setting up a littel home studio?

[davexo]

Right, so im currently doing a course in music technology, and the recording side, and studio side of it really interests me.

I want to setup a little home studio, where i can record my own band, and maybe some friends bands. I want to do this either from home, or by maybe renting out a small garage and sound proofing it and such, as i dont think my mum would allow me to do it from home. And i dont really have the space.

So what would be a nice basic set-up, pretty cheap, as i will be on a tight budget ?
post some links ?
prices?


ive been reading about firewires, what do these do ?
Should i invest in a new sound card for my computer?

i need some help!

thanks

edit: i spelt little wrong in the title..

[In10city]

You are about to step into a black hole! Home studios have a habit of treating you like a crack head, you'll start spending every spare penny on yet another gadget. Do a lot of reading and research before you spend anything. You'll find a thousand different opinions over what is "best" but if you keep reading you'll start to get an idea what is "best for you" based on your individual needs and budget.

Firewire is a high speed compter connection that allows your input device to transmit data to your computer to store on the hard drive. Computer based recording seems the be the wave of the future and offers a lot of power and technology for a moderate price. Always try to have MORE computer processing power than what the component requires. Also, get a second hard drive to back all music files. CD burners are not a good way to go for backup. We were doing this and found out that when we brough the files back (after a hard drive crash) they were full of digital beeps and clicks that we could not remove.

If I was starting from scratch, I'd consider a really powerful computer (laptop may offer a mobile studio solution but harder to work on and upgrade) and the new Alesis MultiMix system. They offer several different choices but I would pick the MultiMix 16USB seen here: http://www.alesis.com/product.php?id=39

Musician's Friend is showing them for $349 right now which is a really good price. This will be your mixing board with phantom power and 8 XLR inputs and comes with Cuebase LE for your computer. Now, Brandon or someone here more knowledgable would have to advise how much computer power you'd need as far as processor speed, ram, hard drive speed, motherboard speed, etc...

[davexo]

thanks for that

so that mixer, will go straight into the soundcard of a computer or laptop?
would it be a good idea to get a new sound card ?

any other tips ?

thanks

[In10city]

Yes, this board goes straight to your computer via Firewire. Your motherboard should have a firewire slot, it looks a lot like a USB port. This bypasses your soundcard completely becuase the data transfer rate would fry a soundcard trying to keep up. It writes the data directly to your hard drive as you record it. I don't think you need a soundcard because the Multimix will work as your audio input and output but it might be convienent to have in there anyway.

We use the Ensoniq Paris recording system which was top of the line when it came out and is now obsolete. The only time we need the computer's sound card is when we mixdown and convert to a stereo wav file and play it back. When the Paris system is running, it shuts down the computer's sound card and takes over. This can be done with a very simple or entry level sound card so I would not put that on your list for now.

Buy as needed. If you get ahead of yourself you'll end up with a bunch of stuff that is not compatible or you just don't need.

[davexo]

Yeah that's true
i think im gonna invest in thatmixer you showed me, i was looking at one similiar to it, that was a little bit more expensive, but i think il go with that one.

How many mics should i get ?
what types of mics ?

i was thinking of gettin a few SM57's, every forum i go to, these seem to be everyones favourite, another vocal mic, to record vocals.

also, what about sound proofing ?

thanks

[In10city]

Don't jump the gun based on my recomendation. Give this topic some time for the "experts" to voice their opinion. There may be a better alternative out there or there may be something bad about the Alesis I don't know about. Take your time and do it right!

Microphone selection should be based on what you are going to record and how many tracks you'll be recording at the same time. The SM-57 is the Duct tape of microphones and is so usefull you should get at least 1. Check eBay, they are plentiful out there. They work well for mic'ing guitar amps, singing through (but I prefer the SM-58 for vocals), and are perfect for most drums (especially the snare).

I'd consider a couple of matched condensor mic's for overhead drums and to use on any acoustic guitar recording.

[davexo]

ok thanks

well my method of recording would be this

1. Record a ghost track, to record the drums, this would be the drums completly mic'ed and the bass player playing the track, through his bass amp into the mixer, and then a couple of sets of headphones so both the drummer and bassist can hear what eachother is playing
2. Drum track done. Now mic the bass amp, and have the bassist record the bassm wearing a set of headphones, so he can hear the drum track.
3. Drum track and bass track done. Now mic the guitar amps, and get a few guitar tracks down, with the guitarits wearing headphones so they can hear the drum and bass tracks. If there were two guitarists, then possibly 2/3 guitar tracks, mic'ing different speakers each time, to make the sound more full.
4. Everything except vocals are now done. Record the vocals. With the vocalist wearing headphones, to hear the rest of the song. And then do the backing vocals, and if there are any parts with the vocalist singing twice record them parts
5. Mixing

is that a good plan ?

[In10city]

That sounds like a good plan and is pretty similar to the way we have been recording. We usually start with a click track that occasionally has to be built in several steps for songs with tempo changes. From there we'll record a scratch track with usually a guitar or keyboard to get the frame of the song. We'll record scratch vocals or a keyboard sound to frame the vocals for a point of reference. As a drummer, I try to stay out of the way of the vocals and keep my playing as complimentary as possible to what is happening in the context of the song.

Our scratch tracks have been as basic as a click track, guitar line and vocal line in the past. On this next album, we have complete demos recorded to the click track for me to play along to. It was a result of using our recording system to help compose the songs and becuase I was in the orient for a month and the band was bored. Some of the recorded parts will remain as 'final versions' but most will be re-recorded.

Use trial and error when it comes time to record each 'thing'. Brandon has stressed getting the sound right BEFORE using EQ and effects and that advice has greatly improved my drum sound already on my preliminary setup. Try different mic placements and combinations, sound waves are really odd and you can start to hear how they change as you move the mic in relation to the source.

[brandondrury]

Home Recording Gear Help For Songwriters

This will give you some insight into choosing a right that only allows you to record 2 channels at the same time. You may need more channels than this, however. This article will get you started.

Brandon

[brandondrury]

Computer based recording seems the be the wave of the future and offers a lot of power and technology for a moderate price.

I disagree. Computer based recording is NOW! It's the present!

If I was starting from scratch, I'd consider a really powerful computer (laptop may offer a mobile studio solution but harder to work on and upgrade) and the new Alesis MultiMix system. They offer several different choices but I would pick the MultiMix 16USB seen here: http://www.alesis.com/product.php?id=39

It appears that this mixer is USB 1.1. That means that it will only allow you to record 2 tracks at the same time. In my opinion, it doesn't do you much good to have to mix down all of your drums to a stereo file beforehand. You basically do that with a $100 mixer and a stock soundcard (although, I'm sure the computer interface / soundcard in the Alesis is noticeably better). For my style of recording, I would NEVER recommend this. I just don't see much sense in having 8 or 16 inputs into a mixer if you can only have 2 outputs going to the computer.

Check again guys. I'm about 90% sure that this mixer is USB 1.1 NOT FIREWIRE!! Make sure before you buy anything!

Davexo, check your private messages in the top right. Let's let this topic focus on soundcards and make new topics for the other questions you ave.

After reading the article above, post whatever questions you may have. I'm working on a new tool for the site to help in selecting the best soundcard for you. I just put the idea to paper this weekend, so it's not near ready, but I do have some criteria that will help in recommending a soundcard.

How many simultaneous inputs do you need?
Do you need Preamps?
What Type of Computer? Mac or PC
Style of computer? Desktop or Laptop
Do You Need Midi?
Do You Have Recording Software Yet?

Brandon