Recording gear question.

[spleenharvester]

Hey all, so I'm writing a song. I have no idea what/how to record.

I'm a broke college student so I don't expect anything fantastic sounding. I just want something vaguely mixeable.

I was thinking grab a Sennheiser E835 mic or similar (they go pretty cheap and have decent reviews), and have the signal chain as Guitar -> Guyatone Chorus -> Vox VT40+ Modeling -> Dangle E835 in front of VT40+ -> EQ of some sort -> My PC's line in -> Audacity or similar mixing software -> ??? -> Music

Idk what the song is gonna be like properly yet, I just want a rough idea of what/how to record, nothing majorly specific. So if I record each instrument individually do I just piece it together in Audacity or similar? Any software to recommend?

Thankyou all.

[DrNewcenstein]

Any free multi-track capable software will do. Your PC should also have the ability to playback and record at the same time, otherwise the track you're playing along to will mute when you go to record the next track, or your input will mute and all you'll hear is the playback minus whatever you're recording.

Only way to check that is to do it.

[jtougas]

CockOS Reaper is a great low cost multitrack piece of software. For a good, cheap interface, take a look at the Lexicon Omega, Alpha, and Lambda pieces.

[spleenharvester]

Cheers you two, helps muchly.

What's my best bet for a recording/vocal microphone? I'm on a crappy budget so I don't expect anything fantastic for £40~£45 but am I right in thinking a used Sennheiser E835 or E845 would be my best bet, and run that through my line-in?

[James Rock]

Don't get an EQ but get a decent (under 200) usb or firewire (only if you have TI firewire ports) interface. Running through the line in on a computer will most likely by noisy and sound bad. For guitar you can get a 57 or 58 cheap and they are fine for vocals if on a tight budget. If you need even cheaper option you can have a look at a few USB mics.

[jtougas]

For mics, it can't hurt to start with the workhorses: a Shure 57, and a 58. You can use them for just about anything, and just about everything sounds good through them. Bonus: cheap.

An AT2020 is also a good bet for a flexible condenser vocal mic. Cheap, and did surprisingly well in a SoundOnSound mic shoot out.

[DrNewcenstein]

Sennheiser makes good mics. If you can get a Shure SM57 for the same price, get it instead, but the Sennheiser models you've picked aren't bad.

For the PC, you don't want to plug the mic into the Line In, you need either an XLR-to-whatever interface/preamp, or a Line Condenser that plugs into the mic's XLR cable and converts it to a 1/4", and then from there you need a 1/8" adapter.

You might be able to get a mic cable that goes from XLR to 1/8" directly.

If all else fails, just to get sound, you can get a cheapo PC mic. I mean, you're not going for Abbey Road right now, right?


Doing it right will not be as cheap as you want to be. You're looking at least at spending $100 to do it right, as you'll need the aforementioned mic preamp which can convert the mic signal to a PC-compatible interface (USB, Firewire, or Mic/Line input).


Otherwise you can find an older used portable 4-track (digital, unless you know someone with a stack of cassette tapes).
You might be limited to small-capacity memory cards, though.


However, my advice would be to spend more time developing as a player and don't worry about recording right now.

[spleenharvester]

Good point actually, the used Shure SM57s/58s go for £45 or so on ebay so same price roughly. Any recommendations as to a cheaper mic preamp?

I can buy it piece by piece if I need to, don't need to record asap. It's about time I got a decent mic anyways.

[innerdreamrecords.co]

http://line6.com/podstudioux1/ and a SM57.

[Quibby]

My recomendation: Why do you need a Mic unless you are doing vocals as well? If you are just doing guitar, bass etc, don't need a mic. Get a semi-decent usb guitar interface, they start at about $100 - 50 pounds or so, just plug straight into the interface, which plugs into your computer.

If you use, say, a line 6 Toneport or similar, it comes with guitar amp emulators which just sound great. For recording, I use Sonoma Riffworks - there is a paid version with unlimited tracks, or free version with four tracks. You can cut n paste, overdub, loop, whatever. I use it (free T4 version) and love it. So easy to use. And all up 50-70 pounds.

[kengtin]

spleenharvester,

I'm a bit confused, how much out the stuff you mentioned you already have? That'll drive you decisions.

Assuming you have almost nothing but your guitar, I'd do something along the lines Quibby described, like: get something that allows you to record directly to the computer through USB, it's so much practical; start by looking at Line6 products, depending on your budget and existing gear, you might go for modeling devices or USB interfaces. As for recording, start googling your options for Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) and see what fits your pocket. I use Cakewalk Sonar so I can only speak for it, I don't remember but the entry level editions might be ok for you... or you can look for free DAW's.

Good luck

[DrNewcenstein]

Given the "broke college student" and "dangle the mic in front of the amp" points, I'd assume he wasn't interested in direct-recording interfaces.

However, you might check to see if your modelling amp has a PC-direct output that passes sound (USB, most likely, but some just pass data for editing presets, and not audio).

If you're not doing vocals, I'd say skip the mic entirely and spend the same money on the Line6 stuff. If you're doing vocals, the ART V3 isn't a bad preamp.

[Reload in 5]

pod studio ux1
reaper
done

There is no reason to mic that amp. You arent going to get any better sound than you can get with pod farm 2.5 (which is free with the pod studio)
reaper is the best budget DAW out there. Free to try and then only $60 to buy.
Get a mic later if you want to do vocals.
Even at full retail, pod studio is $150, reaper is $60, and an SM58 is $100

[Ball&Chain]

This should do it. A good ol fashioned USB Mic.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Blue-Micro...260420&veh=cse

[crusty philtrum]

This should do it. A good ol fashioned USB Mic.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Blue-Micro...260420&veh=cse

That was my first thought, too. There are quite a few USB mics available now. All you need is one of those and some (free?) recording software and you're off and running.

[Chris of Arabia]

That was my first thought, too. There are quite a few USB mics available now. All you need is one of those and some (free?) recording software and you're off and running.

+1. I've got the Blue Yeti and it appears, in whatever sound application I'm running, as a source.