JayPH

Thanks very much for the help and advice guys. Keep the tips coming

That'll do me. Nobody has put the Kybosh on it so I'm gonna take this as a green light.

I just wanted to make sure I was in the right ball park. I've been reading for a few weeks now and you end up getting a bit bogged down.

I'm happy to go with the Presonus then and I think I will go with the Akai 49. I don't want to be having to upgrade too quickly.
Some shouts for different Mics so i'll read up a bit more on them. Reaper gets the vote but I'll check Record out too.

I didn't explain myself very well about the midi controller. I know it doesn't have it's own sound and that you use it to control software sounds on your computer. I was just concerned as a couple of you have pointed out that the sounds that will come with the free software will be unrealistic.

The autotune software sounds good but this is where I'm getting lost. The scary Waves Price tag is what I was afraid of and I'm totally lost when it comes to all this side of it. Is the Waves stuff SoftwaRE Synths?

Am I right in thinking that you can get decent sounds with VST's but if you want the real deal you need the Waves stuff? I've been concentrating that much on the hardware that i've pretty much neglected the software side of it. I'm gonna go and start reading on that kvraudio site to try and get my head around it.

I'm six of one and half a dozen of the other on the torrent thing. I do like to support software developers but I can't afford pro costs.

Thanks again for all the advice and links. I really appreciate your help

John

Hi Guys
I've decided to make my own home studio and i would really appreciate you casting an eye over the kit I've chose and let me know if I have everything I need to get going.

First, heres a bit of background so you can tell if I'm barking up the right tree or if I will need different stuff ( Or a different hobby or straight Jacket haha )

I've been making music for over 20 years and been in a few bands but I've never done any recording at all but I'm very serious about making music and I've got a bit of redundancy money and I really want to go for it. I probably have about 2 - 3 albums worth of songs that I could jump straight into recording.

My style is hard to say but it's probably a bit poor mans Neil Young/ Elliott Smith / beatles type music. Like a heavier acousticy, rock sound. I also really like the idea of making trance and classical sounding stuff by using the software more. I'm not a particularly good singer but I can hit some notes and I'm not precious about swapping the vocals out if I can get better vocalists to work with.

I imagine that it will be a case of recording the acoustic, bass and vocals and lead all seprately and then using a midi controller to add other instruments with software. I'll be playing with other musicians sometimes too so I've gone for a relatively mobile rig. I might be recording bands in the future too.

One of my mates is a good drummer and he has an electric and acoustic setup so I might record to a makeshift drumbeat/click and then have him replace the drum track(s) with somthing decent. I know it's best to get the drums down first but I probably wont be able to work that way.

I don't want to spend a penny if the midi controller won't give me realistic sounding instruments.

Also how hard is it? i mean, is it hard to make high quality production music with the kit I've specced out? Is it hard using the software and gluing it all together?

I realise you only get out what you put in but I would be pretty miffed if I spend all this cash ( a lot for me ) and the end result is like one of those cheesey .mid files you get on crap phones. Can you get decent sounding keyboards, wind instruments etc in vst's, samples etc for cheap/free?

Really sorry for the book guys but I'm itching to get this stuff together and exorcise the musical deamons.
Heres the rig followed by links:

Audio Interface: Presonus FireStudio Mobile
mics 2 x Rode M3
Monitors M-Audio Studiophile BX5A OR KRK Rokit Powered 5 G2 - Pair
Midi Controller Akai MPK25 or 49 key version
Sequencer Reaper

[b]Interface[/b]
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/42353-presonus-firestudio-mobile.html#sterling_uk"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/4235...tml#sterling_uk[/url]

[b]Mics[/b]
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/29187-rode-m3.html#sterling_uk"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/2918...tml#sterling_uk[/url]

[b]Monitors[/b]
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/37857-m-audio-studiophile-bx5a-deluxe-active-studio-monitors-pair.html#sterling_uk"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/3785...tml#sterling_uk[/url]
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/37568-krk-rokit-powered-5-g2-pair.html#sterling_uk"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/3756...tml#sterling_uk[/url]

[b]Midi Controller[/b]
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/53609-akai-mpk25-portable-keyboard-controller-free-hip-hop-sample-pack.html#sterling_uk"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/5360...tml#sterling_uk[/url]
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/28890-akai-mpk49.html#sterling_uk"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/2889...tml#sterling_uk[/url]

Thanks in advance guys

John

PS I have an SR-500 Ibanez Bass with active pickups so I'll be going direct into the Interface.

PPS - The room i'm using is a converted Garage so it's your typical rectangle garage sized shape haha. It also has a large sofa in it, computer desk and the usual other stuff. Will this be adequate?

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1163859' date='Mar 15 2011, 11:06 PM']Be prepared for at least 10 different answers per 4 members [/quote]

Haha I will do mate. I've changed my mind about 10 times already. i might just get one of those electronic things Rolf Harris used to play and a tape recorder

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1163859' date='Mar 15 2011, 11:06 PM']Be prepared for at least 10 different answers per 4 members [/quote]

Haha I will do mate. I've changed my mind about 10 times already. i might just get one of those electronic things Rolf Harris used to play and a tape recorder

[quote name='Skol303' post='1163087' date='Mar 15 2011, 01:56 PM']^ No probs, I totally understand your concerns re: low-end gear.

My tips here would be to pick up a copy of both Reaper (http://www.reaper.fm/) and Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) - unless you already have them, of course! ;-) Both of these softwares come highly recommended by most folks - they're easy to use (esp. Reaper) and very cheap: Reaper retails at about £60-80 last time I checked for the full version, but you can run the fully-working demo for free for as long as you like. Audacity is completely free. A friend of mine, who runs a studio for a living, still uses Reaper as the basis for most of his own music - it's THAT good and a serious contender against the more expensive DAWs like ProTools.

I personally use Reason & Record for the vast majority of things (http://www.propellerheads.se/). You can pick up both as a bundle for around £300 - so not exactly cheap, but well-priced compared to others. It's all a matter of personal preference, but I love Reason/Record because they're so damn quick and easy to use - you can literally throw down some ideas in 10 minutes and then come back and work on them in detail at a later stage. This helps if - like me - you tend to hit upon a good idea for a piece of music and then the next minute it's vanished from your memory! I also like the user-interface on Reason; but again it's a matter of "horses for courses", as the saying goes.

Anyway, hope this help and happy twiddling![/quote]
Cheers Skol303

I've lost count how many people have recommended Reaper to me now so I shall definately be downloading a copy.

I'm still speccing my rig out but once I am happy with it I'll post it up and would be grateful if you and the others could cast an eye over it and let me know if I'm doing it right.

All the best

John

[quote name='Skol303' post='1155247' date='Mar 9 2011, 01:12 PM']^ You know what? There's a lot to be said for doing things with minimal equipment!

I cut my musical teeth, so to speak, using only shareware/freeware software on a knackered old Macintosh (which eventually packed up and took all of my hard work with it... but that's another story!).

Fact is, you learn so much more that way than people who just jump in and spend a ton of cash on the latest kit from the outset. Working with limited tools, or on a limited budget, makes you much more creative in my opinion. And then when you finally get your hands on some better quality equipment, you really know how to get the best out of it!

Same goes for all aspects of music. There'll always be those who produce brilliant stuff using the bare minimum, and vice-versa: those who have "all the gear and no idea"! ;-)[/quote]

I'm in the same process as the OP of starting a home/mobile studio and I've been up and down. One minute I'm close to spending £700 on a rig next I think I'm just wasting my money.

I agree with your point. Some people will do great stuff on a shoestring and other people spend grands and realise it isn't really for them. Thi shappens in anything, golf, fishing whatever. But on that subject I would be concerned if you started with cheap stuff your music would sound naff so it would be hard to get the right motivation to really get stuck in.

It's like if you buy a really rubbish guitar. It sounds bad and plays bad so it's really hard to learn on and stick to whereas if you get a really nice one it sounds good and is easier to play so it gives you the added incentive to learn. Of course I could be talking complete bollocks, as I often do haha

I'm going to do a post later today so I don't completely hijack the OP's post. Hope you will give your input on that one

Hi All

Is anyone using a USB 2.0 AI?

I want to start recording from home. Mainly Acoustic Guitar, Bass and vocals but I wanted my rig to be portable so I can do stuff with other musicians at their location.

I think it's safe to say most people go with FireWire. The thing is my Sony Vaio doesn't have Firewire so I was thinking of getting a USB 2.0 Interface.

QUite a few people have told me that USB 2.0 is fine now unless you are recording lots of instruments at the same time and this isn't somthing I'd be doing immediately.

These are the models I've been looking at:

[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/34490-m-audio-fast-track-ultra-8-x-8-usb-2-0-interface.html"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/3449...-interface.html[/url]

[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/43757-tascam-us-800-usb-audio-midi-interface.html"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/4375...-interface.html[/url]

I'd be really grateful to hear of anyones experiences with either of these units

Thanks in advance

John

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1150797' date='Mar 5 2011, 06:23 PM']That's for running between a mixer and PC.

You need something like the Behringer GUITAR LINK UCG102 Guitar to USB Interface

(just google it to find a supplier.)

There are better than Behringer but they are ok.[/quote]

Cheers Man that's exactly what I need.

John

Hi Guys

I want to record my Bass to PC and was wondering if this little gadget would do the trick:

[url="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx"]http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx[/url]

I think it comes with Audacity.

What else would I need? DO I need a different cable/interface or do you just plug your bass in with a guitar lead?

Also, if you think I should get somthing different what would you recommend?

Thanks

JOhn

Cheers Fellas. Thanks for the welcome.

Wow all the Scousers. Haha No matter where you go you will meet another Scouser or 2

Hi all

After a fifteen year Hiatus I have just got back into Bass. And I'm Lovin it

Treated meself to an Ibanez SR 500 and I can't stop playin it. When the Missus isn't moaning at me to do somthing else that is.

Used to be in a band playing all our own stuff so it's nice to learn all the classics and theory that I didn't do properly in the first place.

Not sure why or where I want to go with it. Might be having a mid-life crisis

Thanks for having me!!

John