Getting Started in Recording Gear

[Ken]

I'm looking to get started in doing some recording of clips at home, and I'm looking for some relatively inexpensive gear since I just want to do simple recordings to mess around with. Can anyone recommend some beginner gear that sounds semi-decent? I already have a Sure SM57 mic.

I've been looking at getting a M-Audio Fast Track USB , it has a direct instrument input and an XLR mic input. Can I use the XLR mic input to mic my amp, or will that not work. I've heard that people have complained about the sound quality this model.

 

[paleamberglow]

if you already have a decent computer, i would recommend using that in conjunction with either a PCI or Firewire audio interface (firewire is better). If your computer doesn't have a Firewire port, you can easily buy a Firewire card and install it on your computer for less than $100. As far as interfaces and software go, I recommend the Presonus firebox for you, since you said you don't need anything really fancy. This presonus unit looks pretty solid and I have used their bigger one the Firepod and it was really nice. It has 2 XLR preamps, 2 1/4 inch line in inputs, and spdif input which can all be used at the same time. It comes with free Cubase LE 48-track recording software which i use and is pretty good. here's a link to the presonus unit:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FireBox/ . I would also recommend getting a pair of decent studio monitors, like the Alesis M1 's or KRK Rokit RP-5 's . I have the KRK ones and they are pretty good, i just need to buy a subwoofer to go with them. hope this helps, cheers

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Sorry to highjack the thread, but the question is on topic...

I'm in the same situation, and am looking for a setup to use for both myself and my band.

I am purchasing an Apple iBook in a month, and plan to run a firewire interface into it.

Now, I am torn between the Presonus Firebox (mix down drums with a mixer) and Macke Onyx 400F....the mackie is a bit pricier, but it seems like it may be worth it.....what would you guys say?

 

[Ken]

Just an update, I bought the Presonus Firebox and it's working out pretty well. Trying to get familar with the Cubase software, but it seems like a nice inexpensive option for getting started in recording.

 

[paleamberglow]

glad to hear that.. congrats!

 

[Ken]

One thing that concerns me is I have to raise the level on the input when I use a mic on my amp. But I can't raise it too high or it clips while recording. As a result the volume of the clip when I do a mix down is a little on the low side.

Any tips on fixing this?

 

[paleamberglow]

getting a good level for recording can be tricky. all you can do is play as hard / loud as you are going to play when you record, and adjust the input gain so you get it as loud as possible without clipping. in some situations you might want to use a compressor while you are tracking (hardware or plug-in) to even out the dynamic range of your signal and make it easier to manage. hope this helps. -david

ps - a 'quick fix' for a quiet track would be to normalize the recorded waveform in Cubase, but when you do this you are also bringing up the level of all the noise in the track. so it's best to record your tracks as loud as possible without distortion first so you get a good signal to noise ratio.