Just getting a little recording set in my room together.

[rourkeman4]

I am just trying to get nice recordings in my bedroom.

here is my gear that i have in my room as of right now

Keyboard
Guitar
Bass
Guitar Amp
Dell Laptop w/o a line- in

The first issue i need to tackle is the line-in. I believe I have two options to create a line-in. I have two ways I can go about this. First, I recall a year ago i bought the basic m-audio fast track usb (M-AUDIO - Fast Track USB - Record Guitar and Vocals on Your Computer—Complete with Effects). Could I purchase a mixer (I have been looking at the Blend6 by Mackie), then hook my 2 lines out of the mixer into one and put it into the 1/4" in the back of my fasttrack and use that as my line in? If not i would have to buy a soundcard and a mixer. I am trying to see if i can get around purchasing a soundcard.

The next thing i would need to do is buy a microphone. Through my research i have come to the conclusion that the shure sm57 or sm58 fits my budget. Which one would any pros reccomend? I need to record vocals and obviously my guitars.

Oh and that brings up another question... Lets say i am recording a guitar track, would i be recording the track from my amp connected to the mixer or from the amp with a microphone picking up the sound?

the last thing would be software...

I am sorry this is a bit of a ramble. I have a lot to do and work on this, but before i start purchasing anything i want to know what the pros like you all think!

[brandondrury]

Could I purchase a mixer (I have been looking at the Blend6 by Mackie), then hook my 2 lines out of the mixer into one and put it into the 1/4" in the back of my fasttrack and use that as my line in?

If you were to use the Fasttrack, you shouldn't need a mixer at all. the M-Audio Fasttrack already has preamps, right? How is the mixer going to benefit you?

Through my research i have come to the conclusion that the shure sm57 or sm58 fits my budget. Which one would any pros reccomend?

I would definitely recommend the Shure SM57. The SM58 is very aggressive in the upper midrange and this can be problematic with some instruments and voices. I consider the SM57 to be one of the most versatile mics I own. I guess that's why I own 6 of them.

Lets say i am recording a guitar track, would i be recording the track from my amp connected to the mixer or from the amp with a microphone picking up the sound?

That is for you to decide. I'm big on recording amps with microphones, but only you can really decide what you like. That is totally up to you!

the last thing would be software...

I am sorry this is a bit of a ramble. I have a lot to do and work on this, but before i start purchasing anything i want to know what the pros like you all think!

I'm big on Cubase SX3, but everyone has their preferences.

What Recording Software Do You Use and Why?

Brandon

[rourkeman4]

Thanks for the speedy response!

"If you were to use the Fasttrack, you shouldn't need a mixer at all. the M-Audio Fasttrack already has preamps, right? How is the mixer going to benefit you?"

Well when i hook up my guitar amp to the fast track, the volume is almost inaudible. I have the really junky one, i bought it when i first though i was going to become a rockstar. haha. I also would like to have multiple instruments plugged in all at once if my friends decide to come over and play bass and/or keys. What i am trying to say is, would I be able to use my fasttrack as a soundcard in this instance? I would take the l and r outputs on the mixer and plug it in on one wire to the 1/4" of the fast track and then into my computer through a usb.


"I would definitely recommend the Shure SM57. The SM58 is very aggressive in the upper midrange and this can be problematic with some instruments and voices. I consider the SM57 to be one of the most versatile mics I own. I guess that's why I own 6 of them."

So i can use the SM57 as a decent vocal mic too?

[rourkeman4]

Also, lets say that i just get the mixer and dont use the fast track. I will need a line-in for my dell laptop. what would you recommend me to do?

[brandondrury]

So i can use the SM57 as a decent vocal mic too?

Definitely! I prefer the SM57 to the SM58 for studio vocals 90% of the time. The SM57 has been used for vocals on a zillion albums. It'll do fine.

If you really want to have a bunch of instruments plugged in, than I guess you do need a mixer. However, this seems like a luxury that isn't worth the price tag in my opinion.

If you are having problems with the Fast Track, it's possible it's broken.

If it were me, I'd recommed using the Home Recording Soundcard Wizard to figure out exactly what you need and go with one of those. Then I'd head here.

Brandon