help with setup

[liam894]

So i'm gradually setting up my recording setup.

I've got

A guitar

An amp

A mic

guitar rig 3 (for the effects)(plugin)

Cubase SX3

EZdrummer (Plugin)

M-Audio Fast Track Pro Soundcard

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So what other hardware will I need, and/or which software do I need?

Also I need cables, which sort? (I have plenty of 1/4")


Cheers

[rty13ibz98]

what are you looking at doing? just demos or full fledged albums? from the looks of it you are looking to do demos. i recommend getting a good mic pre with di capabilities for your guitar rig 3. the pres in the m-audio are just good enough to get sound into your computer. what kind of mic are you using? are you looking for a vocal only mic, a guitar mic, or a jack of all trades mic? what brand of cables are you using? the better quality of cables you have the better signal you will get and the sonic reproduction will be worth it. you just need a few awesome cables, but you really will notice a massive difference. also, you will need a good pair or reference monitors, i persoanlly love krk, but there are lots of options. most importantly, treat your room where you will be doing the majority of your recording. make sure at the very least that the listening position is acoustically treated, get a decent auralex roominator and some good bass absorption going on. tihs will help in getting your mixes to translate/travel on systems other than the one your mixing on.

rich

[liam894]

I will just be recording instrumental demos. So im guessing i wont need a mic for that?

I have a line 6 spider 2 amp so will I need any reference monitors?

I have plenty of standard guitar cables, none of which were bought for over £20 (so none of them are expensive, but they arent of bad quality.)

Also would I need some 1/8" cables or something to connect to the soundcard or something?

Liam

[rty13ibz98]

the m-audio unit uses 1/4" and xlr connections primarily. i have the same one for my laptop rig. are you looking to mic your amp or di it? use the amp or just the plug-ins? either way a good di box will go a long way. even better would be to get a decent mic preamp that does both as i had mentioned earlier. you definitely need good refence monitors. this isn't for you amp as much as it is for mixing down what you have recorded...all of the instruments. you still want to get a feww really good cables like monster, canare, or mogami. those will make your tracks easier on your ears and you'll find yourself tweaking less and just mixing will will quicker. getting great source tracks will make you tracks sound more polished, even if the budget isn't on a professional level.
i can't thrust upon you enough just how important your room acoustics are in all of this. if you have a crappy sounding room, everything you own will be fairly futile. a couple hundred bucks spent on some room treatments will go a long way to making more pleasing music. not just in the mixing stage, but overall.

rich

[liam894]

k, thanks

[GuitarEvan07]

Don't mean to be a downer here but you don't need high quality cables or a high quality mic if your recording with a cheap line 6 spider 2. Maybe invest in a better amp as well?