Sunday, February 9, 2014

Wanting to start recording myself playing music, need to know about microphones and what to buy?




Cornerstin


I have been wanting to record myself on a few instruments such as guitar, drums, keyboard etc. so I can edit them with audacity. Been looking up microphones and found one that looks to be good (Shure SM57) but I need to know what I need with it. I use my laptop currently and record with my mp3 player but it is a hassle to put everything together. I'm taking my music seriously and want to have good quality recordings and need to start off in the right direction with better equipment. Please tell me everything I need to have in order to get started with recording. I know I may need a preamp but not sure about specifics or anything.


Answer
SM-57 is a good choice to record instruments. If your keyboard is electronic, you are better off recording directly from the headphone port on the keyboard or other stereo output port if you have one. If you are very serious as you say, then you will not want to record or play back through your computer's sound card because it just not good enough for music production. The best audio/digital USB Computer interface devices (with built in sound cards) are the Avid Pro Tools interfaces (considered the industry standard) and these devices also come packaged with Pro Tools software to record with. With Pro Tools you will be capable of producing broadcast quality music that you can sell at iTunes, Amazon.com, Tunecore, CD Baby and many more Internet sites and you can even get them played on local radio stations. If you play guitar, you may eventually also want to get a Bass guitar. I'm a songwriter and I use Pro Tools to record with. I play the bass, guitar, and keyboard and I use prerecorded drum tracks either from the Pro Tools library, Toontracks, or my Yamaha or Roland keyboard. If you sing, you will eventually want to get a Rhodes NT1A condenser mic to record vocals with and I highly recommend the BOSS VE-20 vocal processor. For guitar effects, you can't beat the BOSS GT-10 and for bass the BOSS GT-10B. You will also need a good pair of studio quality headphones. Make sure they have a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. You also want headphones that are extremely comfortable on. I prefer the ATH T44 http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-Airtight-Dynamic-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000BNZGKU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1287941414&sr=8-1 - You will also need a good studio monitor to listen to the playback. I prefer JBL speakers but, Behringer and M-Audio make some inexpensive studio monitors that sound pretty good.

A friend and I are contemplating on making a small recording studio?




stephhxraw


in her closet. Its not that big and the only instrument we use is a guitar. What can we do to go the ball rolling, as in what equipment should we buy to record and make our sounds better and where can we get the cheapest prices.

Any ideas?



Answer
Since you are just starting out, you might want to start by trying to record using Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - Audacity is FREE down-loadable software that use to record record music on your computer. You will need to have at least one and maybe two microphones. I would suggest that you might start out with this microphone. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Nady-SP-5-Dynamic-Cardioid-Neodymium-Mic-770707-i1127199.gc - and get this wind screen for it - http://www.guitarcenter.com/Heil-Sound-Windscreen-for-the-Handi-Mic-Microphone-271334-i1423824.gc - You will also need to have microphone cable for the mic and an adapter so that the microphone will connect to your computer. This you can do for very little money and see how it works. If you can afford to invest more, you might consider buying a Pro Tools Recording Studio - http://www.walmart.com/ip/M-Audio-Pro-Tools-Recording-Studio/14123456?wmlspartner=GPA&sourceid=44444444440521189243 - The software that comes with this product is better quality than the FREE software you can download. Pro Tools also comes with the M-Audio USB interface to your computer which has a built in music quality sound card so, the quality of the sound you get when you record will be much better. You can still use the same microphone to start. Eventually you may want to purchase a better microphone and mic stands and a good set of speakers to listen to your music. http://www.guitarcenter.com/M-Audio-M-Audio-Studio-Pro-3-Monitor---MXL-990-991-Mic-Package-888907-i1471849.gc

That's really all you need to get started. I'm a songwriter and I play guitar, bass and keyboard and I write and record all of my own music using Pro Tools LE a more advanced system like this one - http://www.guitarcenter.com/Digidesign-Pro-Tools-Mbox-2-Factory-Package-773407-i1177447.gc

With my system, I can record broadcast quality music that I can write out to a CD or MP3 and I can actually get local radio stations to play my music and even sell the music on iTunes or Amazon.com or CD Baby. You will be able to create CDs and MP3s with either of those less expensive systems too. But, the quality of the sound will not be broadcast quality. But, you will be able to learn how to use the recording software and perhaps write some of your own music and when you're ready later on, perhaps you will want to purchase a more expensive Pro Tools LE system.




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