on. They're all aimed at the film location recording market. (Meaning: portable, robust, battery powered, silent, timecode). ... Thanks for all the suggestions I guess I was looking in the wrong industry. I'll look into them but they're probably too good for me. And sorry for this going to your newsgroup by way of the crossposting. Paul P |
#15
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
Richard Crowley wrote:
If anyone knows of a stand-alone digital equivalent of a bare-bones eight (or evern four) track deck I'd like to know what it is. 4-track: Edirol R-4 Works great for me for small-scale location stuff, even running independently on internaly batteries (AA cells). 40GB hard drive for practically unlimited recording time. And it the OP could get 2 and sync them, and it is a smaller alternative to the other solution, a HD24. He could also get a Fostex that is the same size as the HD24 but has fewer recommeded harddisks OR the brand new Fostex LR16. Kind regards Peter Larsen |
#16
Posted to alt.audio.pro.live-sound,rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
panfilero wrote:
Here's my question: In order to record say, guitar and keyboards.... should I purchase a mixer and then go from the mixer into the computers sound card and then record with some software like cubase or acid? Most low-cost soundcards have really bad mic preamps. So when you want to use a microphone you will need a microphone preamp. Keyboards should works without one, because they have line outputs. Electric guitars produce highr output that microphones, but a preamp would still help. For electric guitar you need high-impedence inputs or you will lose treble. I was in the same situation two weeks ago and found microphone preamps pretty expensive (for what they do). So I ended up buying a used Behringer MX 802 mixer for 80 Euros. It has balanced microphone inputs (even phantom powered) and it is very small. The mic inputs are several orders of magnitude better than the ones in my soundcard. If you do overdubs using a microhone you'll benefit from a mixer anyways, because you need to create a headphone mix while sending the microphone signal to the soundcard. You don't want the playback signal on your speakers because the microphone will pick it up and of course you don't want the microphone signal on you speakers because that may cause feedback. |
#17
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I'm planning to build a home music studio on a budget. Any suggestions on "must have" equipment?
- I play piano so I need to find a decent 76/88 weighted-key keyboard.... - My wife sings so I need to find a decent vocal microphone.... - Anything else? Mixer? headphones? http://www.findpianolessons.com |
#18
Posted to rec.audio.tech
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need help/suggestions on home studio equipment
jeffreyfrog wrote:
I'm planning to build a home music studio on a budget. Everything is "on a budget", I could tease you and ask what it is, but your question reads as a play for the cheapest reasonable stuff. Any suggestions on "must have" equipment? Depends drastically on just what you wnat to do. - I play piano so I need to find a decent 76/88 weighted-key keyboard.... If you play piano, then you should get one. If you need to "go artificial" then go for an artificial piano if a piano is what you want. Knobs and buttons cost, and a synth has more of those. There will be a potential saving on mics to record it, but it is easier to get a real sonic perspective when recording a real instrument, "line in stuff" tends to cling to the front of the sonic image almost no matter what. - My wife sings so I need to find a decent vocal microphone.... MCA SP1, combine with a pair of MXL 603's for the piano and a Fostex MR8HD, that's about as low a budget you can get and you get real four track multitracking. Do get a proper windscreen for the MCA SP1. - Anything else? Mixer? headphones? And headphones, but you don't need them for much, and you really do need to mix on loudspeakers. Look for something smallish KEF and some 2 X 60 watts power amp to drive them, preferably one with an input attenuator that you leave at say -15 dB or so for use with the MR8HD. Just my opinion, wait for other suggestions if there are any Kind regards Peter Larsen |
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