Complete newbie - home recording

[Al M]

I have very little idea about getting a home recording setup togeather and was wondering if any of you could steer me in the right direction? I'm open to all suggestions, both computer based and multi track. I have qbase and various other recording progs. My machines spec is 600Mhz cpu 128 ram very large HDD etc etc and a sound blaster 16 pci i know . So if i were to take the PC route what would i have to do hardware wise other than get a better sound card. If i were to go the multi track route then can anyone give me any suggestions as to what to look in to?

[Lonely Raven]

I've been dabbling in Computer Audio and Video recording for years.
I even used to beta test some special hardware for video capture back
in the early days of computers...I'm sure there are people much more
in the know then me, but I can offer you some suggestions.

First off, the fastest processor you can afford.

More importantly though, you need FAST consistant hard drives.
SCSI is GREAT, but the latest IDE drives are very damn nice.
Your hard drive can make or break your system. Even if you had a
Dual 2GHz P4 machine with a Gig of RAM and a $5000 24/96 sound card,
your recordings would be full of burps, skips, and otherwise audio
nastiness simply because your hard drive couldn't keep up with the
great amount of data being streamed to it! Size is important yes, but
speed and *consistantcy* of data throughput is MUCH more important

Also, shop around, read magazines, check out what the "current hot
24/96" sound card is.

The hardest part about computer recording isn't the hardware...it's
learning the software!

[shredmaster]

find what's best for you! i have had 4tracks ....old cassette versions for years AND i had the tascam minidisk recorder....popular 4 years back and still around. i finally settled on tascam multi-track on 8mm tape....sounds phenominal. i use a MACKIE 16 channel studio board with this. it's great for what we do and 8 tracks is enough. i can always create more tracks if i want. this is all routed into a flight case like what vai had and just sold recently on ebay. it's killer nice but too heavy and it doesn't fit in my car. now i'm looking at the new BOSS/Roland 8 track units that utilize zip disks so i can easily record great stuff at a friend's house without renting a van.

i don't use the pc much for audio although i have had no issues. i use the pc for writing midi music and classical arrangements and also for video editing and dvd authoring. i have had a lot of different pc's over the last few years as well. i finally bit the bullet and bought a 2.2mhz XEON processor...that's faster than the P4...a couple steps above the Pentium4. i needed the speed.

so all in all, get what you need. i have this great studio but i can't take it anywhere with me if i want to record. there are tons of cool little units out there especially if you are recording yourself. check out the BOSS BR8 or the newest model of BOSS...remarkable unit with pretty good distortion and amazing clean tones....you can just plug your guitar into it. also has drums you can loop.

let us know if you need more help.

steve

[30yroldpig]

Originally Posted by Lonely Raven

Also, shop around, read magazines, check out what the "current hot
24/96" sound card is.

24/96 is useless in home recording.

-1 where are you doing to store and playback your music? Redbook CD is 16/44.1

-2 The file size at 24/96 would be stupid huge!!!

Originally Posted by Lonely Raven

The hardest part about computer recording isn't the hardware...it's
learning the software!

Correct Know your Hardware, software and micing techniques.

I have said this before. I am a firm believer in the M-audio Delta series. Check those out. Also don't hesitate to snoop around past posts regarding this matter in the gear section.

[Kremlin]

Originally Posted by shredmaster

i finally bit the bullet and bought a 2.2mhz XEON processor...that's faster than the P4...a couple steps above the Pentium4. i needed the speed.

Are you running dual xeons? In single CPU configuration, a Northwood Pentium 4 usually outperforms a Xeon at the same clockspeed.

[shredmaster]

dual xeon's aren't something i need right now, as most of the tools / software i use don't support the duals. later down the road when the prices drop. we have tested a lot and haven't found a P4 that out-performs the xeon yet. if there is one, cool.... i wanted the xeon....more comfortable with it.