Setting Up A Home Recording Studio

[tigerprincess]

My fiance and I are looking to record some music (just us two using various instruments/singing) and would like some advice regarding the equipment we need.

We've bought an iMac to use in the studio due to it being quiet and we are looking at using either Garage Band or getting Logic.

What we want is the following:

Mixing desk wise - (although it's not needed at the moment), we don't want to buy one that may not be good enough if things expand so would like a few channels that have direct outputs on each channel or something - is that the best way to go?

We would also need some kind of interface to go between the mixing desk and computer, preferably that can control the mixing controls on the computer once the audio has been recorded as well.

If anyone can offer ANY advice about what would be the best way to go, we would really appreciate it.

Thanks

[Retrosaurus Rex]

Hi Tiger!

I'm not a Mac person, but I'll jump in, maybe I can at least give you some things to consider...

I think Logic is a pretty full-featured recording program, while Garage Band is more like entry-level. So there's probably a cost trade-off, as well as a learning curve trade-off, with the more powerful program being harder to learn. If you're serious you might as well tackle the learning curve and get the more powerful program that you will grow into... also, most recording software attempts to emulate the work-flow you would use with hardware, so if you already have any experience recording the learning curve might not be too bad anyway...

There are a few manufacturers making control surface interfaces that double as mixing desks. I haven't taken the plunge on one of these, but I'm thinking that's the way to go. All the major DAWs (Logic, SONAR, Cubase, et al) support control surface automation, and probably already have templates for most products...

[john]

Hey

Do you have a budget in mind? Obviously it can make a huge difference.

Hardware wise, there are lots of semi pro solutions that work with mac or PC. Likewise I am not a mac user at present and the mac software i was familiar with is pretty well gone, although ProTools is still the main music platform for recording on a mac, but it is expensive.

[Prometheus]

My fiance and I are looking to record some music (just us two using various instruments/singing) and would like some advice regarding the equipment we need.

We've bought an iMac to use in the studio due to it being quiet and we are looking at using either Garage Band or getting Logic.

What we want is the following:

Mixing desk wise - (although it's not needed at the moment), we don't want to buy one that may not be good enough if things expand so would like a few channels that have direct outputs on each channel or something - is that the best way to go?

We would also need some kind of interface to go between the mixing desk and computer, preferably that can control the mixing controls on the computer once the audio has been recorded as well.

If anyone can offer ANY advice about what would be the best way to go, we would really appreciate it.

Thanks

If you already have the computer, you should be able to do this reasonably affordably if you shop around. Start with a mic, a desk, an A-D converter and a Compressor and add the rest as you go along.

Here's a list of the basic stuff you really need.

A high quality Large Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser microphone.

A Mixing Desk with Direct Outs.

An Analogue to Digital converter (MOTU or MAudio are excellent)

A Compressor (Behringer Composer PRO is excellent)

A Graphic Equalizer.

A Noise Gate.

A Mulitrack Recorder (Cubase, Pro Tools, Logic)

A two track Mastering Suite (Adobe Audition, Wavelab)

Most of the effects you might need like Master Limiters, High Frequency Stimulators, Chorus, Delay, Reverb et cetera can be found very cheaply or free in the form of plugins.

[BobMay]

I bought an E-Mu usb 0404 (stereo) a few years back. It allowed me to plug guitars and mikes directly into my computer and came with a bunch of software for effects and such. Sonar LE is what I use but it is also able to be upgraded for free at cakewalk.

It was about $200.00.

I liked it cause I am able to use the equipment I already have. A sure 57 and guitar pick-up. You might want to look into it.

Bob

[Ray888]

Hi Tiger,

From my experience it is always a question of budget and what fits your needs. You can end up spending a fortune on recording equipement and make plenty of mistakes if you don't do your research beforehand.

 

You have your iMac and depending on the RAM it has it will decide how far you can go with your music production especially if you are using plenty of plugin effects.

 

16-32 GB recommended for Pro production but if you are not going down that route you can get away with 8GB.

 

Again depending on your budget I would recommend Pro Logic X if you have at least 8GB Ram which you can get for little money on Ebay but if you can afford to spend a lot more you can go for ProTools if you have 16 or more GB Ram and can pick up earlier versions cheaper than you can get later versions. You get a certain amount of plugins with either but if you want an array of armoury including Neve or SSL plugins you will need the Ram to accommodate it on your computer. Do your research.

 

There are many interfaces to choose from depending on your needs and the size of your studio environment. My studio is small, only 8 X 6 feet well treated and with Base traps in all corners with a vocal booth of equal size adjacent to it. I would never fit more than 3 musicians and a singer in the vocal area so I went with a focusrite Clarett which has only 4 inputs but you can get ones with 2 or 8 or more inputs if you feel that your space will need them. I chose the Clarett because it has API emulated preamps and also came with Focusrite Red plugins which may come in handy when my other preamps don't suit a project.

 

Microphones are a different kettle of fish because some mics are better on some things and not others. For studio purposes you are better off going with a condenser and if you can afford it a multipattern because it will allow you options. If you don't have a lot of money to spend I would recommend the SE Titan large diaphragm which you can pick up cheap on Ebay. It has a slightly coloured sound which you will find even on the most expensive mics. I have quite a lot of mics but prefer to use my AKG C414B ULS because it is one of the cleanest mics around which makes it easier to allocate plugin effects later. There are other mics but you can check out the Sound on Sound reviews and there is also a website forum called Gearlutz where engineers and producers give their opinions on all music equipment. Just be careful of those who go on the site to plug their products.

 

There are a number of control surfaces that are supposed to work with different Daws but from what I have read they often have their glitches and what some manufacturers state on their sales pitch is not always truthful. The SSL Nucleus is one of the best if you can afford and have the space for it and you may wish to check out the Avid S£ which is equally expensive at around 5 grand. If you have a low budget there is the iCon QCon Pro at around £450 or the iCon QCon Pro X at around £680 but both are reported to have problems with the master fader not always working. If you go for Logic or ProTools I would advise you to hold off on your purchase of a control surface until you have mastered the programs. Also it is a fact that the longer you wait to purchase a product the price will be less when you purchase.

 

I hope that this helps, and my last word is a reminder before purchasing anything check them out especially their compatibility with each other and read the forums which will give you a bit more knowledge of what to look out for that fits your budget and does the job that you want it to.