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BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO HOME RECORDING


Skol303

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i7 Processor with at least 8 Gig Ram, will do for most home recording (with ease).
Ram won't make your PC faster, but will help with using a lot of Audio
or the big Sample libraries, then you should be looking at 16-32 Gigs.
The i7 CPU's (Quadcore) will handle an awful lot of VST's/VSTI's without
the need for freezing or bouncing tracks. It will also help with running at very low latency,
providing your ASIO drivers on your Audio interface are up to it.

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  • 2 weeks later...


Got my laptop, so need to buy an interface. I guess the Focusrite would be a decent enough one?



Yep! :)

The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and 2i4 are very good quality 'budget' interfaces. I use a 2i4 myself, as it has the additional output sockets I need.

Dead easy to use. No latency (on my system) and the recording quality is good for the money.

There will always be better, more expensive options if you want to spend money. But for £100-£150 the Focusrite Scarlett products are great. Edited by Dad3353
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A cheap and cheerful condenser is cool, but how do you use it?

Microphone placement is really important because it changes the sound drastically.

Most cheap mics have a cardioid pattern. That is they are more sensitive in front than to the side and the back, at least above 1KHz.

This is great as long as you point the Mic at your target, and you can use this to get a mellower tone by deliberately pointing off target.

However the side effect of a polar pattern that is not omni is a tendency to get bass heavy as you get very close to the source. This is called proximity effect. Think late night radio DJs - although they will be using a large diaphragm dynamic Mic the effect is the same. This can be really good on some sources not so good on others.

Crucially use your ears with closed back headphones when setting up mics.

For vocals and other sources that move a lot of air, you will need a pop shield, a wire coat hanger bent into a one inch deep six inch across spiral with a 10 to 20 denier stocking over it will work perfectly in a pinch.

Micing bigger instruments requires a bit more care, a rule of them is that you want to Mic no closer than the longest dimension of the sound board of the instrument if you care trying to capture the sound of the entire thing in one Mic.

This is a long way with dbs or pianos.

It's made even worse by the effect of room reflections, with a dynamic Mic you want to be no more than half the critical distance from the instrument in the room, or the result will be awash with reverbiness and sound very distant.

This critical distance is the distance from the instrument where the volumes of reflections off the wall nearest the Mic is as loud as the sound directly from the source.

In many rooms that makes close micing your only option, so with just one Mic 've sure to spend time listening as you change its position around the source, leave it where it sounds best in the mix as far as you've got at that point. This shouldn't take more than five minutes but it can save hours at mix down later.

Edited by Dad3353
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  • 4 weeks later...

I have just bought a Focusrite 2i2. I am having difficulty getting it to record. I will have to get the manual printed. I hate it when you don`t get a basic manual. Is the Ableton Live 9 Lite that comes with a free trial any good, or should i look at getting a better programme?

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I have just bought a Focusrite 2i2. I am having difficulty getting it to record. I will have to get the manual printed. I hate it when you don`t get a basic manual. Is the Ableton Live 9 Lite that comes with a free trial any good, or should i look at getting a better programme?



Start by surfing from here..?

http://youtu.be/QtE5hjF8Hb8

There are tons of tutorials for many softs and interfaces. Keep on asking questions here, though.
As for which DAW to use, all I can say is that Reaper does all I'm ever likely to need. Try with the DAW you have for a while, until either it requires payment, or your needs go beyond its functionality.
Hope this helps. Edited by Dad3353
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I have just bought a Focusrite 2i2. I am having difficulty getting it to record. I will have to get the manual printed. I hate it when you don`t get a basic manual. Is the Ableton Live 9 Lite that comes with a free trial any good, or should i look at getting a better programme?



Try this;

Go to the Audio track, select 'Audio From' drop down

Click Configure

ScreenShot2015-02-15at215242_zps050f6ed2.png&key=41597d3c9b0ebd1cb93953da0a5d605c96d1ed77beb59c0d5fb71d41611c2501

This will take you to the Preferences screen

Audio Input device - assuming you've got the driver loaded (or sometimes it will just recognise it anyway) - you should be able to select your Focusrite on this drop down >

ScreenShot2015-02-15at215305_zps1a4cbff0.png&key=81f7ae18cb7ca0aa086cfca8c79ad61b17fe341b6d3444dff0f83da207e97916

Red X top left to save and close, takes you back to the audio channel, and select Channel 1 from the drop down.

ScreenShot2015-02-15at215839_zpsa2b749a5.png&key=f27e923a4cb7e097afa24e29a77226e60b85940dc0f93c1cc3afdf7c85ee1c9e

Hit the 'record' button at base of that channel, and you should be able to hear whatever you've plugged in, your bass etc.

(These shots are from Live8 but almost identical). Edited by Dad3353
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What Recording software are you using ? I dont know much about the Ableton stuff if you are going down that path . but I guess it is a task of telling the software to use the 2i2 as the input to the track to record from.

I have no recording software bar the Ableton which came with the unit.


Thanks all. I will give it a good bash this evening. I wouldn`t worry about the recording competition just yet Edited by Dad3353
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I do a bit of home recording, just demos for the band really and being a tight arse I do it on the cheap, I use audacity and record one thing at a time, start with the drum track, I use Hydrogen,then just by pluging the mic/bass/guitar into the mic socket on my computer just record one track at a time, the only cost is a lead to convert a 6.3mm jack to a mini jack, if you get one with two 6.3mm jacks into one mini jack you can record 2 tracks at once, one track to the left channel and one to the right, like I said a super cheap option but good enough for demos

Edited by PaulWarning
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PaulWarning said:


I do a bit of home recording, just demos for the band really and being a tight derrière I do it on the cheap, I use audacity and record one thing at a time...

 


^ I like it :) A bit like using an old 4-track, which is precisely where I got the bug for this recording and mixing lark.

In fact there's a lot to be said for going about things in a 'low tech' way. It can be a real boost to creativity and quite liberating. I might try a similar approach one month for the Composition Challenge...

 

Edited by Dad3353
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Just like to flag up some open-source possibilities . :)

There are various free DAWs available for free operating systems . :o
Linux can be installed alongside an existing O/S as a dual boot . Some Linux O/Ss ( known as distributions or distros ) are preconfigured for audio , such as ;

Ubuntu Studio https://ubuntustudio.org/
KXStudio http://kxstudio.sourceforge.net/
AVLinux http://www.bandshed.net/AVLinux.html

Introduction to music creation in Linux http://wiki.linuxaud...ki/introduction

Just one guide on how to set up an open source digital audio workstation http://www.lyndondan...SDAW/index.html

Just one modular DAW built by one man and made available to the rest of the world for free http://non.tuxfamily.org/wiki/About

Forum for Linux musicians http://linuxmusicians.com/

Some learning involved , but the Value For Money can't be beaten . ;)

Edited by Dad3353
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This thread is great. Some great advice and contributions from members. Whilst I studied most of the technical side as part of my degree, the advice about plug-ins etc is a great angle.

Bit of a 'heads up' from a recent purchase. I've just picked up an Audient iD22 interface while the € conversion is good. At £300 with some Thomann vouchers thrown in, it's probably the best purchase I've made in terms of studio gear. British designed, includes two VERY high quality audient preamps, intuitive hands-on controls with assignable function buttons and pristine AD/DA convertors.

If anyone is thinking about upgrading from something like a Scarlett and want high level quality without spending stupid money, the iD22 would be ideal!

Edited by skej21
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Just a quick note to those who have contributed here with regards computer specs for home recording, I have taken the post to form a new thread so that the details become more visible and will hopefully prove to be a useful resource in itself.

you will find it here http://basschat.co.uk/topic/258472-choosing-a-computer-for-home-recording/

many thanks .

Edited by Dad3353
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If you like using the iPad for getting stuff together,
this is worth checking out (£3.99).
I am surprised at the amount of functions available,
and there are plenty of in app purchase sounds for grabs.
It's also very easy to export stems and midi files into your DAW,
if you want to go the extra mile with production.

http://www.uvi.net/beathawk

Edited by Dad3353
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  • 1 month later...

Looking at DAWs for my new mac. I've downloaded Reaper & some free VSTis, but I've noticed with Adobe CC I can get Adobe Audition.
Anyone used it? Can it host VST instruments or is it strictly for audio?

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