any thoughts on this beginner setup?

[etrose]

hey everyone!

im buying my girlfriend a 'beginner' home recording setup for christmas and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this gear, specifically the mics, before. im pretty new to all of this, but she wants to get into recording and engineering. i would say my experience is somewhere between basic and intermediate. i have played guitar for years but never recorded.

if you want to comment on any aspect of the setup im getting her, here's the gear:

mics: sm57, sm58, mxl2001 & mxl603 (the last two came together in an anaversary pack i got for a hundo based on someones recommendation on here)

mic filter: Nady MPF-6

mic stands: two stands for like 20 a piece, one is a 'low profile' for mic'ing her guitar or an amp.

mic chords: 2 50' xlr's

preamp: CME Xcoropio I Orange

monitors: Behringer MS16's

MIDI controller: Yamaha kx25

i want to give her some different mics to play with and get an idea of some different sounds, and a setup that she can add new gear in different places when she wants to. she plays guitar, drums, piano and sings, so i think this will allow her to explore all these areas, with the exception of the midi controler, which is more for riffing/chords because she can just mic a real piano if she wants to record that.

thanks in advance for all the input!

[Vanan]

SM57s & SM58s. Get em! Get lots of em and worship em! Cheap, indestructible (so I've heard, never tested) and indispensible.

As far as pop filters (i'm assuming that's what you mean by mic filters), I've used a regular $8 (god knows what brand) filter and it seems to do the job just fine.

Can't comment on the rest of the gear as I don't use those exact items but here's a tip. A must have for your girlfriend. Now this comes free and is probably gonna be the most valuable thing she could have. Get her to join this forum! Enough said. lol!

[newkid]

Originally Posted by etrose

hey everyone!

im buying my girlfriend a 'beginner' home recording setup for christmas and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this gear, specifically the mics, before. im pretty new to all of this, but she wants to get into recording and engineering. i would say my experience is somewhere between basic and intermediate. i have played guitar for years but never recorded.

if you want to comment on any aspect of the setup im getting her, here's the gear:

mics: sm57, sm58, mxl2001 & mxl603 (the last two came together in an anaversary pack i got for a hundo based on someones recommendation on here)

mic filter: Nady MPF-6

mic stands: two stands for like 20 a piece, one is a 'low profile' for mic'ing her guitar or an amp.

mic chords: 2 50' xlr's

preamp: CME Xcoropio I Orange

monitors: Behringer MS16's

MIDI controller: Yamaha kx25

i want to give her some different mics to play with and get an idea of some different sounds, and a setup that she can add new gear in different places when she wants to. she plays guitar, drums, piano and sings, so i think this will allow her to explore all these areas, with the exception of the midi controler, which is more for riffing/chords because she can just mic a real piano if she wants to record that.

thanks in advance for all the input!

I would get 5 20foot cables instead fo 2 50foot ones

dont you need an interface to a pc ?
and the pc ?
plus software ....

i would want more stands
at least one plus a stereo adapter for it
pop filter

[Bigduggieface]

Originally Posted by newkid

I would get 5 20foot cables instead fo 2 50foot ones

Yep, this is true. It is rare that you would utilize more than 20' of cable.

I'd also suggest not buying the cheapest mic stands. If there is one thing I've learned is that cheap mic stands SUCK! They break at the most inopportune moments. Just when you need them most, the threading slips, or they don't hold their position when you want them to. Buy a good K&M stand and it will last a lifetime. Like a Shure 57 & 58.

Oh yeah, what IS your recording rig?

[String7th]

Originally Posted by etrose

. . my girlfriend . . . wants to get into recording and engineering.

Off subject; but why is she still only a girlfriend? Why did you not lock that in with a ring as soon as she said this? My wife and I have nearly ZERO common musical grounds except Fair to Midland.

Any who: Is this for compueter recording, 4-track, or stand-alone recorders? That's the important part. From this list it sounds like you won;t be doing any drums so these mics are a good choice. I'd also get into a pair of small diaphram condensors in the $200-300 range. That MXL is do-able for some alternative percussion and accoustic stringed instruments, but the sounds of a well-placed stereo set is amazing on almost everything accoustic, especially guitar. Check out Rode N5 or Shure SM81 for a pair.

Totally agred on better mics stands that will last forever, and more of them. Even for simple acoustic stuff, you will want to have a few mic stands for the instruments, but also if you require talk backs (back and forth), 2nd performers, room mics. The more the merrier. Same with cables, never can have too much.

Oh, I just saw what the Xcoropio thingy was. You can go ahead and throw that away. If you have a budget for an SM57, you have the budget for something better than this. Check out these:
Presonus 2-channel USB
Protools compatable 2-channel
Tascam classic, comes with Cubase
6 mics at once for only $300

[garww]

Cheap stands are not so bad if you just set them up and leave them that way. I just swing my boom around when I need it.

Getting realistic sound to evaluate the recording is important - either phones or speakers. I might spend more time evaluating that end of the chain. I see that Walmart has these for $69. Maybe $50-100 for headphones, or, $150-250 for monitors.

[String7th]

Originally Posted by garww

Cheap stands are not so bad if you just set them up and leave them that way.

All I have are the standard Quicklok and On-stage too. Middle/average priced and haven't crapped all the way out yet. All of them work still, just some get loose when using LDC as overheads. The angle just puts too much weight and it slowly starts dropping.

[garww]

Originally Posted by String7th

All I have are the standard Quicklok and On-stage too. Middle/average priced and haven't crapped all the way out yet. All of them work still, just some get loose when using LDC as overheads. The angle just puts too much weight and it slowly starts dropping.

Ha !! I have noticed the boom creep !! The last thing you want to do is put too much crank on them lock bolts : ) In looking at mine, I probably could shorten the boom 6 inches and get a better balance.

I had looked at Walmart before, but had always looked in electronics. There is a lot of stuff in the Toy section. Could do a whole first "studio" with the selection. The prices are not all great.

[etrose]

Vanan: "Get her to join this forum!" I've got to wait until after christmas, because if she finds this thread it will blow the surprise! but i will definitely get her to join, i've only been on this site for a few days but i can already see the wealth of information here, and the community here is not typicaly what you find on the nets, friendly and helpful.

newkid: "I would get 5 20foot cables instead fo 2 50foot ones

dont you need an interface to a pc ?
and the pc ?
plus software ....

i would want more stands
at least one plus a stereo adapter for it
pop filter "

i heard that length doesnt really effect signal quality, so i figured the 50 footers cant hurt, and they were only a few bucks more than the 25' on amazon. the interface to the pc is the Xcorpio, it had what i wanted, USB2.0, 2 preamps, and RCA out for monitoring. the Nady MPF-6 is the pop filter that from what i hear i spent too much on. for software, im probably going to get her cubase, since ive read good things about it here, though since she wants to REALY get into this i might 'acquire' a copy of pro tools she can start to learn with, if she is up to that learning curve. the pc is her HP laptop, its pretty new (about a year old) so i think it should be able to handle just about anything (completely unsupported guess).

bigduggieface: "I'd also suggest not buying the cheapest mic stands." i know, im a cheapo, this is where i figured i could cut some costs since she probably wont be moving them around a whole lot. if the stands go, i will probably upgrade to solid stuff, but i was trying to keep the overall cost at a "christmasy" price, something that would be better than trying to record via her laptop's built in mic, but a basic setup that she could upgrade certain parts as she learns what is better where and why. the setup right now is just over $600 with everything in my first post.

String7th: "but why is she still only a girlfriend?" i am in the army and currently deployed in iraq, so it has really put all life plans on hold. luckely we have very similar musical tastes, even though she likes the rocket summer... god, why.
"Is this for compueter recording, 4-track, or stand-alone recorders?" computer recording.
"From this list it sounds like you won;t be doing any drums so these mics are a good choice." not yet, of the instruments she plays, she is best on drums, like she can read sheet music and is really into jazz stuff, so the drums are naturally going to be the first upgrade from this setup. i've seen some drum mic'ing sets for around like $250, and would need to get something with like 7 preamps too.
"Oh, I just saw what the Xcoropio thingy was. You can go ahead and throw that away." i was going off the shootout on this site that compared the $100 preamp to the $5000 preamp. though i could definitely tell the difference between the two, it wasnt SO much different that i couldent go for the lower end product. im hopeing that the Xcorpio isnt a bust, have you used it before? would love some intel on it.

garww: im really, REALLY hoping the behringer ms16 are not complete POS's, the price was just too good to pass up for BNIB equipment. since hangs out in the studio with our friends a lot deal too, so if she is like "omg i want better monitors, these are trash", then we can go from there.

[String7th]

As far a sound quality it's probably the same.
I'm talking about functions, connections and quality of connection. Even if this is the one with XLR connections (you would need adapters if you got the TRS version), there's no knobs which suggest you have to use software to control all gain and volume. It's got no balanced outputs, only RCA. I've never heard of this brand, looking at the website briefly, it looks like they just make off-brand basic starter musical products.

I could understand if itwas on a $9.99 clearance bin, but I see the average price is $150. For the same price you get control knobs, better support from the company's website, bundled recording software, and overall a better interface. And if your girl wants drums some day, that Tascam 8-channel interface is ready for it.