Recording Equipment

so im an 18 RY old guy outr of school workin full time, and i have been playin drums ang guitar near 5 years. i want and need to start recording. wht the first steos i should take?

recording software

aoudio interfaces

mics??

i have nbo experience recording..

Well, your first step is to go back through the previous posts here on this site, which have talked this subject over endlessly for hours and hours.
No need to re-invent the wheel . . .
Do your research here; almost all the answers are ALREADY posted.
.
AFTER you've read the previous posts - ask away . . .

Hi Lane, I have the most basic recording set up in the known universe, an M-Box and a rode ntk-2 microphone, with these two little beauties I recorded nearly all of the stuff you can hear @

http://www.myspace.com/rustique_rascal

I must add that you obviously need access to a half decent computer but that's surely not such a big ask in the 21st century. You could probably get an MBox cheaper on ebay now that it has been superceded by a newer, smaller model I paid $900 Aus, sorry dont know the exchange rate. The only other thing I purchased was Protools for dummies! invaluable publication. If you know of any protool users who want to record/collaborate over the internet send them my way, cheers Russell

Unless you need the tracks and like beating up a computer, I would definitely look for a studio in a box. I work with computers all day long and the last thing I want is for one to act up while recording! I still use a Korg D1600 and love it! It will do 16 track at 16 bit or 8track at 24 bit. Onboard effects, easy to use and has a large touch screen. Just plug in and record. It works really well for solo recording. Kinda limited for live though because you can only do 8 tracks simultaneous at 16bit and only 4 at 24bit.

Then there's mics... Rode makes great mics. I have a matched pair of NT5s and an NT2A, but that's $880 right there. Probably not in the budget. To start out, consider getting a couple SM57s and a cheap condenser like the MXL-990. Even (gasp) Radio Shack has OK mics. I heard they buy the out-of-spec capsules from Shure. These will get ya goin but mics are one of the most important investments you can make, so you may want to save up for a good condenser (NT2A!!!). It's quite versatile and works good for drums if you want a natural room sound. Good luck to you!

Paul

Go to a bookstore or Public Library and look for Author BILL Gibson. He is a very well known Engineer and has many books covering all areas of The buisness. From CD samples included with the books all the way to DVD instruction. Trust me you mixes will sound alot better. The old school trick Pick up a book and read!! The audio press audio pro series is a great start. Just watch out for Hank lindermann!! He is anti digital and still uses tape heads. Although it is still a great setup. Unfortunatly the newer sampling rates and hybrid tube digital fusion proccesors are starting to blow old school analog out of the water. Dont be afraid to go all digital . Do you complain about digital recording when you crank up your favorite action movie on your home theatre setup? Best of luck in your ventures.

Well, pretty much if u want my opinion I would suggest a Fostex 16HD with CD Burner. I don't own any recording equipment, but i have been around enough to know that the best deals are the ones that give bang for the buck. Trust me, it would work well for your situation.

E-mail me and I’ll let you know what I’ve had success with I record all the time both drums and bass

It really all depends on what you want to do with it, but I'd start with getting an interface and some mics. Nothing too fancy or expensive so you don't end up wasting your money if you decide you don't want to do recording seriously later. If you're into entry-level stuff, an M-box is a good place to start if your computer supports Firewire. If not (As I know of right now), M-boxes use USB 1.0 as the alternative, so you'll probably want to try something else if you don't have Firewire capability.

And if you don't want to use Pro Tools and sell your soul to Digidesign, Cubase is a pretty good alternative digital audio workstation, and I'm fairly certain you can get a Tascam interface with way more inputs along with Cubase for less than the price of an M-box and Pro Tools.

As for mics, I'm a cheap bastard and use MXL mics mostly (And the ever-popular SM57), and borrow from friends and my school's lovely resources when I need something more. But yeah, bottom line is this: like others have said above me, do your research, make a plan of what you want to do, then start shopping for deals. Best of luck!

Hey bro, recording is as these other cats have told you. What do you want to do? I started off with a Boss 532 and I hate it! It cost a lot and is not very easy to use. I agree with the previous guy who said start with something in your price range and work with it. Learning is the key to creating the type of sound you like to produce. Perhaps at your age you might think about getting a degree in audio engineering. This will land you in the mix of people who use this equipment every day and you will learn recording the right way. I am 57 and have been in music for 47 years. It's work. I love it. Rob

Hey bro, recording is as these other cats have told you. What do you want to do? I started off with a Boss 532 and I hate it! It cost a lot and is not very easy to use. I agree with the previous guy who said start with something in your price range and work with it. Learning is the key to creating the type of sound you like to produce. Perhaps at your age you might think about getting a degree in audio engineering. This will land you in the mix of people who use this equipment every day and you will learn recording the right way. I am 57 and have been in music for 47 years. It's work. I love it. Rob

Amen.

Well here is something I put together for about $350.00

Powermac G4 733 Mhz - $100 w/shipping ebay.

Digidesign 001 - $125. I look for people that look like they owned the Digi and used it in their studio, comes with software and codes. The only issue with older Digi equipment is finding plugins, but they can be found on the internet sometimes.

74 Gig WD Raptor drive w/SATA Adaptor $40.00

Behringer ADA8000 about $100.00 on ebay.

With this setup, you've got 18 in/outs.

For a few dollars more you can look at something like a used G5 Mac /Digi002 which I believe will let you run newer versions of Pro Tools.