cheap recording gear?

[connorguitar15063]

im looking to buy some recording gear. im new, have no idea what im doing. but would like to learn. i just need something that i can record drums, bass,guitar and vocals with,at a decent quality. can anybody help me out with some gear? that wont put a hole in my pocket? thanks

[kevlahnota]

Originally Posted by connorguitar15063

im looking to buy some recording gear. im new, have no idea what im doing. but would like to learn. i just need something that i can record drums, bass,guitar and vocals with,at a decent quality. can anybody help me out with some gear? that wont put a hole in my pocket? thanks

go digital recording. a decent pc, an audio interface like m-audio fast track ultra, good mics, decent headphones and a studio/near-field monitors.

[Jamie]

nobody can help you out without more info.

budget?
do you own a PC or Mac?
what other equipment do you own?
experience level?
where do you plan to do this?
simultaneous recording of all instruments?

otherwise, what kev said.

[connorguitar15063]

like i said, i have no experience. budget wise? cheap as possible. and i will be recording in my room, im only 16. dont have much to work with, but i do have a job. so im not broke. and i have a dell xps 400 (multimedia version) with windows xp professional. and i have a recording software already. do i need to buy a mixer? is that all i need? thats what i need help with. o and mics obviously

[kevlahnota]

Originally Posted by connorguitar15063

like i said, i have no experience. budget wise? cheap as possible. and i will be recording in my room, im only 16. dont have much to work with, but i do have a job. so im not broke. and i have a dell xps 400 (multimedia version) with windows xp professional. and i have a recording software already. do i need to buy a mixer? is that all i need? thats what i need help with. o and mics obviously

let's see, you want to record the instruments independently that's why we need to have an audio interface like the m-audio fast track ultra that has 4-6 channels. if you will buy a mixer, it must have an USB connector so that you mixer will be your audio interface. Either you buy the fast track or the PV14. If i will choose between the two, i'll buy the PV14 because it has more inputs and I already have a good recording software, SONAR 5.



example: http://www.peavey.com/products/brows...2014%20USB.cfm

[connorguitar15063]

thanks alot man, i already have sonar 5. i was in school at the time so i didnt know the name off hand. but thanks for the help

[S-man]

My Random thoughts...

An inexpensive recording solution?

The following combination of hardware and software seems to be a fairly powerful solution:

Pro Tools M-Powered - Fairly inexpensive, industry standard....
$250

M-audio 2496 soundcard - ASIO 2.0 Drivers, spdif input, analog input, 24bit/96k, PCI bus as opposed to USB and PT compliant. Cons - limited simultaneous inputs.
$100

TonePort UX2 - Record vocals, bass and guitar...models for each. Line6 models are amongst the best and the Gearbox software is unmatched IMO. S/PDIF output keeps everything digital. Will accept a line out signal from guitar amps. Most line outs are un-emulated and sound like crap through full range speaker. A guitar amps final EQ is it's spkr/cab. Disabling amp models in the UX2 and using it's cabinet models alone allow you to capture a more realistic guitar sound when using an amps line out. Plus, you could always just mic an amp/cabinet?(s) if inclined or just use the amp models. XLR jacks with phantom power. Inexpensive. Cons - cheap plasticy construction, 24/48 max (24/96 available via upsampling).
$139

Reason w/drumkit refill - You don't want to skimp here. Reason is one of the best for a reason. This will give you realistic drums and excellent keyboards, etc. Rewire is a powerful feature and is compatible with PT. Cheesy sounding drums can ruin a recording. Micing acoustic kits is tiresome, at best. It's compatible with electronic drum kits utilizing pads as midi triggers. Also compatible with smaller keyboard/drum pad type midi controllers. Sequencers such a ReDrum makes things even easier. A small midi controller could easily be used to add "realism". Cons - A little pricey including drumkit re-fill (but worth it).
$400 + $130

M-Audio Axiom 25 Midi controller - An inexpensive and minimal controller. 8 programmable trigger pads (drums), 8 endless rotary programmable knobs, Programmable transport controls,
weighted keys. Enough to make things much easier in DAW environment. PT compatible. Has a quality "feel". Cons - not enough keys for a "real" keyboardist.
$180

Mic - Pick one. Minimalist will select a good mic for vocals. Add to that a SM57, etc. This list could go on forever.
$100

Computer - 2GB memory, 2.5G+ CPU minimum
$600-$700


Monitors/Speakers - Good bass response. High Freq. is handled fairly well by most speakers. High end "computer" speakers can work....but "real" spkrs./monitors will serve you much better. JMO.
$200

Headphones - Once again, good bass response. I've made the mistake of mixing things with headphones alone and then checked it on the monitors..... it always ends up too "bassy". Maybe it's just me?
$100

Ibanez Soungear Bass - Hey...it's an Ibanez!!!
$400-$500


Total $2599-$2799.00



This could be an fairly inexpensive and portable (exc. soundcard) solution. Most/all serious people will have a PT compliant recording interface anyway. You could easily share your projects with others and save them in a format that would be hospitable to PT equipped recording studios and/or fellow "musicians".

That's my 2 pennies....for the minute.

I'm sure I missed some things.

[connorguitar15063]

$2599-$2799 isnt exactly cheap to me. but thanks for helping

[S-man]

Well I broke it down...you don't have to buy everything listed.

It included a Computer and a Bass guitar. That's approx. $1200.00 alone.

[jb4674]

Originally Posted by S-man

Well I broke it down...you don't have to buy everything listed.

It included a Computer and a Bass guitar. That's approx. $1200.00 alone.

You do realize the kid's 16 right?

Jimmy

[S-man]

Originally Posted by jb4674

You do realize the kid's 16 right?

Jimmy

No...I did not know that.

[ken_r152]

You may have to define "decent quality" and also your price range.

The Line6 UX2 is a good idea. And to keep price down (and also reduce the issue of compatibility) you might want to go with recording "bundles" or recording "packages" that some of the vendors offer. Maybe a bundle with an audio interface, and a bundle for the mics, stands, and cables. Musician's Friend has several.

http://pro-audio.***************.com...ice%7c0&rpp=20

There's a lot to consider, so you might want to start out by buying a book on home recording, first.

[GuitarEvan07]

If your looking for real cheap just buy a Boss Br-600(~300$) and just run the output into your computer. That handles mixing guitar bass and drums. :-)
http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...x?ObjectId=753

[TicTac in my eye]

Originally Posted by connorguitar15063

im looking to buy some recording gear. im new, have no idea what im doing. but would like to learn. i just need something that i can record drums, bass,guitar and vocals with,at a decent quality. can anybody help me out with some gear? that wont put a hole in my pocket? thanks

Question

when you say drums do you mean programming drums like a drum machine or drum plugin?

If you are going to use like drum machine or drum plugin Ilook into M-Audio or the MBOX 2. Even Presonus makes some good gear thats not too pricey. Make sure they have midi capabilties to take advantage of programing drums.

I have the Mbox 2 and been using it for years now. I program my drums & synth parts with taking advantage with using midi. I record all my guitars and bass tracks.

Getting the Mbox 2 you get Pro Tools Le along with some awesome plug ins to get you going. BFD for drum programming and mixing plugins

Before you buy anything RESEARCH and make sure its what you want. Do things right it's better to spend a little more on a good investment.

If your going to go with pro tools Le go to the www.digidesign.com website and look to see if your computer is compatiable with pro tools. I highly recommend doing the research.

There are other audio ports that come with software packages.

Cubase
Nuendo
Logic Pro
Sonar

Look into those and you'll be into a good start.

ONE MORE THING and this IS HUGE

If you are going to go with using your computer BUY A GOOD EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE TO STORE ALL YOUR MUSIC

Saving music on your systems drive will slow down your computer will your recording.

It may be overwhelming in reality it isn't you just have to put the time and effort into researching.


Love
Tic Tac

[CalledToArms]

when you say you want to be able to record bass, guitar, drums, and vocals do you mean all at once?

Either way, I just picked up a Line6 UX2 Toneport. I just ran it into my laptop into a basic recording program (Cool Edit Pro 2.0). For me it is going to be used purely for my band to help write our next album (we record songs after we feel "tight" as a band and then listen to hear where we are sloppy) So I did not need studio quality as we will go to a real producer again.

I don't want to put an entire song up online since its just a room recording and not ready to be revealed but ill post the last 1:30 of the song for you to hear.

This was all done live, no mixing, no individual tracking and 1 take...so Im sure it could sound a lot better with stuff being messed with. Nothing but plugging the toneport into my laptop with 1 vocal. mic on the drum side of our practice space, 1 really cheap vocal mic in between the two guitar cabs on the other side of the practice space. I then proceeded to press record. It was also the first time I had even used the device so no settings were tweaked. Given all that I am happy with the sound quality:

http://www.yousendit.com/download/Y2...QzNLVlZFQlE9PQ

If I was using better mics and "tracked" the drums first and then tracked the guitars next and actually cleaned it up, mixed, and mastered it I could get something "decent." Obviously not album quality but for $140 plus mics its hard to beat.