Doc B Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 We've recently replaced our laptop so I have the old one going spare and I've decided to put it to use as a digital recording device. I don't want to spend too much cash though. I know next to nothing about PC-based recording other than Cubasis is one of the less expensive software packages available. I've already got guitar and bass Sansamps for DI recording. 2x Shire SM58, a Phonic MM1202 mixer and a little Zoom drum machine that I've been using with my Fostex VF08 for a few years. My current set up takes up a lot of space though, and I think using the laptop could improve this. What sort of interface should I get for recording vocals and instruments? Are there any decent freeware/shareware applications I could try? Is it possible to get hold of cheap or free drum machine/sequencer plug ins to replace my Zoom? Any help, guidance, etc will be gratefully received. Cheers, DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cooke Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Hydrogen for drum sequencing [url="http://www.hydrogen-music.org/"]http://www.hydrogen-music.org/[/url] Ignore the "for GNU/Linux" bit, there's a windows version available in the downloads area Audacity or Reaper for recording [url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/"]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/[/url] [url="http://www.reaper.fm/download.php"]http://www.reaper.fm/download.php[/url] Audacity is free and open source, Reaper is shareware, but completely functional and doesn't time out, the authors rely on customers being honest and registering it although I have seen "cracks" out there for it... why on earth, I'll never know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbloke Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 You have four choices with a laptop 1) Onboard soundcard 2) USB or, preferably USB2 interface** Edirol, M-Audio, Phonic, Line 6 etc... 3) Firewire Interface ** Edirol, M-Audio, Phonic 4) PCMCIA interface *** Echo Indigo, etc... ** Assuming your laptop has Firewire or USB2 ports *** Your laptop requires cardbus slots (32-bit) If you already have mixing desk and mics, etc... then a standard 2 in 2 out interface will serve you well - cheaper too. What's the spec of your laptop? You need upwards of 512MB, 1GB + ideally to stand any chance of using the machine for recording. You should also invest in an external USB hard drive to store your projects, etc... as these can soon eat up hard disk space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShergoldSnickers Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 [quote name='Doc B' post='163539' date='Mar 26 2008, 07:57 AM']..... 2x Shure SM58...[/quote] If you want to record anything other than voice, or mic up a guitar cab, the SM58s will struggle to give you a transparent sound. I find SM58s to be rather coloured and a bit numb when it comes to delicacy and handling transients. A better solution would be a decent condenser mic. Getting a good quality signal in in the first place is crucial. There are plenty of condensers to choose from nowadays, some at really affordable prices. AKG, Rode, CAD, Sennheiser and SE Electronics all have lower priced mics available. To drive a condenser, you'll need some form of audio to digital interface that can give the mic a voltage to work from - phantom power. Most input boxes do this as a matter of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottswarwick Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 point of pure interest, as I use cubase anyway, but can you use Audacity to multitrack? I was not aware you could, but would love to be prove wrong as I have this also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cooke Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 [quote name='nottswarwick' post='163742' date='Mar 26 2008, 01:44 PM']point of pure interest, as I use cubase anyway, but can you use Audacity to multitrack? I was not aware you could, but would love to be prove wrong as I have this also[/quote] [url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/features"]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/features[/url] [quote]Recording Audacity can record live audio through a microphone or mixer, or digitize recordings from cassette tapes, vinyl records, or minidiscs. With some sound cards, it can also capture streaming audio. * Record from microphone, line input, or other sources. * [b]Dub over existing tracks to create multi-track recordings.[/b] * [b]Record up to 16 channels at once (requires multi-channel hardware).[/b] * Level meters can monitor volume levels before, during, and after recording. Editing * Easy editing with Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete. * Use unlimited Undo (and Redo) to go back any number of steps. * Very fast editing of large files. * [b]Edit and mix an unlimited number of tracks.[/b] * Use the Drawing tool to alter individual sample points. * Fade the volume up or down smoothly with the Envelope tool.[/quote] my bolding in the above quote... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottswarwick Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 now i know, Thanks. Jsut lookingat the new cubase 4 studio version actually... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc B Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 (edited) Cheers for the replies - Paul, Bass Bloke and Shergold. Shergold - I've had my SM58s for years and only used them for instruments or to let my wife use our amp when singing. I was considering one of those Zoom field recorders (H2 or something? The 4 track one) to act as a condensor and PC interface but I'm trying to minimise costs and I wanted to use my old laptop as a dedicated recorder. A condenser mic is a long term aim for me. Thanks again, DB Edited March 27, 2008 by Doc B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauster Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 +1 for audacity. For a bit of freeware it's outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 It isn't free, but you can still get [url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/27495/"]Tracktion 2[/url] for the ridiculously low price of £30. It was £130 before version 3 came out and even that was quite good value. It's a truly excellent bit of software, very simple to use, loads of plugins included, everything you need - read about it [url="http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion2/"]here[/url]. You won't do better for the money. As for drums, Tracktion comes with [url="http://www.linplug.com/Instruments/RM_IV/rm_iv.htm"]RM IV[/url], which is great but more suited to electronica IMO. For 'real' drums, I recommend [url="http://www.rayzoon.com/"]Jamstix[/url]. It's quite complex, but so lifelike and flexible. It's also got a really cool 'jamming' feature where it responds to your playing in real time. There's a demo available, well worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc B Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 Bit of an update I managed to get a M-Audio Blackbox with a dedicated floor controller for £95 brand new from Sound Control's Southampton Branch (cheers Rhys). The Black Box is a USB interface with built in drums, guitar/bass FX, amp models and a mic input. The FX are based on the Adrenalinn pedals by Roger Linn. Ableton Live Lite also come bundled with it so it seems that I've managed to get everything I wanted for less than £100. I also sold my amp and got a Ashdown Electric Blue as PX so I still have £105 left to put towards some powered monitors. Any of you used a Blackbox or Ableton Live lite? I think it will take me a while to get my head around all the controls and settings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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