A home studio...

So after years of thinking about it, I decided to record my music for posterity. And I'm gonna do it myself! So in we go.
The first thing I noticed when talking about home recording and having a home studio, is most of the tutorials assume you aren't really gonna be using any actual instruments. Your gonna stack up a bunch of loops and beats and things, and there you are......music.
Now I do have a couple of books that are pretty good, but I was surprised by the assumptions of most of the home recording industry. I suppose it reaches a far wider market....but still.
I'm looking forward to having discussions with some of you seasoned vets. Equipment selection alone is daunting. Seems in the end, it's all dictated by your room. Kinda the weak link as far as mixing goes.
And mics, and interfaces, and software....:arhhh:

You can either go digital (DAW) or with recorders. I personaly preffer using hardware, but that's just me. I like to be hands on. I recently bought a little BOSS digital recorder. It comes packed with many features and sounds good for a starter. Check out the BOSS BR-800. I made a few songs you can listen to if you're curious to hear how it sounds (click on my signature). The first 4 songs were completely recorded, mixed and mastered with the BR-800 only, no computer softwares were used. Only a few pedals and a Tonelab for some effects. The BOSS comes packed with effects for guitars, acoustic and bass sims, voice and a built in drum machine (pattern arranger) that sounds pretty good.

My recommendation is more general - don't buy 25K worth of gear at first. I'd recommend going the PC recording route, and picking up a good, yet fairly inexpensive setup that includes a couple of quality mic preamps that convert to a pair of USB inputs. There are tons of these out there.

Then, I'd say you'll want a good dynamic mic (shure SM57) and a good Large Diaphragm Condenser mic. I'd say your first one could be in the $100 to $200 range...

Learn how to record using a freely downloadable Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) application, and have some fun!

OR - and this is how I did it...get an inexpensive all-in-one hard-disk or flash-based multitrack recorder and a couple of condenser mics and a couple of dynamics. I personally do all my demo recording on a Fostex MR16HDCD and then anything additional or different I'll dump what I have to the PC and carry on recording. It's got 16 channels, with 4 recordable at once, and it's bog-simple to use. I like the Portastudio workflow, kinda reminds me of my old cassette four-track...

Anyway, that's my .02...don't get too wrapped up in the tech or in the money spent...invest in better and better equipment as your skills progress.

After all - if I bought Jimi Hendrix's Woodstock Strat, I still couldn't play the Star Spangled Banner like him!

Fedora, I'm interested in the "assumptions" you've encountered and why they're surprising.

I'll second RJ that, with all the free or cheap-as-free DAWs available, the best way to start is with a couple of good mics and decent preamps, if you intend to record yourself one track at a time. If you want to record a bunch of people at once, it gets more complicated.

Since you're already aware of the problems of room acoustics, I would also suggest (if you have a semipermanent space you're setting up) that you look into treating the room with some basic absorption stuff. Auralex foam is good, and the company will take a scale drawing of your room and tell you what to apply and how (no, they don't oversell... I did my control room for about $200 and their recommendations were spot on).

Fedora,

It all depends on how picky you are and how much control you want over the finished product. I'm a very visual guy so the recorder method is limiting to me. Hard to make those deep edits. And I've yet to see the recorder that does stretching ore re-amping...


DAWs are easier to use and for most people give better results. Computer/DAW/interfaces/mics is pretty much the formula.


PC vs MAC? I've used both extensively and use both on a daily basis. both are capable of giving excellent results. I'd say the difference is that PC's with Cakewalk or ProTools can be a bit fussy, they have hardware issues that need to be futzed around with. Dongles, drivers,..., etc.

MAC/Logic/Apogee ... just wants to work all by itself and keep working. So if you want to drop the learning curve, go MAC. If you want to do hobby recording buy a mini, Logic Express and the Apogee and for about $1200 you have a danged nice system capable of recording and mastering a hit record.

Plus, with a good DAW you can save a track. Unless you are one of the blessed few "one take wonders" out there, it's nice to be able to go in and time stretch a timing error, punch in and out over that one clam that ruined an otherwise flawless take, add effects after the recording, compress the vocals,... and a myriad of other things a DAW will do to make your recordings sound better.

Of course, we haven't got to the monitors yet. They are HUGE for mixing.

I think Jim wil agree, there are low-cost monitors that someone with a decent ear can tell which brand were used to mix. Mixing through headphones can be treacherous.

Here is what I have so far.
I have an older imac 2007, I upgraded the RAM to the maximum of 4 GB.
I downloaded Logic Pro, though Garage Band may have been sufficient.
I bought a used Apogee Duet. There is an advantage when a new model. Duet 2, is introduced, lots of folks sell their older models to upgrade. So I was able to get that for under $300.
And...don't shoot me...but I bought a Neumann TLM 102. I wanted top quality and I was told to avoid buying used studio condensor mics.
No monitors yet. I do have a pair of JBL 3-way bookshelf speakers that I was going to try and get by on. Use a home stero amp??? I've also been looking at some smaller Mackies. $249.00 each.
I've been reading "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio" by Mike Senior. It seems to very helpful. He repeats what Silent j said about room treatment being pretty important. I'm in a concrete walled basement. I am about at the end of my budget, so maybe monitors and room treatment can wait a while.
My plan is to record basic acoustic guitar and vocals. Then add, bass, drums and some lead guitar parts. For me getting the vocals right is my top priority...at least for now.
Hey Silent j, I'll address the "assumptions" thing when I can better articulate my point. I'm pretty new to all this.

Sounds like you're loaded for bear: I haven't use one, but I hear the Duet sounds good. And yeah, you probably overkilled with that Neumann, but what the hell. It's a good choice for both voice and acoustic guitar.

The iMac will be great, and 4GB will hold you if you're not running tons of VI's (virtual instruments), and it sounds like you won't.

A concrete walled basement is DEFINITELY going to need something on the walls. :) You could start just by hanging heavy blanket, leaving some airspace between them and the walls: it won't be tuned like Sonex or Auralex, but at least it would knock down the high-end ring you're going to hear in there.

Silent J is the pro, but old wool, (surplus army) blankets worked for us in the past, (8 track 1/2" tape days). Tried to do the ceiling but it sounded dead, and kept falling down, ended up with tall cardboard boxes for gobo's. Also found it was better not to cover all of the walls,(we did a lot of trial, and error to get it right).

You might find this article practicle for your home studio. You'll find plans for inexpensive baffles you can make for home recording and suggestions on what to do if you can't even afford the "cheapie" baffles.

http://www.recordingeq.com/EQ/req0801/baffle.htm


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I think this stuff might make some excellent low budget baffle material. I remember seeing it at a local home improvement center. Pretty dense stuff. Only slightly more expensive than the fiberglass....Good article BTW
http://www.bondedlogic.com/construct...nim-insulation

Here is an interesting video.
http://www.digido.com/loudness-war-explained.html

One additional thing to consider is getting good guitar amp emulation. Your iMac/Logic/Apogee setup is professional level stuff. Try Amplitube Free and buy a couple of additional Amplitube amps or effects that you might want through their Custom Shop. Amplitube plays well with Logic and gives you some great Fender/Marshall tones without needing room acoustic treatment. Here's an example of excellent Fender tone from Amplitube:
http://soundcloud.com/john-richards/dansolution

The Logic amps sound great by themselves. I've used Amplitude and prefer the Logic emulation. Plus, they're built right into the software so its completely seamless.

Decide which amp you want, which cab, virtual mic type and placement, set the controls how you want, add in effects and you're off. Or if you want to get really cool sounds, buss the input channel an us it for a send to others, and then use different amps simultaneously, mixing them as you wish... the possibilities are endless!

I just want to tell you all what a blast this is!! Why haven't I done this sooner. I'm not so concerned yet with the mixing and sound quality. But just to lay down a simple acoustic rhythm track, add the bass and then play lead over that. I've never had a band, but I do now...Me!
Really enjoying this. Maybe I'll have the guts to post something..in it's raw and unpolished state. It's really child's play to most of you, but it's a big move for me....cheers!

Thanks for sharing Fedora.
Take care, stay well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fedora

I just want to tell you all what a blast this is!! Why haven't I done this sooner. I'm not so concerned yet with the mixing and sound quality. But just to lay down a simple acoustic rhythm track, add the bass and then play lead over that. I've never had a band, but I do now...Me!
Really enjoying this. Maybe I'll have the guts to post something..in it's raw and unpolished state. It's really child's play to most of you, but it's a big move for me....cheers!

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:party: